Today is Epiphany, January 6th, the day the Wise Men visited the Holy Child. It comes from a Greek word that means “appearance,” “manifestation,” and it refers to the time when the Saviour of the world was revealed to the Magi.
Christmas cards and scenes, tableaus and crèches often show Mary, Joseph, and the Babe surrounded by barn animals and shepherds, as well as three Wise Men, or Magi, who came from the East, guided by a miraculous “star.” However, something is wrong with that picture. According to the second chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, the Magi inquired of King Herod where they might find the child born to be King of the Jews. The chief priests and teachers of the law put their heads together and determined that the ancient prophecies about the Messiah pointed to Bethlehem. And when the Wise Men arrived at that town, the Bible says they were “overjoyed.” Matthew 2:11 says, “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.”
That’s curious. Jesus was born in a stable and laid in a manger because there was no room for his family in the inn. What’s this about a house? There are various theories. Some say that stables were often attached to houses in that area, and the Holy Family may have moved up into the dwelling. It would seem, in that case, that the house belonged to the innkeeper. Others say that although the Wise Men weren’t present at the birth, they arrived some time after Mary’s Purification, which would have been about a month and a half later.
When they left, an angel warned them not to return to Herod, and Joseph also heard from an angel in a dream that Herod was going to try to kill Jesus, that they should escape to Egypt until the threat had passed. According to some scholars, that might have been two years after Jesus was born because Herod ordered the deaths of all male Jews two years and under in order to get to Jesus. I’ve always wondered, though, why Mary and Joseph stayed in Bethlehem for two whole years when they only needed to be there temporarily, for the census. Wouldn’t they be eager to return home, after her purification and Jesus’ circumcision, eight days after his birth?
Intriguing questions.
Tags: Epiphany, Magi, Wise Men
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