The Feast of the Epiphany commemorates three mysteries at once: the adoration of the Magi, the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, and the Marriage Feast at Cana. Don’t take my word for it. Let the traditional Latin liturgy of Rome be your guide.
Here is the Benedictus antiphon from today’s office of Lauds:
This day is the Church joined unto the Heavenly Bridegroom, since Christ hath washed away her sins in Jordan; the wise men hasten with gifts to the marriage supper of the King; and they that sit at meat together make merry with water turned into wine. Alleluia.
And, as repetition is the mother of learning, the Church makes the point again in this evening’s Vespers, with this Magnificat antiphon:
This day we keep a holiday in honour of three wonders, this day a star led the wise men to the manger; this day at the marriage, water was made wine; this day was Christ, for our salvation, pleased to be baptized of John in Jordan. Alleluia.
But the Benedictus antiphon brings out something that the Magnificat antiphon omits: the nuptial character of all three mysteries. Read it again slowly and relish the way the wise men are said to hasten with gifts to the royal wedding (currunt cum munéribus Magi ad regáles núptias). This is a clear reference to the Parable of the Marriage Feast narrated in the Gospel of Saint Matthew (22:1-14), one of the “parables of the kingdom” as it begins, “The kingdom of heaven is likened to….” Because it is a parable of the kingdom, it concerns the Catholic Church, which is the kingdom of heaven. I would argue that the Church’s oblique but lucid liturgical reference to it in this antiphon confirms the ecclesial nature of the parable.
So, the Parable of the Marriage Feast, like the three mysteries of Epiphany, is both nuptial and ecclesial, the Church herself being the Bride of Christ.
A similar parable is that of the Great Banquet (or Great Supper) recorded by Saint Luke (14:15-24). Some commentators consider it the same parable, but there are notable differences between the two, one of which is that the Lucan parable is not explicitly about a marriage feast.
Be it noted that both parables speak of people being invited and refusing the invitation; the ungracious invitees of Saint Luke’s account making lame excuses, while those who refuse to attend Saint Matthew’s banquet are horribly punished, as is the man who came not properly attired in a wedding garment (generally interpreted to be sanctifying, or habitual grace). Each of these parables can be seen as supporting the doctrine, extra ecclesiam nulla salus. Read the parables carefully and connect those dots yourself; they are hidden in plain view.
Earlier in his preaching, Jesus had spoken of Himself as the Bridegroom: “Can the children of the marriage fast, as long as the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast” (Mark 2:19).
Saint Paul takes up the nuptial-ecclesial theme in Eph. 5:22-33.
And later, in the Apocalypse, heaven itself is described in nuptial terms:
Let us be glad and rejoice, and give glory to him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath prepared herself. And it is granted to her that she should clothe herself with fine linen, glittering and white. For the fine linen are the justifications of saints. And he said to me: Write: Blessed are they that are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith to me: These words of God are true. [Apocalypse (Revelation) 19:7-9]
But all that heavenly glory and blessedness is the fruition of what begins here on earth in the Church militant, where the Lamb’s wife prepares herself and where she puts on the justifications of the saints.
The Magi are the first fruits of the gentile Church, that spouse of Christ which He Himself prepares by washing her at the font of Baptism — made possible when He instituted the sacrament in the Jordan River — and His espousals to whom were foreshadowed in His first public miracle at Cana.
So, you see, the three mysteries of the Epiphany are nuptial mysteries manifesting the espousals of Jesus Christ to His Church — One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman.
A blessed Feast of the Epiphany to all!
