Though the event of Christmas Day has come and gone, the Catholic Church continues to celebrate the Christmas season through the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which this year is Sunday, 13 January 2013.
But this weekend is probably one of my favorite feasts: The Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. Not only is it "little Christmas", but this weekend's celebration truly helps us remember who this baby Jesus is . . . Who He TRULY is. I've probably mentioned how "We Three Kings" is one of my favorite Christmas tunes, if not one of my all-time favorite songs, but people have the tendency to not really think about the words that they're singing in this song.
If we think about the three gifts, we are thinking about Who He Is. The gold reminds us that this little baby is the King . . . not just of the Jews, but of everyone and everywhere! This is why when He is before Pilate, Jesus can say that His Kingdom is not of this world, because it's not. Though it's begun in this world, its fulfillment is in the world to come.
The frankincense given is presented to God. Not just "a god", but THE GOD of all creation. The smoke and smell given off when this frankincense is burned reminds us of what we offer to the Lord, which is, namely, our entire being. It's important for us to not simply offer just words to the Lord, but through the entirety of our being - engaging all the senses - do we begin to offer the Lord the totality of who we are.
The myrrh reminds us that Jesus had to come to Earth to die. People don't like to really think of this fact at Christmas. We want all the "happy" and "pretty" things. We, as a society, don't like to think at this joyous time of the year of the "why" of Jesus' Incarnation - that He came to be among us, to die like one of us, so that we may eventually (God willing) live like Him.
And that's only the celebration for this weekend! Next weekend, we close out the Christmas season with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (as mentioned above). So don't put your trees and lights away just yet! Keep them up, burning brightly! Keep playing that Christmas music! (I am, right now!) Don't be like our society and limit the ecstasy of Christmas to one day . . . Keep the season going until its proper end, and then continue to celebrate throughout the year!
Enjoy the journey . . .
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