We celebrate the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, an important liturgical event which signals that the Christmas season is about to come to an end. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Epiphany is the manifestation of Jesus as Messiah of Israel, son of God and Savior of the world. The Solemnity of the Epiphany celebrates the many ways that Christ has made Himself known to the world, mainly the three events that manifested the mission and divinity of Christ. The first being the visit of the Magi ,the second being the baptism of Jesus of Jesus and the thirst being the miracle at Cana. The Magi themselves are a figure of ambiguity. The traditional belief that there were three Magi, they brought Jesus the gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh… The Magi could have been Persian Priests or Babylonian astronomers or even spice traders. The idea of the Magi being kings became established en medieval Europe after the 9th century . Eventually however they we pictured as representatives of different peoples
and races , with Balthazar being often represented as King of Arabia or sometimes Ethiopia, Melchior as a King of Persia and Casper as a King of India. The three Magi brought to Christ child gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Gold symbolized Kingship, frankincense used in to symbolize prayers rising to heaven ,symbolizes Jesus’ divinity and myrrh often used in burial honors Jesus who came to give His live as a sacrifice for many. Both readings revolve around the theme of the universality of God’s love. In our christian life we could learn from the journey of the Magi in today’s solemnity of the Lord ‘s Epiphany seeing an extraordinary star that shone when Jesus born they journeyed from their distant countries in the East and reached Jerusalem where they had an audience with King Herod, thinking that the newborn king of the Jews would be found in the palace. But scriptures and the reappearing star directed them to a house in Betlehem.

The three Magi in the gospel sought the star and eventually discovered the baby Jesus because they went after the star, they met God. The question we need to ask ourselves is; 1. What are we seeking? 2. What are we going after? 3. What are we doing to fill the emptiness in our lives ? The vacuum and emptiness that we all experience is the innate desire to be close to God and nothing else is going to fill this void. Neither money nor any addiction nor any relationship. And how does God manifest Himself to us today? Surly some people receive vision and revelation but for the majority od us, God reveals Himself in the ordinariness of lives. He reveals Himself to us in and trough the people we meet regularly. Jesus reveals himself to us in the words of encouragement and correction which are said by our families and friends. He reveals Himself to us by giving us strength to face the challenges in our lives.

The Magi went on a long journey following the star, seeking something . They had not idea where their journey would lead them, yet they undertook this journey. We too must be seekers of Jesus always. The journey to salvation is long and the way sometimes is unknown. We must however continue to trust and walk with joy bringing gifts that are fit for God. The Magi represent all people, they represent the entire humanity who are finding their way to Christ. The feast is therefore also an invitation to us to look at the entire humanity as one family of God. Like the Magi let us resolve to look for Christ and surely, He will reveal himself to us.

Good meditation to all.