Today is The Epiphany: a Good Day for reflection on the Coming Year (as the excesses of New Year's are past)

The Epiphany (not to be confused with the Epiphany of Saul/Paul on the road to Damascus) is the day the Three (actual number not specified in New Testament) Magi/Kings/Wise Men (their day-jobs are not clearly specified) may/may not have arrived about two weeks (although in the Eastern Church they’d still be enroute) after Our Savior (on not) was born to, as the song has it, "adore Him" and give Him (after the brief, initial confusion with Brian’s Birth) some stuff.

The birth (or not) of Jesus of Nazareth the Messiah (or not) is a wonderful, heartwarming and inspiring Gospel (lit: “Good News”) tale.

As The Epiphany is Twelfth Night (counting from December 25th or 26th depending upon one’s specific Christianity) and thus marks the end of Christmastide it is a good time to re-read what the Gospels have to say of (as another song, written by two Jewish men, puts it) this “Most wonderful time of the year".

Let us first turn to The Nativity as related in the Gospels of Saint Mark and of Saint John. Oh. My. Humm, could have *sworn* (if had not been raised Christian, and thus prohibited by Jesus from swearing: Matthew 5:33??37, James 5:12) that they had something to say about this important event. Sigh, must just getting old and forgetful.

Well, so let’s now look at how Saint Matthew (arguably the first to set down a written Gospel) described this event (Matthew Chapters 1-2). We’ll leave aside the Genealogy, The Annunciation and Saint Joseph’s worries about paternity, to start with the actual birth.

He reports(2:1) that “…Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east… Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him”; and that

(2:11) “when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh”; then

(2:13-14) “…when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:”

To recap Saint Matthew: Jesus was born in a house in Bethlehem (where the Joseph and Mary apparently lived) and, where some time later they were visited by wise men bearing gifts. Soon thereafter (possibly the same night) the family was advised by an Angel to flee else Herod would kill the newborn. Presumably they took the inconceivably valuable presents with them.

Saint Luke, thought by many to be writing at least a decade later, recounts (Luke 2:1-20) The Nativity, in some ways more familiarly, but in others quite differently. Just different perspectives of the same event I guess.

(2:1-11) “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world...And everyone went to their own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem…to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord…said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you…’”

(15-21) “When the angels had left them the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened…’

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them…and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen…On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus...”

Saint Luke then moves ahead in time to the Presentation in the Temple (after Mary was no longer unclean), making no mention of any visitors from the East coming to the scene of The Nativity.

To summarize Saint Luke: The unmarried, pregnant Mary lived in Nazareth where her future husband Saint Joseph also lived. They made a trip to Bethlehem to comply with a Roman census. When they arrived, all guest rooms were full and Mary gave birth and put the infant in a manager (an animal food trough) . Shepherds heard of this birth from angels, and came to visit. Eight days later Christ was, in accord with The Law, circumcised.

In which town this occurred is not mentioned. Likely it was not in Egypt as the only immediate post-natal travel Luke mentions is to Jerusalem (2:22-34) where Jesus was presented to the Lord with this event being consecrated by killing either “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” So, it would seem by Luke's account, the only present Jesus actually got was a circumcision. Mary, however, did have the treasures of her heart which she had been granted.