Why Do We Celebrate the Epiphany of our Lord?

The Epiphany of our Lord is a nearly forgotten festival in the church year. Epiphany is not only a day; it is a season that bridges Christmas and Lent. Before we hear what Christ came to do for us, we hear who He is. It is also the oldest festival and season of the church. The Festival of the Epiphany centers in the visit of the Magi from the East. In that respect, it is a "Thirteenth Day" of Christmas; and yet, it also marks the beginning of a new liturgical season.

While Christmas focuses on the Incarnation of our Lord--that is, on God becoming flesh--the season of Epiphany emphasizes the manifestation or self-revelation of God in that same flesh of Christ. For the Lord Himself has entered our darkness and rises upon us with the brightness of His true light (Is. 60:1–2). He does so chiefly by His Word of the Gospel, which He causes to be preached within His Church on earth--not only to the Jews but also to Gentiles (Eph. 3:8–10). As the Magi were guided by the promises of Holy Scripture to find and worship the Christ Child with His mother in the house (Matt. 2:5–11), so does He call disciples from all nations by the preaching of His Word, to find and worship Him within His Church (Is. 60:3–6). With gold they confess His royalty; with incense, His deity; and with myrrh, His priestly sacrifice (Matt. 2:11).

Why Do We Use Incense?

Isn’t that something Catholics do? Not exclusively, the use of incense is catholic in the best sense of the word, that is, part of the universal church throughout all the ages. But more importantly, incense was used in a variety of ways throughout Scripture symbolizing, cleansing, purification, atonement for sins and even prayer. Many consider the use of incense in worship to be extremely ceremonial, or “high church.” We do well to remember that in the New Testament, the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist to Zacharias was made while he was burning incense in the temple (Luke 1:9-11). He was simply continuing the faithful worship practices of God’s people from the Old Testament. Incense was used first to represent cleansing and purification and the covering of sin, which foreshadowed the sweet fragrance of Christ’s atoning self-sacrifice for the sins of the world (Numbers 16:46-47).

In the New Testament, our Lord was given the gift of incense by the Magi when they came to worship the Christ-child (Matthew 2:11). The gift of frankincense confesses the deity of Christ. This, along with the gifts of gold and myrrh, remind us that Jesus was born to be our prophet, priest and king through His life, death and resurrection. In the book of Revelation (5:8 and 8:3-4), incense is used to symbolize the prayers of the faithful saints on earth ascending from earth to heaven, forming a visual and aromatic connection. The Apostle John, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, describes the use of incense in a worship setting: the saints gathered around the altar of the Lamb, offering up their prayers of thanksgiving for the Lamb’s sacrifice for sin.

The use of incense in Christian worship is thoroughly Biblical and also a matter of Christian freedom, since Scripture does not mandate its use. We do so out of Christian freedom, mindful of this rich heritage of Biblical and church tradition in order to enhance the teaching of the Gospel and the visualization of the liturgy where God comes to serve man with His Word and Sacraments. We therefore pray with David in Psalm 141, “Let my prayer rise as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.”

Pastor Schuldheisz, 1/31/2010