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Date:         Tue, 12 Jan 1993 04:16:00 CST
From:         nabil@CAE.WISC.EDU
Subject:      Re: Well what do you make of this ...?

In article <01GTDUJ6IZKI99DIYR@asu.edu> CAROL L
 <Z_STAFF_CL@SOUTHAMPTON-INSTITUTE.AC.UK> writes:
>The Riddle of Epiphany
>
>
>As we have just passed Epiphany, I shall pose a small question for
>you all.  Think about it.  Enjoy it.  A little idle thought may
>be a wonderful way to relax.  You may find somethings out about
>yourself and God.  I look forward to you thinking aloud !!!
>
>Yes, I'd like some theological answers too, for those of you
>upto such exercise so soon after Christmas. (There must be some
>because I can't possibly be the first to think of this!)

First of all, Epiphany is (in the Orthodox Church) the celebration of
the Baptism of Lord Jesus Christ (epiphany means manifestation, and in
the Baptism of Jesus, the three persons of the Trinity were manifested
together at the same time for the first time).

>
>
>Christ was born to poor parents - in Bethlehem, in a stable because
>of the Roman census.

To be precise Christ was born to Mary.

>
>His father was and later continued to work as a carpenter in a poorish
>community in Galille.

Joseph is *not* the father of Jesus. Please read what the Angel told
Joseph in :

Matthew 2:13   Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord
appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His
mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod
will seek the young Child to destroy Him."

It does not say "... take your SON and your WIFE ... " !!
Please be careful with the wording.


>
>Logic and story accepted so far ?

With few corrections.

>
>
>Three wise men arrive leaving gifts - an enbalming resin, incense
>and a token of kingship - Gold.
>
>What happened to the gifts. Eh ?
>
>Were they kept by Mary for later use ?
>
>The enbalming resin didn't get a chance to be used - when they went
>to prepare the body it had gone - what was the chance it would have
>been taken to Jerusalem anyway !
>
>The incense - similarly, perhaps.  Or used in the Temple by the family.
>
>But the Gold!  What happened to the Gold ?
>
>It was far more tangible in worldly terms.  As it was a gift from a
>wise (and probably comparatively rich) man (or perhaps a king) to a
>fortold and long expected king.  I assume it must have been a
>reasonable amount - not a fiddling little baby's signet ring such as
>is popular in Arab countries today.

I do come from an Arab country but I am not familiar with this custom.
Would you please elaborate/clarify/document ? A typical gift would be
a golden necklace, or earrings (for baby-girls).

>
>I think that if what happened to the Gold shows any sign of changing
>our assumptions about Jesus's family background and ministry there
>may be implications in the way we preach the Gospel.  From that point
>of view it may be an important question.
>
>o       Did it get lost in the flight to Egypt ?
>o       Was it used to pay for the passage to Egypt ?
         ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>o       Was it saved until he was 8 - to finance the trip to the
>        Temple when he was found with the elders ?
>o       Was it saved for a big party at 14 - when the boy became man?
>o       Was it used so Jesus could spend his time studing scripture
>        rather than getting a trade like a good Jewish boy ?
>o       Was it saved until 30 and spent to finance the ministry of
>        the next 3 years - like feeding 5000 ?
>o       Did the gold run out at the last supper and Judas, seeing a
>        good marketing opportunity and fund raiser ........
>o       Did it finace the wedding at Cana ?
>o       Was it given to the poor ?
>o       Was it given to the temple ?
>o       Was Joseph not so poor after all ?
>o       Did it pass from Mary to, say, John and through him to the Church?
>o       Was it used to pay for the damage to Peter's Mother-in-law's
>        roof ?
>
>Some of these are more fanciful than others - I am sure you can top some
>of these easily.

Well, nothing is documented about the fate of the gifts, but few of the
questions raised are reasonable options (and some of them are really wild
like the last one). I personally believe that the most probable answer
to the question "What happened to the gold ?" is that it could have been
used in the trip of the Holy Family to Egypt.

Let me shedd some more light on the trip to Egypt (I come from Egypt).
The trip at least took ten months. They travelled at least 1000 miles,
based on the sites that are believed to have been visited by the Holy
Family. Many of these places are now Monasteries and churches. Apparently
they crossed the Nile River twice (since several sites are on the West
Bank). They stayed most of the time near a town in Upper Egypt, called
El-Qouseyyah. In this town there is a monastery today in fullfilment of :

Isaiah 19:19   In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst
of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD at its border.

This town is almost halfway the distance from the Mediterranian coast in
the North to the Sudanese border in the South.

So based on this data one can have an idea about the cost of the trip
especially that Joseph was away from his work. So the gold COULD have
been used to cover the expenses of this trip.

Irene pasi,

Nabil

          .-------------------------------------------------------------.
         /  Nabil Ayoub                        ____/   __  /    ____/  /
        /  Engine Research Center             /       /   /    /      /
       /  Dept. of Mechanical Engineering    ___/    __  /    /      /
      /  University of Wisconsin-Madison    /       /   |    /      /
     /  Email:ayoub@erctitan.me.wisc.edu  _____/ __/   _|  _____/  /
    '-------------------------------------------------------------'
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