Some common images of Epiphany are of the three wise men, the magi, the three kings following a star in the sky and after following this star they come upon Bethlehem and kneel before a manger as they present their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the new born king. Tradition calls them Balthazar, Caspar and Melchior.
What must it have been like to have these foreigners show up at the house? What is most amazing in Matthew’s account of the birth of Jesus is that it was the strangers who recognize who he was and paid him homage, not his own people like the chief priest and elders who studied the Scriptures. For all the wondrous manifestation of his birth, many people simply missed the meaning. How about us? Is Christ truly made known in our lives?
