The Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord is very much celebrated in the gifts of the Magi: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
An epiphany is a revelation of the presence of God. In the infant Jesus, God is physically — humanly — among us. The Magi came to see a new king, but when they saw the baby, they bowed in worship. They found something more than just a king.
The Magi offered gold, to honor the kingship of God. They brought frankincense, to perfume the stable where he lay, and to swaddle him against all that is less than he. They presented myrrh for his health, to preserve his life among us. And they stood in the place of the entire world of humanity in this first introduction, this Epiphany.
Another Epiphany
Yet, there was another epiphany happening in the stable at Bethlehem. It happened by the will of God and by the nature of man, whose God-made soul is permeated with God’s goodness, even if shown inconsistently because of sin.
Still, though Jesus already knew his mother and Joseph, and had met the shepherds, he now met all of humanity in the Magi. In his own human nature, he was introduced to himself in the hearts of men.
Jesus’ own gifts to the Magi — to us — are the same: gold, for the mansions of the Father promised to His children; frankincense for the Spirit that guards and guides them; myrrh that heals them, even in death.
Mary, the Mother of God, was there. The Scriptures do not describe any reactions to the gifts of the Magi. But, after all, they were not new to her. They were revealed to her nine months before by an angel. And she certainly did respond then, as we pray in the Angelus.
Frankincense
“The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary, and she conceived of the Holy Spirit.”
As in the halls of heaven, the Spirit filled Mary and blanketed her, she who emptied herself and gave all to her Lord.
Gold
“Behold the handmaiden of the Lord. Be it done to me according to thy word.”
An angel, with the golden light of God’s presence, came to her who is the manger of gold that carries her Lord in humility and glory.
Myrrh
“And the Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us.”
The love of God was a balm for her own pierced heart and anointed the human body of her divine son because he had one and was one of us, through her, and through human death.
There is yet another meaning of the word epiphany. An epiphany can be a sudden deepening in understanding of something that has otherwise become seen as ordinary.
On this Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord, may God grant you your own.
