Posted on 01/06/2023 9:17:31 PM PST by thecodont
The holiday is celebrated 12 days after Christmas to mark when the wise men brought gifts to baby Jesus. CBS2's Kristie Keleshian reports.
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Today is Epiphany, when we celebrate the visit of the wise men from the East who bore precious gifts to the Christ Child.
Matthew 2:1 New King James Version
Wise Men from the East
2 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, [a]wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
6
‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”
7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the [b]wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”
9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%202%3A1-11&version=NKJV
The Three Kings are the patron saints of our town’s main church here in the Philippines, so we had a huge parade and lots of family gathering.
Lovely tradition! Happy they could resume it this year.
Most of the secularists and even many Christians ignorant of the church calendar take down their trees and lights on New Year’s Day, or the day after. We usually leave ours up until Epiphany, Jan. 6th or thereabouts. Also covers our Eastern Orthodox friends’ Christmas celebration!
The “three kings” couldn’t possibly have reached Jesus for about two years, considering the length of their journey.
When they finally saw Him, it was the “child” at a “house”.
Nobody knows if there were three. There were at least two, because they’re referred to in the plural. There could’ve been 200.
They’ve been given names, but they’re made up, i.e., not in Scripture.
But the parade sounds fun.
Or...as our preacher called them during the Christmas Eve service..."Wise Ones". Gag.
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