So here we are, several weeks after Christmas Day with no crossword puzzle. Many Christians are celebrating Epiphany and singing hymns such as "We Three Kings of Orient Are. . ." Some Christians celebrate "Three Kings Day." As much as I tried to construct a clever, but serious crossword puzzle about this holiday, however, I did not find any way to create a good puzzle.
So . . . allow me to chat a bit about the holiday instead.
Back around 1000 B.C. (or BCE) King David ruled over a mighty and expansive kingdom. His son Solomon built an amazing temple in Jerusalem and hosted leaders from other countries who had heard about Israel. That's all well and good, but later empires to the east invaded Israel and took thousands of Jews to Babylon as captives (c. 597-538 BC). Later, the Roman Empire occupied Israel (starting c. 63 BC). At the time Jesus was born, Jews were still under Caesar's empire.
When Jesus was born Mary and Joseph were registering for the mandated census in Bethlehem because that was Joseph's ancestral area. You know the rest of the story, I think. A humble beginning with a few shepherds coming to worship the child whom the angels told them about.
Skip forward a while, perhaps months or even a year later, and some "wise men" came to Israel looking for a child they considered to be a future king of the Jews. That's the idea behind the celebration of Epiphany and Three Kings Day. The people we call the Magi had been guided by some celestial sign that led them from perhaps Persia or Babylon westward to Israel and eventually to Bethlehem. And, despite the rigors of their long travels they successfully met the young Jesus and worshipped him. The three gifts mentioned in the New Testament are thought to reflect three roles that Jesus would have. The gold was a typical gift to a king, frankincense indicated Jesus' future role as a priest (representing the people to God), and myrrh symbolized that Jesus would be the sacrifice that would be realized at his crucifixion.
The message of Epiphany is that Jesus was not merely "The King of the Jews," but also the one who would be the Savior for all people. The "wise men" understood this and today we, too, should remember that "Wise men still seek him."
May you and your family enjoy a wonderful Epiphany this year and for years to come.
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