The Epiphany

Here's a round-up of some posts about the Feast of the Epiphany that I think are worth reading .

In Strangers Bearing Gifts Nancy Rockwell has some interesting reflections on the practicality rather than symbolic nature of the gifts given by the magi to the Christ-child:

"What better than gold for buying safe passage out of Jerusalem, when so many boy babies are being killed?  What better than medicinal and funereal herbs, to be exchanged for food at a market on the way to Egypt, or for housing in Egypt, or for clothing to make them more able to blend into the surroundings in which, for two years, they will be refugees?  And when, after the death of Herod, they return to Galilee, a stored coin or two could make that journey possible."

In Is Epiphany Plausible? Ian Paul does some critical reflecting on what critical scholarship has to say about Matthew's nativity account.

In Epiphany Evensong at Coventry Kathryn posts a sermon in which she says that epiphanies change everything:

"It’s that instant of “Aha!” when you can say with confidence that this experience is nothing less than a real live encounter with God – and after that nothing will ever look the same again."

In Sonnet for Epiphany you can both hear Malcolm Guite read his sonnet and read the words on his blog. Here's how the sonnet ends

"They did not know his name but still they sought him,

They came from otherwhere but still they found;

In temples they found those who sold and bought him,

But in the filthy stable, hallowed ground.

Their courage gives our questing hearts a voice

To seek, to find, to worship, to rejoice."

Finally, you can find links to my previous posts about Epiphany on the Epiphany page here.

Image Credit: Wikipedia, CC License