Homily for the Feast of the Epiphany
Rev Patrick Comerford
Sunday 6 January 2019
(Refer to Patrick's blog for his full and very interesting post on the tradition of Epiphany HERE as well as his interesting and informative posts through out the year)
11.30 a.m.: The Epiphany Eucharist (Holy Communion 2), Saint Brendan’s Church, Kilnaughtin (Tarbert), Co Kerry.
Readings: Isaiah 60: 1-6; Psalm 72: 1-7, 10-14; Ephesians 3: 1-12; Matthew 2: 1-12.
We have completed the 12 days of Christmas.
‘On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me:
‘12 drummers drumming …
‘11 pipers piping …
‘10 lords a-leaping …
‘9 ladies dancing …’
And on and on it goes. Not very useful gifts at all, as Frank Kelly reminded us in his parody of this song as Gobnait Ó Lúnasa.
But this morning, in our Epiphany Gospel reading (Matthew 2: 1-12), we remember the Three Wise Men, the Three Kings or the Three Magi, who brought their true gifts to the Christ Child in the Manger.
In many parts of Ireland, today is also known as both ‘Little Christmas’ and as Nollaig na mBan or ‘Women’s Christmas.’
This makes it appropriate to refer to a popular joke on social media that asks: ‘Do you know what would have happened if it had been Three Wise Women instead of Three Wise Men?’
The answer is:
‘They would have asked for directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole, brought practical gifts … and there would be Peace On Earth.’
Many of us have probably put Christmas behind us at this stage. We’ve probably taken down the tree, the decorations and the holly. Why, we have probably even forgotten our New Year’s resolutions too.
So, why should we remember this morning’s story of the visit of the three Wise Men? And how practical were their gifts?
Although Saint Matthew does not mention the number of wise men, the number of gifts they gave to the Christ Child has given rise to the popular tradition that there were three Magi.
I received Christmas greetings a few weeks ago from a friend, an icon-writer, who lives in Crete. For fun, I decided to run her message in Greek through Google Translate. And I was disturbed that it translated the three Magi as the three Wizards.
Our Old Testament reading (Isaiah 60: 1-6) and Psalm (Psalm 72: 1-7, 10-14) speak of gifts given by kings and of the Messiah being worshipped by kings.
Saint Matthew’s account was reinterpreted in the light of these prophecies, and so the magi became kings rather than Persian wise men or priests. Perhaps this interpretation was influenced by the negative image of magi not in the Old Testament but in the New Testament.
The magi were members of the Persian priestly or religious caste. In the Old Testament, for example, the magi or wise men are led by Daniel (see Daniel 2: 48). But the same term later has negative connotation when it is used in the Acts of the Apostles to describe the sorcery of Simon Magus (Acts 8: 9-13) and the magic of Elymas (Acts 13: 6-11).
As the tradition developed, the three wise men in this Gospel story were transformed into kings who have been named as:
● Melchior, a Persian scholar;
● Caspar, an Indian scholar;
● Balthazar, an Arabian scholar.
In Western art from the 14th century on, they are portrayed in these ways:
● Caspar is the older man with a long white beard, who is first in line to kneel before the Christ Child and who gives him the gift of gold.
● Melchior is a middle-aged man, giving frankincense.
● Balthazar is a young man, very often black-skinned, with the gift of myrrh.
