Happy Epiphany!

January 6th marks one of the lesser-known Christian holidays, Epiphany. It is the day to celebrate the visit of the three wise men to the baby Jesus. For what it's worth, the nativity scenes that have the shepherds, angels, and wise men in them are kind of condensing things. But no big deal.

The visit by the wise men to Jesus' birth, as told by Matthew signals a kind of stamp of approval from the ancient wisdom traditions. In the gospel of John, we don't get any stories about the birth of Jesus, just a meditation of what it means for the Word of God to be made into an incarnate human being. In both cases, Jesus is a symbol of the wisdom of God.

There's a story about an ancient Buddhist teacher who hears Jesus' core teachings in his Sermon on the Mount for the first time. "That's what I've been trying to say," is his response. Perhaps the wise men, too, on seeing Jesus, said "This is what we've been trying to say."