Jesus Came to Save All of Us
Jan. 5, 2025
We begin this final week of the Christmas season with the Feast of the Epiphany. Officially, we will end the season next Sunday, with the Baptism of the Lord, which serves as a pivotal feast, ending the Christmas season and beginning Ordinary Time.
The Epiphany celebrates the light from the Star of Bethlehem shining out to the gentile world, and the visit of the Magi to the Holy Family in Bethlehem. We see that along with the little poor ones of Israel (represented by the shepherds), the Gentiles were among the first to believe in Christ and to worship Him. It is very difficult for us to appreciate how hard it was for the Jewish Christians to welcome the Gentiles into their new Church. They had been taught for generations that God was their God and was not the God of the rest of the world.
Many of the early Christian communities were mixed with both Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians. They did not necessarily get along well. This feast was a reminder to them that Jesus came to be the Savior of the entire world, and not just for the Jews.
Most scholars believe that the Magi were from Persia, or modern-day Iran, and that they were part of the Zoroastrian faith. They would have been magicians (hence, Magi) or astrologers, watching the night skies for information about world events. One night they spot a new star, that they somehow concluded was a sign of a new king having been born. There were lots of kings in those days, as many ruled very small states, and not great nations. Why the birth of a king would have led them to take such radical moves is hard to understand.
These Magi set out to follow the star, and to discover this newborn king. The distance that they would have to cover would have been over one thousand miles. This would have involved a journey of probably six months or so. That is quite a disruption of their lives. But they set out, and eventually came to Jerusalem, where they inquired about a newborn king of the Jews. When Herod heard this news, he was alarmed, as he was familiar with the prophecies concerning the Messiah. Although he believed this child to be the Messiah, he felt that his throne and his power was being threatened. Herod, a Jew, was willing to kill the Messiah for his own sake.
The Magi made their way to Bethlehem and found the Holy Family living in a house. We have no idea how long after the birth of Christ this visit took place. They offered Him their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, very symbolic gifts. Gold is a gift for a king. Frankincense a gift for God. And myrrh, a strong-smelling spice used in preparing bodies for burial, symbolized that this child’s death would be significant.
Warned in a dream to not return to Herod, but to go home by a different route, they set off. We know that the flight into Egypt and the slaughter of the innocents would follow this event, but each of those have their own feasts.
—Fr. Mike Comer
We begin this final week of the Christmas season with the Feast of the Epiphany. Officially, we will end the season next Sunday, with the Baptism of the Lord, which serves as a pivotal feast, ending the Christmas season and beginning Ordinary Time.
The Epiphany celebrates the light from the Star of Bethlehem shining out to the gentile world, and the visit of the Magi to the Holy Family in Bethlehem. We see that along with the little poor ones of Israel (represented by the shepherds), the Gentiles were among the first to believe in Christ and to worship Him. It is very difficult for us to appreciate how hard it was for the Jewish Christians to welcome the Gentiles into their new Church. They had been taught for generations that God was their God and was not the God of the rest of the world.
Many of the early Christian communities were mixed with both Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians. They did not necessarily get along well. This feast was a reminder to them that Jesus came to be the Savior of the entire world, and not just for the Jews.
Most scholars believe that the Magi were from Persia, or modern-day Iran, and that they were part of the Zoroastrian faith. They would have been magicians (hence, Magi) or astrologers, watching the night skies for information about world events. One night they spot a new star, that they somehow concluded was a sign of a new king having been born. There were lots of kings in those days, as many ruled very small states, and not great nations. Why the birth of a king would have led them to take such radical moves is hard to understand.
These Magi set out to follow the star, and to discover this newborn king. The distance that they would have to cover would have been over one thousand miles. This would have involved a journey of probably six months or so. That is quite a disruption of their lives. But they set out, and eventually came to Jerusalem, where they inquired about a newborn king of the Jews. When Herod heard this news, he was alarmed, as he was familiar with the prophecies concerning the Messiah. Although he believed this child to be the Messiah, he felt that his throne and his power was being threatened. Herod, a Jew, was willing to kill the Messiah for his own sake.
The Magi made their way to Bethlehem and found the Holy Family living in a house. We have no idea how long after the birth of Christ this visit took place. They offered Him their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, very symbolic gifts. Gold is a gift for a king. Frankincense a gift for God. And myrrh, a strong-smelling spice used in preparing bodies for burial, symbolized that this child’s death would be significant.
Warned in a dream to not return to Herod, but to go home by a different route, they set off. We know that the flight into Egypt and the slaughter of the innocents would follow this event, but each of those have their own feasts.
—Fr. Mike Comer
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