The Christmas Season officially comes to a close on January 6th, the 12th Day of Christmas. It’s also known as the Epiphany or the Feast of the 3 Kings.
It’s the day in which we celebrate the Magi seeing the Star of Wonder in the night sky and allowing it to guide them to the location of the Christ.
The word “epiphany” comes from a Greek word meaning “to reveal.”
When we experience “epiphanies” in our lives, the Divine is revealing itself to us in new and powerful ways.
The Epiphany story in the Bible is a highly symbolic one. Which means it’s not just about the Magi or the baby Jesus. It’s about us.
The Epiphany story is our story. It’s about allowing ourselves – like the Magi – to be guided by that Perfect Light.
Now, the Epiphany story from the Bible is only told to us in Matthew’s Gospel, so we don’t really know a lot about who the Magi actually were. The writer of Matthew’s Gospel simply refers to them as “wise men from the East.”
Notice, he doesn’t say that there were three of them, and he doesn’t say that they were kings. I think the famous Christmas carol, “We Three Kings,” popularized this idea, but it is nowhere to be found in Scripture.
The writer of Matthew’s Gospel referred to them as “wise men,” meaning they were men who possessed Wisdom.
Now, I’ve told you before, Wisdom is very different from Knowledge. People who possess knowledge know a lot of facts. But, people who possess wisdom possess a deeper level of Spiritual Knowing. A deep intuition.
The wise men were called Magi. It’s where we get our word “magic” from.
But, these wise men weren’t magicians as we understand them today. Magicians today are all about sleight of hand and illusion, trying to trick us and fool us.
But, the original source of the word “magical” was more in line with the word “mystical.” Mystics are people who aren’t trying to fool us with illusion, but who are trying to reveal to us the Truth of our Being.
The Magi in today’s Gospel story were Truth Tellers or seers. They may have been astrologers or shamans or clairvoyants. They had a special gift of vision. They could “read the stars.” They could see into the spiritual realm.
And, one of the things I love so much about the Epiphany story is that the Magi were from the East. They were foreigners.
They were from different cultures, different religions. They were from the Eastern religious traditions. And, yet, they were the very FIRST people to recognize the Light of the Christ.
What this means for me, is that the Light has come for everyone. Not just for Christians, but for ALL people.
What the Feast of the Epiphany asks of us is to recognize that the Light of the World was not only born in a baby more than 2,000 years ago, but is also alive in each and every one of us today. Right here and right now.
That’s what the Epiphany is all about: the discovery of the Light within us!
All of us are wise men and women – people of vision and intuition – when we seek the Light within us and allow ourselves to be guided by it and transformed by it.
That is why the Magi bring gifts of transformation with them: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
I’ve talked with you before about alchemy: how base metals exposed to fire are transformed into gold. So, the Magi’s first gift, gold, represents alchemy or transformation.
And, the second gift, frankincense, is an incense which our Eastern brothers and sisters use in meditation and prayer to open up the senses to the spiritual realm.
And, the third gift, myrrh, is tree resin used as a balm for healing.
These gifts represent transformation, inspiration, and healing. When you – like the Magi – seek out the Light within and allow yourself to be guided by it, you, too, will receive the gifts transformation, inspiration, and healing.
Now, there’s one more person from today’s gospel story that I haven’t talked about yet, and that’s King Herod. King Herod – the political leader – wants to destroy the light.
Herod represents our EGO. Herod was a man so full of ego – known for trying to impress the people of his day with grandiose buildings and wealth.
The discovery of the Christ is threat to his power, so he commands the Magi to find the location of it, so that he can destroy the Light.
But, notice, once the Magi discover the Christ, they no longer follow the commands of King Herod anymore. Instead, we hear, “They returned by another road.”
Because, when we discover the Christ Light within us, we stop listening to the voice and commands of the ego. Rather, we take another road and follow the way of the Spirit.
So, on this Epiphany Sunday, let us not just remember the Magi, but let us dedicate ourselves to becoming the Magi.
Like them, may we keep our focus on the Star of Wonder, and allow ourselves to be guided by Its Perfect Light of vision, intuition, and wisdom…the gifts of healing and transformation that are within us.
And, like the Magi, let us KEEP WATCH this New Year for all the many epiphanies – great and small – which God has in store for us in 2025.