What’s In Your Thesaurus? (A Few Musings On the Epiphany), by Jules Gomes

By Jules Gomes, The Stream, January 6, 2025

Dr. Jules Gomes, (BA, BD, MTh, PhD), has a doctorate in biblical studies from the University of Cambridge. Currently a Vatican-accredited journalist based in Rome, he is the author of five books and several academic articles. Gomes lectured at Catholic and Protestant seminaries and universities and was canon theologian and artistic director at Liverpool Cathedral.

When all is said and done, the Magi are wise men and Herod the Great is a fool. A few musings on the Epiphany.

In the movie Father of the Bride II, George Banks is spoiling his daughter’s wedding reception. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the murdered Banquo’s ghost spoils the king’s coronation celebration. And in Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, Jacob Marley’s ghost spoils the party for the legendary miser, Ebenezer Scrooge.

In Matthew’s gospel, the three wise men spoil the party for King Herod. All they’d like to do is visit the baby, sip a beaker of Mary’s mulled wine, munch a Mediterranean mince pie, and offer their presents of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Instead, the wise men reduce Herod to a nervous wreck. ….

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