Today’s feast of the Epiphany of the Lord centers on the visit of some mysterious men who came from the east in search of the new born king of the Jews, so that they could pay homage to him and offer him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Who were these mysterious men from the orient, whom we call kings, wise men, astrologers and magi? We have to answer that question by saying that we really don’t know who they were or what motivated them to come to see the newborn king. We don’t even know what happened to them after they returned home.
However, even though we don’t know a whole lot about the mysterious men from the orient, we do know some significant things about them and their visit. First of all, we know that the magi were the first non-Jews, that is, they were the first Gentiles, to pay homage to Jesus. The epiphany, the manifestation, the showing of the Lord to Gentiles is the first announcement of the good news that Jesus, the Messiah was born into our world to offer the gift of salvation to Jews and Gentiles alike. In other words, the clear message of the Epiphany is that Jesus, the new born king of the Jews came to save not just Jews but the entire world from sin and death.
On this Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord we pray that we who have been joined to Jesus our Savior in Baptism, Confirmation and the Holy Eucharist may manifest or show him to others by the holiness of our lives. Consider renewing your commitment to the A-List (Andrew List) and intensify your prayers for those people on your List.
Just as St. Andrew introduced his brother Simon (renamed Peter) to Jesus the Messiah, we pray for the people on our lists to be introduced or reintroduced to Jesus and his Church.