The Epiphany

The Bible passage assigned to this week is the story of the visit of the Magi to the new-born baby, as recorded in Matthew chapter 2.  What is the main point of this story?  Is it about a star?  Astronomers have thought deeply about what the ‘star’ might have been.  We know that Halley’s comet appeared in 12-11 BC or, it could have been some kind of supernova.  More likely is the fact that the planets Jupiter and Saturn were in conjunction with each other in 7BC.  However, perhaps none of this is the main point of Matthew re-telling this story.  What are the other possibilities?  Is it that Jesus, the true King of Israel, is juxtaposed with Herod, the autocratic and cruel king put in place by a pagan empire? Is it that the Magi, who were Gentiles, were the first to respond by giving gifts and realising Jesus’ kingship?  The answer is possibly all three but something else as well.  Perhaps the greatest purpose of Matthew re-telling this story is to encourage each of us simply to come to Jesus as the real king – no matter what our background, no matter where we have come from.  To come to Jesus, at this time, with the best gifts we can possibly bring.