Today marks the traditional date for the celebration of the Feast of Epiphany. This feast celebrates three significant events in the life of Christ. First, and most notably, we remember the visit of the Three Magi bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the Child Jesus. Aside from this, we also celebrate Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist as well as His first public miracle during the Wedding at Cana. All three of these important events in the life of Our Lord can teach us about the importance of the body.
The Three Magi of the East came to pay homage to the King of Kings by bringing him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Each of these physical gifts represented a spiritual reality. Gold symbolized Jesus’ kingship, Frankincense represented His priestly authority, and Myrrh foretold that He would die as a prophet. This story reminds us that the physical world contains images that reveal spiritual realities. Our human bodies reveal the spiritual reality of our personhood – that the body reveals the whole person. At the Incarnation, the divine Word of God took physical flesh to save us from our sins.
At His baptism, Jesus opened the way to Heaven. Having no sins, Jesus did not need the cleansing power of baptism, but instead cleansed the water for us through His act, allowing us to receive the gift of the sacrament. Pope Benedict XVI notes in his book Jesus of Nazareth, “The baptism is an acceptance of death for the sins of humanity, and the voice that calls out ‘This is my beloved Son’ over the baptismal waters is an anticipatory reference to the Resurrection.” Jesus accepted His bodily death and foretold of His bodily resurrection through this public act of baptism. In doing so, He offers us a path to follow Him into eternal life.
The Adoration of the Magi by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
Finally, the Wedding at Cana reminds us of the special bond between mother and child. Mary plays a significant role in the Gospel because she gave birth to the God-man, Jesus Christ. As we discussed last week, Mary’s title as the “Mother of God” acknowledges her bodily connection to Jesus. She didn’t just give birth to an idea; she gave birth to a person! As such, she has a special role in Jesus’ life, just as our mothers have a special role in our life, and the Wedding reminds us of this role.
This Epiphany, reflect on all the different ways God reminds us that the Body Matters.
The Wedding at Cana by Frans Francken the Younger
Chris Tarantino is the Communications Director for TOBET. He studied History at The University at Texas A&M and has written for the Tennessee Register and Nashville Catholic.
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