The Culmination of the Ways

Markus van Alphen

Editorial note: This article was originally published in the magazine The Liberal Catholic (December 1999). It was revised in January 2002.

The mystery drama of the Christ is told as an allegorical story that shows in symbol the path of initiation, which every individual will one day tread in the quest for perfection. The reason we repeat this drama, year after year, is to learn incrementally to take these steps in symbol, which one day we will tread in fact - when actually on the path. Every symbolical cycle we experience, consciously teaches us another aspect and allows us to delve deeper into the mystery, bringing us ever closer to the consummation that is the goal of our many lives.

The five initiations symbolised in this allegorical story are those that lead the awakened human being into the realm of the superhuman, thereby breaking for him or her the so-called wheel of birth and death. The Christian festivals of Christmas, Baptism of Our Lord, Transfiguration of Our Lord, Crucifixion and Ascension represent these initiations. The festivals preceding and succeeding them are often related directly or indirectly to these festivals or initiations.

The word initiation stems from the verb to initiate, or to begin. Initiation is therefore not a reward for a phase of work completed, but the commencement of a new level of work. For this new stage the “tools” necessary to perform this work must be furnished.

It is important to remember that these initiations are inner mysteries that are conferred on the individual whilst in incarnation. They are bestowed on the inner planes of manifestation and are not administered by one or another institution on the physical plane. They are dispensed under the direction of the Hierarchy forming the Inner Government of the World, and are generally conferred on the neophyte –a word describing the individual about to be initiated- by a Hierophant, who is a member of this Hierarchy operating on its behalf. We are not in a position to assess whether or not an individual is ready for -or already has received- initiation.

It is in this context that we may study the meaning of the Festival of Epiphany. The word Epiphany has to do with appearing, or becoming discernable. We might ask, “the appearing of what?” In attempting to answer this question, let us consider the place of the festival within the cycle of the Christian festivals[i]. Epiphany is celebrated twelve days after Christmas and is the conclusion of the greater Christmas period.

We could draw several numerological conclusions from the number twelve - a complete traversing of the twelve signs of the zodiac, for example, or the twelve tribes of Israel, or the relation between the twelve months of the coming year and these twelve days. New Year’s Day falls conspicuously in the middle of this period. But let us limit ourselves to the events leading up to and immediately subsequent to the first initiation, symbolised by Christmas.

This first initiation places the aspirant's feet firmly on the path that eventually leads him or her out of the human evolutionary system. Being a first step, however, such individuals are often allegorically referred to as children or innocents, as evidenced in Matthew 2:16.

The Advent period leading up to Christmas is one of preparation, and our Liturgy asks us to direct our attention to the same four points emphasised in Alcyone's book At the Feet of the Master. This universal little book explains in simple terms the development that is required of us before we can reach the feet of our Master: In other words, to be ready for initiation.

In St. Matthew's Gospel, the Nativity of Our Lord is heralded by the appearance of a Star. Although astrologers have tried to find some conjunction or event of immense astrological importance that would have occurred in the assumed period of the birth of Jesus, they have been unable to find anything that would be regarded as conclusive. Perhaps it is the preponderance of materialistic thinking and historical focus that masks the obvious: The star is allegorical, most likely it is the five-pointed star that stands as symbol of the King of the World, which appears whenever an initiation is conferred in His name.

The Epiphany story commences when three wise men from the East perceive the appearance of this star. The three wise men are often called the three kings, sometimes called magi. Perhaps the word ‘magi’ fits the image best. It is indicative of proficiency and implies excellence and knowledge of hidden truths. They travel from the East to offer their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. As our physical sun rises in the east at dawn, so is the East an oft-used symbol designating the Source of all Light.

What might be the deeper importance of the gifts? Perhaps the answer can be found by first considering the fact that there are three kings. It is thought that in ancient civilisations, three Initiates would fill the three offices of King, Prophet and High Priest. Sometimes a single Initiate, a so-called Initiate-Priest-King, would fill all three offices simultaneously. These three functions may be regarded as reflections of yet another and higher triad, the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, embodying Divine Will, Wisdom and Activity. By Activity is meant more than mere motion or action; another way of describing it might be Active Love or Love in Action. The three kings could therefore be symbolical of the way of Will, the way of Wisdom and the way of Activity. None of the ways is above or below, more or less than any other: All three are valid ways.

Gold -not the metal of the physical plane, but the highly valued spiritual gold of the alchemists- is symbolical of the pursuit of the Kingly function. It may be regarded as the essence of the way of the Will, the warrior-aspect, just as the mythological hero who saves the damsel in distress (the soul) from the implacable threats of the fiery dragon.

Incense is prepared from the gums of various trees, gum being the essence of the life-sap of the tree. Symbolically, this may be considered as the essence of the way of Wisdom. This essence is derived from life experience and is the quest of the Prophet. In mythology this is frequently characterized by the court jester, who often is the one who shows the king the error of his ways, by cleverly enacting in caricature the result of decisions about to be made.

Myrrh is used for anointing the dead and is the essence of the way of Activity, a function epitomized by the High Priest. It represents selfless, loving care for the sick and the dead, and again is meant the symbolical dead - those persons not yet awakened to the spiritual meaning of life who live their lives largely as unconscious beings. In the bible this is told in a very literal sense in the story of the Good Samaritan[ii].

The King brings gold, the Prophet brings frankincense and the High Priest brings myrrh. Putting it another way, the result of the way of Will is the spiritual victory over the forces of darkness; that of the way of Wisdom is the essence of life experience; and that of the way of Activity is the balm that comforts all that lives. By extending this line of thought, one might relate gold, frankincense and myrrh to Light, Life and Love.

Returning to the Epiphany story, we see that after initiation (Christmas) it takes twelve symbolical days before the results become apparent (Epiphany). The new initiate receives the gift, not of one king only, but of all three. Obviously, each king is only able to give that which is already in his possession and all three being magi, would not ‘cast their pearls to swine’. Symbolically, the new initiate is worthy to receive all three gifts, implying that he or she has followed all three paths. It is the culmination of the ways that is signified in the coming of the three wise men and the gifts they offer to the newly born child, the neophyte, or the new initiate.

We could conclude with the fairytale ending, "and they all lived happily ever after". But there is more to the story. Herod, the ruler over Judea, plays a prominent role. He instructs the wise men to return to him with the whereabouts of the new king so that he, too, may pay him homage. Herod signifies the sense-consciousness, the personal ego, which feels threatened by the new King of the Jews[iii].

Before we continue with the explanation of the narrative, it is worth noticing the difference in the usage between the words “Jew” and “Israelite”. In this context, “Jew” means the uninitiated, and by extension, the personality (for initiation affects the individuality, not the personality). In contradistinction, “Israelite” is a symbol for the initiated[iv]. Thus it can be seen that there truly is a “new King of the Jews” when the personality is brought under sway of the now initiated individuality. Of course, Herod can also be seen as the mass of people who reject the inner life. Herod attempts to kill the newborn king, meaning that the masses go to great lengths to avoid being confronted by the inner life.

The wise men do not return to Herod, but take another way. This points to the fact that we must leave mass consciousness and tread the path alone and on our own inner strength: Strength that has been built up by cycle upon cycle of learning by experience illustrated and played out during the cycle of the church year, which serves both as prototype and channel of grace for the journey. This is the path that we -as souls- are learning to tread to develop the tools we need: Unswerving as regards justice -gold-, wisely serving our Master -frankincense-, and actively loving our fellow travellers -myrrh-. So will we also reach the Feet of our Master and experience in ourselves the culmination of the ways.