Sunday Lectionary: Home by another way…
For western Christians, today is the “Feast of The Epiphany” where we commemorate the visitation of the Magi:
“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’
When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him…
… On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route” – Matthew 2:1-12
Since the earliest times the appearance of the Magi has been interpreted by Christians as speaking of the universal nature of the God’s Kingdom and a foreshadowing of the incorporation of the gentiles into the promises of Israel.