They prostrated themselves and did him homage.

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Epiphany of our Lord. This is the day we commemorate the Lord’s appearance, manifestation, and shining forth to the entire human race —“ represented by the Magi, the Three Kings.

A shinning forth; we have all had that experience, that sudden realization, when something long struggled over becomes apparent.

Some refer to that as the moment the light is turned on, the ah-ha moment.

I would like you to place this imagine in your minds. Imagine a group of doctors working in a lab, attempting to develop a cure for a serious disease. They are doing their job. In an instant one of the doctors yells out, —There it is! I found it! It’s the cure!—

So I ask you, keeping those doctors in mind, when did the Magi have that ah-ha moment? When did they realize the totality and complexity of what they encountered? When did the light go on for them?

The Magi are well documented historical figures. The Greek historian Herodotus noted that of the six tribes or castes of the Medes, the Magi were a hereditary caste of priests. They were highly influential in Median society until the unification of the Median and Persian Empires in 550 B.C. The Magi continued to exist in unified Persia, and they became prominent once again between 226 and 650 A.D.

The Magi appear in the book of Jeremiah. The Prophet Daniel may have carried a title specific to the head of the Magi during the Babylonian captivity.

Now let’s think of those doctors once again. Like the doctors the Magi were sitting back home in Iran and they were doing their job. They were searching the world, nature, and the sky for a sign, for an indication of what was to come.

In an instant one or more call out, —There it is! It is the sign! Something great has occurred.—

So the Magi set out and followed the star.

Brothers and sisters,

As the Magi traveled I am sure they discussed the possibilities. What would they see? What would they find? They were trying to do their job. They were focused on figuring it all out. As to faith, they may not have had any. The encounter with Messiah, the King, was yet to come.

The Magi finally arrive —“ not really twelve days after Christ’s birth, probably substantially later. They arrive and see a humble house, a young girl, and a baby.

What happens next?

They prostrated themselves and did him homage.
Then they opened their treasures
and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

When they finally got there their eyes were opened. They had their Epiphany. They fell on their faces before the awesome power of God. They came to the realization that this humble child was sent to, as Mary proclaimed:

show mercy to them that fear him;
to scatter the proud in the conceit of their heart;
to put down the mighty from their seat;
to exalt the humble;
to fill the hungry with good things; and
to send the rich empty away.

My friends,

The Magi are like us and we are like them. They were no surer than you or I. They did not fall into a deep and abiding faith in God. Like us they had to take a long journey —“ and by that journey they reached Jesus, the Christ. When they reached Him they had their Epiphany, their ah-ha moment. The light was turned on. They saw.

Some of us are still trying to develop that kind of faith. We are not sure, but we are doing our job. Like the Magi we have set out to find the answer. Like the Magi, what is at the end of the journey is that ah-ha moment, that epiphany.

We will each meet God in our own time, and according to His grace. I urge you to hold to that confidence. I urge you to recognize that your journey will end in the experience Isaiah prophesied:

you shall be radiant at what you see,
your heart shall throb and overflow

Amen.