Advent 2023 | Christmas Monday: Epiphany

Advent | Christmas Day | Epiphany | Emmanuel | God with Us

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Advent Series 2023

December 3, 2023 | December 10, 2023 | December 17, 2023 | December 24, 2023 | December 25, 2023

Merry Christmas!

Is Advent Over?

Yes, the Advent season is coming to an end. However, our celebrating the reason for the season has just begun. The promised Messiah, the Savior of the world, has come (the first time)! What’s next? Many believers will celebrate His life on Earth by following the Liturgical Church Calendar, reading through the Old Testament, the four Gospels, and the apostolic letters (epistles).

Plus, Epiphany is next.

What’s Epiphany?

Epiphany is the next “mile marker” in the earthly life of Jesus Christ, His birth being the first marker on the Liturgical Calendar. When I was growing up, my church mentioned Epiphany, but we didn’t celebrate it or acknowledge it much as a congregation. It wasn’t until my university years that I personally encountered Epiphany as more important to some cultures than the overly-hyped Santa Claus in the United States.

I majored in Spanish, and was accepted into a study abroad program in my junior year. I chose Madrid, Spain, and when December rolled around, Santa was nowhere to be seen in the city. Instead, the major shopping mall downtown, “El Corte Inglés” (The English Cut), was elaborately decorated with lights, posters, and in-store displays promoting the arrival of “los reyes magos” (the magi kings) for the little kids to visit and have their pictures taken with the kings.

When the annual Christmas parade filled the streets of Madrid, the float carrying the magi and their camels (!!) was the largest float in the procession, and the children went wild with excitement.

I asked my small-group Bible study friends, who were Spaniards, about Epiphany and they filled me in from their previous experience as Roman Catholics.

Epiphany is celebrated in many churches on January 6th to commemorate the magi’s visit to the Christ Child, as we read in Matthew’s gospel:

Matthew 2:1-2 (ESV)
1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

Why Care About Epiphany?

My time in Spain jump-started my interest to learn more not only about celebrating Epiphany but also to discover more about the magi, those wise men who had studied ancient scriptures, and then traveled a long way to see the one born king of the Jews so they could worship him. Why would astronomers from nations east of Judea (present-day Israel) be interested in this king? And why do my husband and I celebrate Epiphany by keeping our crêche (nativity scene) up through January 6th and by continuing to stream sacred hymns in our home?

I care about Epiphany because of the vast effort very wise men invested in to find one, unique divine being even though their cultures worshiped a pantheon of gods. In the ancient world, wise scholars, especially astronomers (or astrologers), studied, searched for, and sought one special king that ancient writings foretold would come (be born) and save humanity. The wise men studied the Hebrew scriptures as well as others, and they studied the stars and the planets for a sign of the king’s coming.

I’m sharing an article with you that demonstrates, using astronomy software and archaeological discoveries, how one group of ancient wise men may have found that one unique, savior king, Jesus. These ancient wise men could have been revered priests, holy men, for King Antiochus I, and served at the temple he had built at Nemrut Dag in present-day Turkey (Anatolia). It’s a long article and it goes into much technical detail, so hang in there as you read it. I do recommend you read it; set aside about 30 minutes.

On Christmas Eve 2022, I posted this tweet to my Twitter account:

Read: A Curious Astrological Confluence, by The Ethical Skeptic

I’ve never studied astronomy, and I slogged through the first two-thirds of this technical article by “The Ethical Skeptic”. When I neared the end of the article, however, the author provides some questions to consider, and I “got it”.

Gaudete! My heart swelled with joy!

So did the hearts of the magi who followed a star to find the unique savior king:

Matthew 2:9-12 (ESV)
9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

Advent Is Not Over

I praise God Almighty for the testimony of the ancient magi, the wise astrologers from eastern pagan nations, and their dedicated efforts over many years to search for and find that one, unique and divine king, savior of humanity, Yeshua our Messiah.

And, that’s why we observe Epiphany, and why Advent isn’t over yet for our household. We’ll keep our crêche displayed and the seasonal music playing through January 6th. Join us by extending your celebrations during the season of Epiphany.

Are You a New Believer?

For those of you who first believed in Jesus in 2023, welcome to the family! We rejoice with you. Let His joy sustain you every day as you grow in knowledge by studying His word and spending time with fellow believers.

Are You a Not-Yet Believer?

For those of you, dear readers, who have yet to receive Him, are you ready? Have you been searching, like the ancient wise men from the east, for the One who alone can give you the peace and the love you seek?

To help you in your search for truth, for meaning, I invite you to read my Meditations on a Book series on the book “What Does God Want?”.

Know this truth: Jesus fulfilled His first coming, His birth, and He will come again as the mighty King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, to establish His kingdom on the new Earth. I invite you to join us in this future celebration, this second Advent, by receiving Jesus, the Son of God:

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I fell in love with this post on Twitter by @joshcarlosjosh because I love the “Lord of the Rings” (LOTR) trilogy as well as “The Hobbit” by J. R. R. Tolkein. (And, I enjoy second breakfast daily.)

What I liked most about his post is that it reflects the joy of Christ’s first coming, and Advent’s hope and anticipation of His second coming.

Maranatha, come (again), Lord Jesus.

Soli Deo Gloria!

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