The Feast of the Epiphany, Matthew 2:1-12 Behold, magi from the
east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of
the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him
homage.” […] Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained
from them the time of the star’s appearance. We have already
discussed the chronology of the events surrounding the Savior’s
birth, yet we subtly avoided a most difficult question regarding
the feast of the Epiphany – When did the star first appear to
the Magi? This is connected with an additional inquiry regarding
the time at which the Magi set out from their home country and
the length of their travel to Bethlehem. Finally, as we will
see, the massacre of the Holy Innocents seems to be related to
the time of the appearance of the star. First, we might ask a
most practical question: What does it matter when the star
appeared? Why should we be concerned at all to determine the
time of the star’s appearance or the duration of the Magi’s
journey? To this we