Epiphany, a Reflection on Matthew 2:1-12

Epiphany--catching on, getting it (finally or suddenly or both). The wise men in Matthew's gospel, whom we have become accustomed to calling the magi, got that the king of the Jews had just been born in Jerusalem. Remember, they were foreigners. The sitting king, Herod, had not himself been aware that there was a  competitor for kingship. The news scared him. He told these travelers that as soon as they located the child to let him know. However, they didn't do what Herod had told them.

Epiphany--the foreigners knew who the king was.

Epiphany--the sitting king knew his status was endangered.

As we read Matthew's story about the wise men's epiphany, we are prompted to think about our own. When did you catch on to who Jesus was? the place he had in your life and decisions? the place he ought to have? Are you comforted by the acceptance of Christ as king or, like Herod, discomfited?

T. S. Eliot wrote the poem  The Journey of the Magi about his own journey toward faith.

Lectio Divina: Matthew 2:11-12