It may seem as if Christmas ended days ago. Most people have taken down their trees and put away the decorations, but the season of Christmas continues. In many countries around the world, it is not Christmas day when Christians gather and exchange gifts but today, on the feast of the Epiphany. On the feast of the Epiphany, we remember the gifts given to Jesus by the Wise Men.
But there’s an even better reason. Today we remember a far greater gift than gold, frankincense or myrrh.
The feast of the Epiphany is when we remember how God shared with the world the gift of His Son, Jesus.
The Bible reading we heard tells us that the Wise Men followed the star from the east. In the days of Jesus, most people didn’t travel far, so these visitors from faraway lands were strangers to every one. They
looked different. They spoke differently. They believed in different things. They were certainly not like any of the people in Bethlehem, or Nazareth, or Jerusalem. By leading the Wise Men to Jesus, God showed the world that Jesus was born to share His love and mercy with all people, wherever they come from and whoever they are. It took the Wise Men a long time to travel to Bethlehem. By the time they reached it, the Gospel of
Matthew tells us that the Holy Family had found a house to stay in. Some of you may remember from the reading that when the Wise Men entered the house and saw Jesus,
they fell on their knees and worshipped Him. They did this because it was revealed to them that Jesus was God’s son!
The Wise Men saw the baby Jesus and experienced an epiphany!
This week’s mission helps us understand how blessed we are with the arrival of Jesus.
