January 7th
Feast of the Epiphany

Mt. 2/1-12

Background

During the early years of Christianity, the Greeks celebrated the incarnation as a festival of the "manifestation" (epiphanos)of God in Jesus on January 6 while the western Church celebrated it as the feast of Jesus's birth on December 25. Eventually the two feasts became combined. In the west the time between them became "Twelfth Night" as in the "Twelve Days of Christmas." This lovely custom has been eroded by our modern practice of starting the Christmas celebration at Thanksgiving or more recently at November 1. The liturgists, never too swift, destroyed the custom altogether (as well as violating more than a millennium of history) by making "Little Christmas" a wild card always to be celebrated on a Sunday. They also eliminated the three "manifestations" of Jesus - to the kings, at his baptism in the Jordan, and at the marriage feast of Cana. All that remains is the Festival of the Kings, twelve if we are to accept the Greek version (are there not twelve tribes of Israel and twelve apostles?). The "kings" who were more likely astrologers tell us a story of Jesus coming for all humankind, a story with richer and deeper implications today than at the time of the Gospels.

STORY

Once upon a time there lived in Bethlehem a woman named Babushka. She kept the cleanest and neatest house in town and was also the best cook. She heard rumors of three kings coming across the desert but paid no attention to them because she had so much work to do. Then she heard the sounds of drums and pipes and a cavalcade of riders. She looked out the window and there were three richly dressed kings coming towards her house. They told her that they had come to honor the little prince who had been born in Bethlehem and they needed food and lodging. Babushka cooked a wonderful meal for them, remade all the beds, and wore herself out. The next morning the kings begged her to come with them so she too might see the little prince. Babushka said she would follow after them as soon as she finished the dishes. She cleaned the house again and then took out of a cabinet the toys of her own little prince who had died so long ago. She had no more need of them and would give them to the new little prince. She put them in a basket and sat down for a moment's rest before she followed the wise men. Hours later she woke up, grabbed the basket, and rushed into town. But the kings were gone and so was the little prince and his parents. Ever after, it is said, Babushka has followed after them. Whenever she finds a new born babe, she looks to see if he is the little prince. Even if he (or in our days she too) is not, Babushka leaves a toy for the child. I think she probably found the prince early on, but we still should learn from her lesson: we should never let the important interfere with the essential.

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