The feast of the Epiphany is a beautiful event in the life of the Church and is attested to in Chapter Two of St. Matthew’s Gospel. This is the celebration of the arrival of the Three Kings in Bethlehem.
The kings are also sometimes called the Magi. The Magi were Zoroastrian priests from Persia. The followers of Zoroaster believed in one God, but living in pre-Incarnational times did not know the name of God or understand His human and divine natures. This makes their journey to Bethlehem all the more important. At last they were given the understanding that was missing in their religion. In the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, the Epiphany is celebrated Jan. 6. Some of the Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church celebrate the feast slightly later due to the use of the older Julian Calendar.
The Three Kings have great symbolism in the Catholic Church. These Kings came from Gentile nations and represent the universality of Christ’s mission on earth. While Our Lord was born into the land of Israel, His purpose on earth is to redeem all of mankind. Due to this, the Three Kings stand as a witness for all Gentiles accepting Our Lord as the Savior of the world.
Geraldine Elschner has carefully selected many famous pictures of museums throughout the world and incorporated them into the book. The result is a lavish display of rich and beautiful paintings about the Epiphany.
Elschner begins her story with a beautiful painting of the Magi studying the heavens. They see a bright star that calls to them. As they move westward, they follow the star until it reaches Jerusalem. There they go to the evil King Herod and ask about the “newborn King of the Jews.” Herod’s great fear in life is that a new king will overthrow him and take over the Kingdom of Israel. The Three King’s innocent request therefore throws all of Jerusalem into tumult.
In the painting of the Magi’s encounter with Herod, we see Herod cunningly telling the Three Kings to go and seek out the Child so that he may also go and worship. He is already planning to kill the Christ Child. The Three Kings resume their journey and follow the star out of Jerusalem. The star stops over Bethlehem and the Magi know that they have arrived at the birthplace of the new King of the Jews.
The picture of the Blessed Virgin’s face at the arrival of the Three Kings is beautiful. Their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh are all highly symbolic and tell us about the two natures of Christ. Gold is given to earthly kings. Myrrh is the ointment used to prepare a person for burial. The Three Kings have told us that Our Lord has a human nature. Frankincense (shortened to “incense” today) is burned during liturgies and the smoke rises heavenward. Now the Magi have told us that Jesus has a divine nature. Elschner concludes the book with paintings of the Three Kings leaving for their homeland after being warned in a dream to avoid King Herod. With this, the book concludes.
The Epiphany is one of the happiest feasts in the Christian religion. I hope you have a chance to read this beautiful book with your younger family members. If you can’t find the book, read the youngsters Chapter Two of St. Matthew’s Gospel. May you and your family have a blessed Epiphany!
