Bible Study with Gene -
An monthly newsletter column with retired CoB ordained minister and scholar Eugene F. Roop.
“Epiphany: January 6 and/or 19”
Following the Gregorian calendar, on January 6 the Western Christian Church celebrates Epiphany. Most of the Orthodox church uses the Julian calendar. They celebrate Epiphany on January 19th.
What does the word epiphany mean? It refers to an unexpected appearance of something. If I can’t figure out what to write about in an article for a newsletter and it unexpectedly comes to me, that could be called an epiphany. Or if I lose a sock and I hunt and hunt and can’t find it, then unexpectedly it appears in the dryer, that could be labeled an epiphany. Of course, I don’t call just anything an epiphany. We don’t use the word except in church during January -- if we celebrate it at all.
The Eastern and Western Christian churches each celebrate Epiphany as a different appearance. For the Western church, Epiphany focuses on the unexpected appearance of the Magi.
It is probably better to use Matthew’s Greek word “magi” than “wise men” or “kings.” We don’t know their gender. I have no information that would indicate they were “kings.” The vocation of the Magi would best be described as a scholar.
In the Eastern church, Epiphany celebrates the baptism of Jesus as recorded in Mark 1:9. For the Orthodox church, Epiphany marks the unexpected appearance of the Trinity: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God, the Father, says, this is my Son. That is accompanied by the Dove, the Holy Spirit.
I like Epiphany as the celebration of Jesus’ baptism. But I am a part of the Western church Epiphany tradition, the celebration of the unexpected appearance of the Magi. Whatever their vocation, the Magi were not Jewish, they were Gentiles. The expansion of faith into the Gentile world has been critically important to the Western church. So, we celebrate missions in the visitation narrative of Matthew.
Both the Eastern and Western churches celebrate an important element in the text. But what about Mathew’s gospel itself? An expansion of our faith into the Gentile world seems more central for Luke and Paul than for Matthew.
Luke narrates Mary’s story. In Matthew’s gospel, Joseph’s role takes center stage rather than Mary's. The divine messengers come to Joseph rather than Mary. Mary never speaks in Matthew’s Gospel. In Luke, Joseph doesn’t speak.
Matthew lifts Jesus’ role as completing Moses’ mission -- Jesus brings freedom and instruction – he will free/save people from their sin (1:21) and the “Sermon on the Mount” (Matthew 5:1).
The arrival of the Magi appears in the unit where Jesus’ family goes down to and comes up from Egypt. Like the earlier Joseph, this Joseph takes the family into Egypt to escape danger – the threat of famine in Genesis and political oppression in Matthew. Like the story of Moses, Joseph and his family come out of Egypt.
Matthew does not use the Lukan tradition of Joseph taking the family from Nazareth to Bethlehem. In Matthew Jesus is born in Bethlehem, and the Magi visit him in their house (1:11). In Matthew, Joseph takes the family to Nazareth because it is a safer place to live.
In our creche, we collapse Luke and Matthew and Luke. The Magi come to the stable. I understand why we put both Gospels together in one Christmas celebration.
But I don’t want to lose Matthew’s distinctive message. Jesus brings freedom and instructs us in the way God hopes we will live. Sometimes for the Brethren, freedom from personal tyranny along with the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes constitutes the heart of the Gospel.
So, what is the Epiphany celebration? It celebrates the appearance of the Gentile Magi, bringing the Christian faith into the whole world. Epiphany celebrates the appearance of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. AND Epiphany celebrates the appearance of the Scholars at the home of the New Moses.
All those epiphanies are worth celebrating. Maybe we ought to stretch our Epiphany celebration all the way from January 6th to the 19th. – Probably not!