Feast of the Epiphany - extraordinary!

[Eugene]

Reflecting on the Feast of the Epiphany it dawned on me that it is truly a remarkable and extraordinary event!. St. Matthew’s gospel tells us that the wise men came from the east, from far away lands. Thus we can safely assume they were not Jewish. Had they any prior knowledge or contact with Judaism before? What made them leave their own country (countries?) to travel to another far away to go and pay homage to a baby born into another religious tradition? and to recognise that this baby is the Saviour of all mankind? They recognised that salvation to all is not through their own pagan tradition but in this Jewish baby?

Imagine foreign dignatories or diplomats doing something like this today!

To me a clue lies in St. Matthew’s gospel - the men were wise. Considering all my questions above I can only assume Spirit filled wisdom? These must have been men of integrity and goodness as we know it in the Christian sense exercised within another pagan religion.

Of course, I do not want to take anything away from the significance of this great feast of the Church. I just happened to ponder the circumstances of the event.

Any comments?

Blessings on you all this day.

 

[Tonks40]

These first visitors of Christ is an indication that He DOES come for all mankind!

 

[Joe_Kelley]

Can you imagine the flutter in Bethlehem when that caravan parked in front of Mary and Joseph’s door?

 

[MSParrott]

Our priest talked about this very thing during his Homily this morning. He said that because of Jesus, the Gentiles became part of Christ, thus proving we are all part of Him. He then went on to discuss that since the Magi dropped everything to follow the star to the Christ Child (they were probably believed to be crazy or foolish by their friends and family), and we, in turn, should become like that star to share the Good News with others. (It was more beautiful and profound that what I just typed, but it was along the same lines…)

 

[johnstown_johnn]

The three gifts of the Wise Men, gold, frankincense and myrrh are very symbolic.

Gold: The metal if a King’s crown

Frankincense: The incense burned in worship of God

Myrrh: an oil that is used to prepare a body for burial.

 

[IrishAm]

For an interesting, contemporary, interpretation of the Magi, I recommend “The Fourth Wise Man” available on DVD by Paulist Productions/Vision Video. Based on Henry van Dyk*e’s ** “The Story of the Other Wise Man” and filmed back in the 1980s (I’m guessing, based on he age of the actors – Martin Sheen, Alan Arkin, Eileen Brennan, Ralph Bellamy and others). Sad, funny, inspirational . . . and a lot to think about. Watch it at Chrstimas; watch it again on Good Friday and Easter.

**Oh, good grief, the system won’t let me type in the author’s name for fear of being offensive!!!

 

[Joe_Kelley]

For an interesting, contemporary, interpretation of the Magi, I recommend “The Fourth Wise Man” available on DVD by Paulist Productions/Vision Video. Based on Henry van Dyk*e’s ** “The Story of the Other Wise Man” and filmed back in the 1980s (I’m guessing, based on he age of the actors – Martin Sheen, Alan Arkin, Eileen Brennan, Ralph Bellamy and others). Sad, funny, inspirational . . . and a lot to think about. Watch it at Chrstimas; watch it again on Good Friday and Easter.

**Oh, good grief, the system won’t let me type in the author’s name for fear of being offensive!!!

I remember reading the story many years ago; a short story if I remember correctly. My grandmother used to have a large picture in her dining room [60+ years ago] of the Fourth Wise Man looking longingly at the star in the distance.

 

[Eugene]

Hi All

I want to thank you all for your sharing. I will try and get a copy of The Fourth Wise Man.

Wishing you all many blessings on this day and the rest of the year further.

Eugene

 

[LilyM]

I too love to meditate on the story of the Wise Men - imagine the faith they must have had to trek so far for so long. Judging by Herod’s instructions they could’ve been travelling for 2 years, but in any case it would’ve been a huge journey.

And the high chances of them looking like idiots if they didn’t find the child they were seeking. Then again the same faith that made them understand that this poor little baby was the King of Kings.