Please Meet The Kings!

Epiphany


Matthew 2:1-6

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising,and have come to pay him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”

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I have lots of friends that I can ding at anytime
Can mobilize some laughs with just one call
Like a bunch of lunatics we'll act 'til way past dawn
Sure we'll be rockin' 'til our strength is gone

Yeah, this beat goes on
And on, and on, and on

"This Beat Goes On/Switchin' To Glide" by The Kings from "The Kings Are Here" by David Diamond and Mister Zero

Where do we get "We Three Kings" from a tradition of "Wise Men?" It's obviously something lost between tradition and translation. It's important to someone somewhere but as for me not so much.  The history of the Wise Men is vast and mysterious. Scripture seemingly has them travelling together. Historians have them coming from different parts of the world. Again, this may be one of those times where the truth of the tale is deeper than the facts of the story. Leave this one to Matthew, not a textbook author.

At any rate, as the album title says, as the Holy Family must have heard upon their arrival, "Please meet the Kings!"

The arrival of the Kings, or Wise Men, or Magi is celebrated as the Feast of the Epiphany. Generally, an epiphany is a great realization. In this case, what we celebrate is the great realization of the birth of Jesus to the Gentiles. The Jews were told by the angels, the rest of the world was told by the word of the Kings. From these three Kings, from these Wise Men, the rest of the world began to get the first inklings that God is with us, Emmanuel.

As with the song, I am glad these Kings had friends they can "ding" at any time. They might have been thought of as lunatics. They found were told they would find God Incarnate in Jerusalem, and this beat goes on. They returned to their homes. They told many. Their words were all that was known about the Child who would be King until the time of the Acts of the Apostles. From the Apostles came others. From those others come us.  Let us rock until our strength is gone... This beat goes on!