Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we glorify God and praise Him together in the occasion of His glorious moment of Epiphany, the time when He revealed Himself to the people, the true nature of His coming and His birth through the Three Magi, or the Three Wise Kings of the east and their respective gifts, each of which bear very significant symbolism of His nature and truth.
Today, we heard the well-known story of how the three people, either learned and wise men or kings from the east, came to Bethlehem following the very bright star that appeared during about the time of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, and seeing that star, they knew that someone with great power and authority is coming into the world although they did not know who this One would be.
They came to Bethlehem from their faraway country, braving difficult conditions and tough travel, long journeys and arduous paths in order to seek the King Who was prophesied to come into the world. And this is why, the star in our Christian teachings and understanding, specifically the Star of Bethlehem is the symbol of faith, for it represented the faith of the Magi who was though not counted among the chosen people of God, the Israelites, but they believed and made the effort to come and pay obeisance to Him.
And the Magi came to Bethlehem, found the Baby Jesus in the manger with His mother Mary and with Joseph, His foster father. The Magi then paid Him homage and honour due to a King, and not just a King, for we see their offerings to Jesus, which gave us a revelation of Who Jesus really is. These are the gifts of gold, of frankincense, and of myrrh.
Gold is a precious metal which had been revered and treasured since the ancient times due to its beauty and lustre. The magnificent shine of gold and its incorruptibility had been the properties that many people had used to denote something that is great and precious, and over time, the use of gold denotes wealth, greatness, and then in particular, its use is regulated and sometimes reserved only for the king and the royalty.
Yes, the gift of gold by the Magi to the Baby Jesus revealed to us all, to all mankind that even though as a fragile Baby, the Son of Man, He was born among animals in the filth of a stable, in great poverty, but He was truly a King, King of all kings, Who did not choose to be born in pomp and grandeur, but to be born among His people, as all men were.
The gift of gold revealed Jesus to the world as a King, not as one of the kings of the world who flaunted their wealth and power to sustain their prestige and position, but as the true King Whose authority is absolute over the whole world. And yet, He chose to lower Himself and humble Himself, by being born in such a simple place and in such a circumstance, because He loves us all and He came into this world with a mission, which I will elaborate further in a while.
Then the three Magi also offered frankincense to the Baby Jesus, a curious gift indeed for a baby. But frankincense represented yet another aspect of Jesus that was revealed to the world through that gift. Incense were usually made from natural sources such as dried amber or tree secretions, and other sources such as fragrant wood materials that were then burnt as either perfume to remove bad odour or as offerings for the gods and the idols.
And frankincense is the finest quality incense that were around, and the gift of frankincense to the Baby Jesus revealed to all mankind, that He is God, a Divine being surpassing everything else. Yes, indeed, for He is the One Who created everything that ever existed, now exists and will exist. He is the one and only true God, to Whom only all honour, praise and glory should be directed to.
And just as incense is used in our worship, in the celebration of the Holy Mass and on other occasions, as the symbol of the offering of our prayer to God and as a way to honour the Lord our God, thus the Magi offered the finest frankincense to Jesus to worship Him, the one true King of all kings, and Who is also the Lord God of all the universe, Who had chosen to come into the world, again for a mission that is related to the last gift of the Magi.
The last gift is that of myrrh, a natural material used for preservation purposes, especially for burial in the preservation of the body of the dead before they were buried. This is certainly a gift that is completely out of place considered that it was given after a Baby was born, but this gift, just as that of the gold and the frankincense, was equally important, as this revealed to the whole world, just what Christ was to do in order to save it.
The gift of myrrh reminded us all about the mission which Jesus had taken upon Himself as He came into this world. It is a premonition of His suffering and death, which would take place at the very end of His earthly ministry, when He was rejected by His own people and were punished for the sins of the people, including the sins of those who have persecuted and rejected Him.
Yes, the gift of myrrh symbolised the death which Christ would pass through in order to save us and rescue us from our own fate of facing death, that is the eternal death and separation from the Lord. By His death which we share in our death in Him, had liberated all of us from the snares of death and gave us all a new hope, for now we know that through Jesus, death has no final say over us.
By His death, Christ had united all of us who share in His death and keep our faith in Him, and through His glorious resurrection from the dead, when He triumphantly destroyed and defeated death as well as all evils, He also brought all of His faithful ones into His victory and triumph, that we too will share in the joyous and bountiful graces of His promise of eternal life and blessings in heaven.
Therefore, today, on this Solemnity of the Epiphany, let us all reflect on our actions, so that in all the things that we do, we shall understand how much God has loved us that He had given us His own Son, Jesus to be our Saviour. It was because of His great love, that He, Who is King of all kings, King of the Universe and Almighty Creator God, had been willing and indeed willingly came down to us, assuming our humble human form, that as both Man and Divine, He ascended up the cross, and became our salvation.
Let us all therefore strive from now on, if we have not done so yet, to be good disciples and followers of our Lord in all the things we say and do, so that through us more and more people will come to believe in the Lord Jesus our Saviour and be saved through Him. May God be with all of us in this endeavour and strengthen our faith and devotion for Him always. Amen.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 