By John Fencik

Although for the secular world, the celebration of Christmas ends on Dec. 26 as stores begin stocking cards for Valentine’s Day, the Church continues to celebrate the coming of Christ with the solemnities of the Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord.

The Epiphany (meaning “manifestation” or “appearance”) narrates the story of the visit of the Magi to the child Jesus–a story found only in the Gospel of Matthew. He wrote to a predominantly Christian Jewish community that struggled with its identity following destruction of the Temple (A.D. 70) and expulsion from the synagogues (A.D. 85). The community sought to better understand its mission as it coped with an ever-growing church of Christian gentiles. Matthew instilled pride in Jewish heritage and acceptance of Jesus as the Promised One of the Hebrew Scriptures. He also encouraged people to see a wider mission to the gentile world, as prefigured in the Magi (gentiles), who were the first to recognize and worship the Child as the newborn King of the Jews–for Jesus is truly the light of all peoples as reflected in the prophet Isaiah: “Nations shall come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising.”

By the early third century, the Epiphany–a feast more ancient than Christmas–already was celebrated in the eastern part of the Church and was the original celebration of the birth of Jesus. Celebrated on the same day were the Magi’s visit, his baptism in the Jordan by John and his first miracle at the wedding feast of Cana. In fact, the baptism scene was the central part of the celebration.

It is here that one sees the revelation or manifestation of Jesus both in the descent of the Spirit upon him and the voice from the Father proclaiming him God’s Son. It was truly the “epiphany” of the Lord. It is why the Epiphany was a solemn time for blessing water and for celebration of baptism. The feast also had the name the Feast of Illumination or Feast of Light, indicating the newly baptized had come to embrace the light (star?) of Christ. (Hence Advent was seen as a time of solemn preparation for the catechumens as Lent was leading up to the Easter Vigil.)

The development of the feast in the Western Church concentrated on only one event, namely the visit of the Magi. One reads this in the writings of St. Augustine and in the eight Epiphany sermons of St. Leo the Great. Although the other events disappeared, some remnant of the “baptismal” theme remained when in some Western churches the names of the catechumens (to be baptized at Easter) were enrolled on this feast. (St. Ambrose)

What is most interesting is that in the present Liturgy of the Hours for morning prayer (lauds) and evening prayer (vespers) for the Epiphany, the three events still are commemorated:

Benedictus Antiphon: Today the bridegroom claims his bride, the Church, since Christ has washed her sins away in Jordan’s waters; the Magi hasten with their gifts to the royal wedding; and the wedding guests rejoice, for Christ has changed water into wine.

M a g n i f i c a t Antiphon: Three mysteries mark this holy day. Today the star leads the Magi to the infant Christ; today water is changed into wine for the wedding feast; today Christ wills to be baptized by John in the river Jordan to bring us salvation.

Thus in celebrating the visit of the Magi, we are reminded of the beauty of our own having been enlightened by Christ in baptism and our acceptance of the challenge to be led each day by Jesus, the morning star (Rev. 22.16) and the light of his Gospel. In Epiphany Sermon 3, St. Leo preached: “The obedience of the star calls us to imitate its humble service: to be servants, as best we can, of the grace that invites all people find Christ. Dear friends, you must have the same zeal to be of help to one another; then, in the kingdom of God, to which faith and good works are the way, you will shine as children of the light.”


John Fencik, diocesan director of Catholic Formation Services, may be reached at jfencik@diocesehelena.org.


Published in The Montana Catholic Online, Volume 26, No. 12, December 17, 2010.