I was rather surprised to see on TV recently a children's nativity
play in which the 'Kings' offered not gold, frankincense and myrrh but
instead brought to the infant Christ an i-phone, an X Box One, and a
Play Station 4.At first I was shocked that in this particular nativity
play these gadgets had 'replaced' the three gifts the Magi actually
brought. But then I remembered that for most of our young people these
gadgets are 'must have' items which are really central to their
Iives.To see these things offered as gifts to the Lord would make much
more impact on them than gold, frankincense and myrrh. If it helps
children to understand something of the meaning of the Epiphany then
maybe its worth 'adapting' the story in this way.
The Feast of the Epiphany may not have the kudos and excitement of
Christmas but it is nevertheless an important day in its own right.
'Epiphany' means 'a showing forth' or 'a manifestation'. So at the
Epiphany we are celebrating the showing forth of Christ as the Word
made Flesh. The story of the visit of the Magi is indeed a beautiful
moment in which he was showing forth.
The significance of the visit of the Magi (whoever these mysterious
figures actually were) is firstly that Christ is revealed to the world
outside Israel - to the Gentiles.These men (we assume there were three
because they offered three gifts, but there might have been more of
them!) also represent the wisdom of our world, and if you think of them
as 'Kings' the political power of our world. All this is brought
to the feet of Christ and offered to him. Of course each of the three
gifts have their own particular meaning - but together they represent
the offering to Christ of the things which mean the most to human
beings (hence the relevance of i-phones etc.).
We normally keep this great feast day on the nearest Sunday to the
traditional date of 6th January so giving everyone the opportunity to
celebrate it. What better way to start a New Year than with this Feast
in which we celebrate Our Lord's showing forth to the world and are
challenged to offer him not three gifts but ourselves.
