Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord
Reflection
The Epiphany of the Lord: The Greatest Gift
Today, our Christmas celebration continues with “the Epiphany of the Lord”: the “manifestation” of God’s Love in the person of Jesus, our newborn Savior. The Scriptures remind us that the earliest recipients of that manifestation were simple shepherds, then the elder Simeon, and the 84-year-old widow Anna. Today’s Gospel selection from Matthew recounts the star-lit manifestation to the magi, whom we’ve come to call “kings” or “wise men” — noted as well for their special (and pricey!) gifts they brought Jesus and the Holy Family: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Our practice of Christmas gift-giving derives from the action of these “wise men.” Gifts can be practical, necessary, creative, simple, pricey, even fun – but gifts’ significance lies in the meaning they bear.
A classic short story by the American author, O. Henry, is called “The Gift of the Magi”. The story features a young married couple who were very poor, but deeply in love. The wife had long, beautiful, dark hair; for Christmas, her husband wanted to get her a set of expensive decorative combs to wear in her hair, and despite their poverty, he was determined to get the elegant combs for her. The husband had a treasured gold pocket watch, inherited from his grandfather. The wife found an elegant (and expensive) watch chain, and despite their poverty, she was determined to get that watch chain for him. Come Christmas Eve, they both had bought their special gifts for one another. In exchanging the gifts, they discovered that she, to buy the watch chain, had cut and sold her beautiful hair to a wig maker, and he had sold his treasured watch to buy the decorative combs. After their initial “shock”, they both broke into heartfelt laughter and lovingly fell into each other’s arms, realizing that watch chains and hair combs mean nothing — it’s true love that counts!
Today, the greatest “gift” for us and our world is Jesus himself, Love personified and shared with all creation. Nothing is more perfect, or more precious, or more practical, or more important. Jesus comes to us and our world, manifesting and sharing unconditional, eternal L O V E, the Epiphany… Like the early Magi, may we do Him homage by faith-filled lives of love and service — rooted in simplicity, wisdom, openness, and generosity. With the psalmist, we pray, “may every nation on earth adore you” (Psalm 72).
