There is another way as well in which this story points ahead to the climax of the gospel. Jesus will finally come face to face with the representative of the world’s greatest king—Pilate, Caesar’s subordinate. Pilate will have rather different gifts to give him, though he, too, is warned by a dream not to do anything to him (27.19). His soldiers are the first Gentiles since the Magi to call Jesus ‘king of the Jews’ (27.29), but the crown they give him is made of thorns, and his throne is a cross. At that moment, instead of a bright star, there will be an unearthly darkness (27.45), out of which we shall hear a single Gentile voice: yes, he really was God’s son (27.54).

Listen to the whole story, Matthew is saying. Think about what it meant for Jesus to be the true king of the Jews. And then—come to him, by whatever route you can, and with the best gifts you can find.

–N.T. Wright, Matthew for Everyone (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2nd ed. edition,2004), p. 12

The Adoration of the Magi, 1612-1614.

Fray Juan Bautista Maíno – who became a Dominican while working on this painting.

(Museo Nacional del Prado) pic.twitter.com/UZhfdRnFi0

— John McCafferty (@jdmccafferty) February 28, 2021

Epiphanies open the possibility that we might change and the world might change, for they offer an opportunity to create new ways of living from our fragments of revelation. In the moment of illumination, our experience is enlarged, the boundaries of our lives made more permeable. Existence itself seems to hold more possibilities than we had imagined. But epiphanies are evanescent—they shine out, and then they recede. How can we hold onto the possibilities of change we glimpsed, in ourselves, in the world?

We need practices that keep us grounded in our epiphanies, even when the Magi have returned to their country and we to our daily lives. We need ways to extend our vision even when we are too busy to remember we’ve had one.

One way to do this is to make living in the afterglow of that vision a habit, a commitment. Benedictines do this when they choose to welcome every guest as Christ among them—a choice grounded, surely, in an epiphany, but a choice that can be made even when the light of illumination has dimmed. The story of La Befana illustrates this way of making an epiphany last. If she cannot go with the Magi to see the Christ Child, she will choose to find Christ in every child.

How will we choose to respond to the illumination of Epiphany, which passes so swiftly into memory? What commitments can we make to keep the Magi’s epiphany in view? Will we choose to see the Christ Child lying on the floor of a detention center, covered in a foil blanket? Will we choose to see the Holy Family separated and caged? And if we choose to see, what will we choose to do?

Read it all.

Merry Christmas! See you January 3, 2018!
Adoration of the Magi by Benvenuto Tisi da Garofalo. 1530s pic.twitter.com/tbh9o03Mbm

— The Master's School (@mastersschool) December 18, 2017

It might have been just someone else’s story,
Some chosen people get a special king.
We leave them to their own peculiar glory,
We don’t belong, it doesn’t mean a thing.
But when these three arrive they bring us with them….

Read it all.

Francisco de Zubaran ( 1598-1664 ) Adoration of the Magi 1639 pic.twitter.com/Kj7qHA0hIq

— BrindusaB (@BrindusaB1) January 6, 2024

Words: Bishop Reginald Heber
Tune: ‘Epiphany’ – Joseph Thrupp

Keep us, O Lord, constant in faith and zealous in witness, that, like thy servant William Laud, we may live in thy fear, die in thy favor, and rest in thy peace; for the sake of Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

10 January 1645. William Laud was executed in London (aged 71). He’d been appointed as Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I in 1633, and had advocated uniformity in church services. He was arrested by the rebel Long Parliament in 1640 and eventually charged with treason. pic.twitter.com/wwqnu0HW83

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) January 10, 2024

O Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, shine graciously into our hearts that, walking as children of light, we may glorify thee before men, and, being always ready to obey Thy call, may, in our place and measure, hold up the light of life to them that sit in darkness and the shadow of death. Hear us, O Lord, for Thy great mercies’ sake, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, now and for ever. Amen.

Follow the star to the feast of the Epiphany on 6th January!

BL Add MS 37472, f.r @BLMedieval pic.twitter.com/mXuszwSUKa

— Ennius (@red_loeb) January 5, 2024

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same nature, that through death he might destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage. For surely it is not with angels that he is concerned but with the descendants of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brethren in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make expiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered and been tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.

–Hebrews 2:14-18

Today’s #Brighton #Sunrise @ThePhotoHour @StormHour pic.twitter.com/oF8BYOt7lb

— Stephen Royle (@Steveontour1) January 10, 2024