Homily Notes: Feast of the Epiphany

I listened to a program on the radio recently where comedians were talking about the three wise men and the gifts they had brought to the baby Jesus. The only one they were able to make any sense of giving was the gold. And the reason they thought they could understand the gold was because you could buy things with it. They had no clue as to Frankincense and Myrrh. “Why bother” said one, “I would be embarrassed to bring them” said another. Another intoned “Come all that way and that’s what you bring?” The significance of the gifts brought by the wise men, the Magi, may be lost to a culture that is about getting, and is rapidly losing the art of giving. The Church encourages us to follow the example of Christ, who gave himself for each of us.

The wise men were seeking truth and the gifts reflect the truth they sought.

Gold is the gift for a king. It was the custom of the day that no one could ever approach a king without a gift. And gold, the king of metals, is the fit gift for a king of men. They offered this to the King on bended knee, the giving of the gifts become an act of worship. Not a worship to appease anger, but a worship in wonder and awe.

Frankincense is the gift for a priest. It was in the temple worship and at the temple sacrifices that the sweet perfume of frankincense was used. The function of a priest is to open the way to God for men. The Latin word for priest is pontifex, which means a bridge builder. The priest is the man who builds a bridge between men and God. Jesus is “the” priest and his priesthood is found in the Mass when a priest stands “in the person of Christ” as that bridge between God and Man.

Myrrh is the gift for one who is to die. Myrrh was used to embalm the bodies of the dead. Jesus came into the world to live for men and, in the end, to die for men. He came to give men his life and his death.

Gold for a king, frankincense for a priest, myrrh for one who was to die — these were the wise gifts of the wise men, gifts which foretold that Christ was to be the true king, the high priest, and the perfect sacrifice of salvation.

It is not a wonder that these gifts are lost on people who seek truth away from faith. These gifts are not lost on us, as we come to celebrate this feast of Epiphany, we bring ourselves to Christ, and we benefit from the gifts God bestows on us, as our Eternal King, Priest and Saviour.