Epiphany

Good Evening friends,

I know it has been awhile (a long while actually) since my last post. I'm sure many were beginning to wonder if I was actually going to post on "Musings of a Married Man" as an actual married man. Alas though, here is another attempt to begin blogging on a regular basis.

I thought that a good time to pick up this "habit" again would be on the day we observe the Epiphany. For those of you that read my blog (or happen to stumble upon it) that do not know about the season of Epiphany, it is simply the celebration of the coming of the Magi to worship the God-Man, the Word made flesh, Jesus the Christ.

Matthew records the account in the second chapter of his Gospel:
"Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
“‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way."

As I have mentioned before (I think), I love the liturgical calendar for many reasons but one is because we are allowed the opportunity to celebrate and study these different moments in the life of our Lord. It allows us a chance to look again at certain passages of Scripture and to also show how Christ's birth was predicted in the Old Testament. Isaiah writes:
"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Lift up your eyes all around, and see; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried on the hip. Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and exult, because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the LORD." Isaiah 60:1-6

Another fun thing about this day is that it gives me an opportunity to plug a great website that a friend of mine operates. You may know what a wonderful resource his website is, but if not, I would like to direct your attention to some of the art on there. This piece is one of my favorites (as well as the song that accompanies it), I highly recommend it and the piece in question fits within our discussion. You can find it here.

There is quite a bit more that could be said about the beginning of this season in the Church, but I will need more content to post so you'll just have to wait until next year for a more in-depth discussion. As has been my custom on here, I will end this year's post on the Epiphany with the Evening Office:
"Oh God, who by the leading of a star did manifest your only begotten son to the peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know you now by faith, to your presence where we may behold your glory face to face, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, on God, now and forever. Amen."