Epiphany as the Other Christmas
Read the Whole Article at Epiphany as the Other Christmas (1517.org)
https://www.1517.org/articles/epiphany-as-the-other-christmas
Epiphany is an extension of Christmas, a sort of Christmas 2.0. It’s conspicuous place following the nativity narrative in Matthew’s Gospel presents it as the “other Christmas,” the “Christmas of the Gentiles.” At the first Christmas we find a swaddled baby in a manger visited by shepherds from the fields summoned by angels. In the “other Christmas” we find a toddler at his mother’s feet in a house visited by “Magi,” wise men from the East guided by a star. The first Christmas was announced to Israel, the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham; the second Christmas was for the world, the nations, the Gentiles, the fulfillment of God’s promise to Adam.
“Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising,” God said through Isaiah (Isaiah 60:3).
The Greek word “epiphany” means “appearing,” and in ancient times it was used usually about the appearing of a god or a great king. Lutheran theologian Charles Cortright notes that some kings thought they were gods. For example, Antiochus IV, an ancient Syrian king, took the name “Epiphanes” after he defeated the Egyptians to placard his divine prowess. But his mortality was soon exposed as the Maccabean Revolt in Jerusalem evidenced his all-too-human vulnerabilities. Notwithstanding, there were divinely-inspired biblical prophesies and imaginative pagan mythologies that set expectations for a miraculous appearing of a God-king.
The Magi had come from the east to Jerusalem guided…………………….