The word “Epiphany” means “The Appearance” or “The Manifestation.”  In the early days of the Church, this Feast was viewed as being every bit as important as Christmas, forming along with Christmas, and Easter, and Pentecost, a kind of “top tier” of the Church’s Liturgical Year.  This Feast has so much to tell us.  The Church has always understood these men, these mystics from a far-off distant land, to be proof that God’s salvation is for all the world.  Not just for a few; not just for a race or a people; not just for the lucky ones.  He wants his grace to be manifested, to appear to the whole world, to touch every human heart.  The light of the star of Bethlehem is not restricted to the sight of only a few; the radiance of that light will spread to every land and people of the world.  Christ’s salvation is for all.  

The Gospel tells us that when the Wise Men found the Child with Mary his mother, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  We’re so accustomed to hearing about these three gifts (gold, frankincense, and myrrh), that we probably forget how surprising these gifts are.  I don’t suspect you would send any of these things to your friend who just had a baby.  Frankly, gold is expensive; frankincense is useless, and myrrh is creepy.  But these three things each reveal something critical about who this little child is.  Each gift is part of the manifestation that takes place on this Feast of Epiphany.  Gold is the symbol of royalty, and it shows that this child, despite what he looks like and the circumstances of his birth, is in fact the King of Kings.  Incense is a symbol of Divine Worship.  It’s offered to God alone.  In giving this gift, the Magi show that this child is God Himself.  They offer him the supreme adoration which can be given only to God.  Finally, they are inspired to bring myrrh, an oil used to dress wounds and to embalm the dead.  This gift shows that this Gold-bearing King and incense-bearing God, was also a man, capable of suffering, who would one day suffer even death itself.  The myrrh is an incredible moment of foreshadowing, deeply meaningful, deeply ironic.  These three gifts are a little theology lesson.  Gold for the King, incense for a God, and oil for the suffering man.  He is all three.  

For our part, let us bring The Lord our own gifts like the Magi did, offerings worthy of Him.  We offer gold when we live a life full of love and faithfulness to God’s commands, when we proclaim him as king of our hearts.  We present frankincense when we believe that he is truly God, when we worship him reverently, week in and week out.  We offer him myrrh when we fast, offer a penance, control ourselves with self-discipline, and unite our crosses to his.  The beauty is that these gifts that we offer to God, he gives right back to us as well.  He gives us the gold of his Divine Love.  He gives us the frankincense of holiness and a growth in charity.  And he gives us the myrrh of his passion as well: sufferings at times, yes: but with the assurance that our sufferings are never meaningless, that one day all our sorrows will be turned to joys: that the Cross born well in this life will be transformed into the glory of the Resurrection in the life to come.  We see the deep connection between the four great Feasts of the Church's year: today's Feast still reflects the joy of Christmas and celebrates his manifestation to the nations; and we see already the profound connection to his passion, death, and resurrection, the Paschal Mystery which has its apex at Easter and which will be brought to its completion with the sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

And so the Epiphany continues: the Manifestation goes on.  It lasts through the centuries as the Morning Star finds a home in the heart of every faithful person.  May we have the strength to nourish God’s Unveiling in our lives, and the courage to bear witness to the truth of Christ, every single day.