Advent, Christmas and Epiphany

The first season of the Church’s Year is Advent which means ‘Coming’, for in Advent we remember how the world prepared for the coming of Jesus.  That is why immediately after Advent there comes the Birthday of Jesus, or Christmas Day as we generally call it.

The name of Jesus’ Mother was Mary and his Guardian, for he had no human father, was called Joseph.  After Jesus was born in Bethlehem he had some visitors.  The first were the shepherds, and a little later the Wise Men, bringing their presents of gold, frankincense and myrrh, came from a far off country to worship him.  By gold they meant that he was a King, and by their frankincense they showed that he was God.  The myrrh was a sign of his future suffering.

We remember this visit on the Feast of the Epiphany.  Epiphany means a ‘making known’ for on that day Jesus made himself known as God and King to the Wise Men.  The Wise Men were Gentiles, which means they were not Jews.  So the fact that Jesus made himself known to them, shows that he is for people of all races.

You’ll remember that King Herod the Great planned to kill the Baby Jesus but Joseph, who was warned by God in a dream, took the young Child and Mary away by night and went to Egypt.  There they stayed until Herod died and then they returned to their home in Nazareth, where Jesus was brought up.