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"On the Twelfth Day of Christmas, my true love
gave to me . . . Twelve Drummers Drumming."

By The Rev. Grant S. Carey
Presented at the Forum, January 8, 2006
Trinity Cathedral, Sacramento, California

Now what that has to do with the feast of the Epiphany I have no idea, but there is a tradition that says that the song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" is actually subversive, that it was "Catholic Coded" when, during the Puritan times, the Anglican and most especially, the Roman Catholic religion was banned in England.

Be that as it may, the Twelfth Day of Christmas is very important in the scheme of our Anglican tradition because it marks the beginning of the Feast of the Epiphany.

Isn't it grand that we have so many interesting words that define the various seasons of the Church's year? We know what they imply, but a lot of folks don't fully understand what the words really mean.

We understand the teaching behind them: Advent is a time of preparation for Christmas. Lent - - a time for reflection and penitence: - - Easter - - celebrates the Resurrection. But the actual meaning of these words is not really clear.

Advent implies "coming." Lent is an old English word meaning "springtime" and has nothing to do with penitence and fasting. Easter recalls the name of an Anglo-Saxon goddess of springtime. Pentecost comes from the number "fifty". And then there is Epiphany. Epiphany is a Greek word, which can be translated as "making known", revealing. Once we crack the code, all of these words all make sense.

Epiphany as a celebration in the Christian calendar is centuries older than the celebration of Christmas. It became popular in the Mediterranean world sometime between the Second and Third Century. Celebrating Christmas came much later, becoming popular in the north of Europe where the nights were long, the weather cold, and the winter solstice signaled that days were getting longer and things were going to improve.

Long before Christianity appeared, there had been celebrations of Yule tide, merriment and feasting - - when cottages and castles were adorned with holly, mistletoe, and branches of fir.

As we noted, the word Epiphany means to make known or manifest - - something that has been hidden is now revealed. We also use this word in literature when there is a sudden turn of events that causes the reader to experience an "ah-hah" moment: "Now I see it!"

Central to Epiphany is the story of the Magi - - whom we incorrectly refer to as the Three Kings.

The idea of kings comes from passages in the Old Testament that speak of the visit of kings from afar (Ps 48) "Behold the kings of the earth assembled and marched forward together; they looked and were astounded; they retreated and fled in terror." Some considered this a prophesy of kings coming to worship Jesus, who, when King Herod sought them out, fled Judea by another way."

The Magi, however, is a different matter. Magi were from Persia. In the First Century they were well known and respected as astrologers who studied the heavens for signs and portents. It is entirely plausible that there were indeed "seers" from the East who followed the Great Star to discover what this sign meant, and found Jesus, worshiped him, and thus became the first gentiles to accept Jesus' divinity.

It is in this story that we are led to understand the meaning of Epiphany: "to manifest and make known."

All of the Sunday Gospels during the season of Epiphany relate in some way to Jesus' having been made known as God's Son, the Messiah.

Next to the story of the Magi or "wise men," Jesus' first miracle at the wedding in Cana is probably the best known "epiphany." Then, Jesus' baptism by John, his temptation in the wilderness, and other stories that provide the hearer with an "ah-hah" (epiphany) experience.

The coming of the Three Kings or Magi to Jesus and their giving gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh is the basis for gift giving during this season of the year.

I believe that the giving of these precious gifts was seen as fulfilling a prophesy found in Isaiah 60:6 ."A multitude of camels will cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephahtah; and those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord. . Foreigner shall build upon your walls and their kings shall minister to you."

We need to recall that the first Christians were mostly devout Jews who knew their scripture and were convinced that everything regarding Jesus was predicted in the Bible. This helps us to understand how the idea of three kings developed - - which in no sense negates the story of the Magi which we cherish and dramatize in our Epiphany pageant.

While we are on the subject of the Magi or the Three Kings - - their story is central to the celebration of Christmas that takes place in Latin America and other places that have been strongly influenced by the Mediterranean world. This was made clear to me when I was living in Puerto Rico in the 60's and served as the headmaster of our Episcopal boys school there.

During advent, children came from door to door singing special songs that told of Mary and Joseph seeking a place to stay in Bethlehem and finding that there was no room at the inn! After they finished singing, the custom was to provide them hospitality before they went on their way.

In Latin America, the celebration of Christmas is centered on Midnight Mass. I recall that everything was relatively quiet until Midnight .and then fireworks lit up the sky.

For twelve days- - during the Twelve Days of Christmas, life seems to revolve around one party after another. As far as getting much work done - - forget it!

Then - - On January 6th, the Three Kings came . early in the morning - - not on camels, but on horseback - - riding through the countryside and leaving gifts for the children who had put straw under their beds for the horses (not camels) to eat.

I want to tell you why this day holds a special place for me, personally; it is because of something that happened a long time ago when I lived in Puerto Rico.

At that time, in the 1960's, Santa Claus was a stranger to the tropics. January 6th was the big day, and I presume it still is even though Christmas trees and reindeer are now accepted by all but the most traditional Puertoriquenos.

For both children and adults, January 6 marked the culmination of the Twelve Days of fiesta, which began, with Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. On January 5th, the Eve of the Epiphany, the children put straw beneath their beds. Then, very early the next morning on "El Dia de los Tres Reyes", ("The Day of the Three Kings") - - long before the children were awake, the Three Kings come riding through the countryside on horseback, through the villages and cities, and visit each home where the horses ate the straw, and the kings left a gift in its place.

I will always remember my last Three Kings Day in Puerto Rico was 1968. I had gone to Ponce, which is the second largest city on the island. It was there that the Sisters of the Transfiguration had established St. Michael's House where they worked among the very poor, reaching out especially to children, many of whom were abandoned and forsaken.

What I recall most vividly is being asked to help distribute gifts of clothing and toys that had been appropriately chosen for each child and painstakingly wrapped by the sisters. I was dressed up as one of the three kings - - a paper crown and a bedspread for a cloak. I shall never forget the moment we stepped into courtyard where the festivities were to take place: one small boy cried out at the top of his voice: "Ya estamos salvado". ("Now we are saved!") And in a real sense, he was correct. Christ had come into his little world.

What his gift was I do not recall, but what it represented was the fact that in his shabby, poverty-filled life, someone cared enough to remember him by name, to say in essence, "You are loved. You are important."

On that day the Sisters were the real "wise men" ... or better said, "wise women", because of the gifts of love they brought to the abandoned children of Ponce. Those gifts, carefully chosen for each child, were more than clothes and toys. They were little epiphanies, little manifestations of God's love expressed through those who cared.

When I put on my paper crown and tattered bed-spread cape and went with the other two kings into the Sisters' courtyard, bearing gifts wrapped with recycled paper, and heard the little voice cry out, "Ya estamos salvado", I knew that God cared, and that God's love was manifested through us who were his messengers and gift bearers,... and that for one brief moment, one of His little ones had experienced the light of the Star of Bethlehem.

The season of Epiphany lasts from four to nine weeks depending on the date of Easter, and concludes on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. The Last Sunday of the season is devoted to the Transfiguration of Jesus. What it tells is one of the most significant revelations of Jesus' divinity found in the New Testament.

For the three witnesses to this event: Peter, James, and John, the Transfiguration proved a pivotal point in their relationship with Jesus and with one another.

It was following this event when Jesus and his three companions returned from their mountain-top experience to the plane below, Jesus asked: "Who do people say that I am?" . And Peter was first to declare that Jesus was the Messiah - - the chosen One - - truly the Son of God.

With this as its high point, the season of Epiphany comes to an end and we begin Lent as our preparation for Easter.

We should note that the first half of the Christian year, beginning with Advent and concluding the Pentecost, deals with the birth death resurrection and ascension of Jesus. In other words, the story of Jesus life on earth - - and beyond - -is both told and experienced.

The second half of the year focuses on the teaching of Jesus and the Apostles. This cycle begins, in our tradition, with Trinity Sunday and concludes on the Sunday before Advent, celebrated as "The Feast of Christ the King."

There is a design and a purpose for the Christian year. It has served the Church well for many centuries. Someone compared it to a symphony of grand design into which one may enter spiritually.

With this image in mind, may we seek to enter into the different movements and moods of this greatest of all symphonies . . . not only listening but also playing our part, finding both inspiration and refreshment.