Epiphany of the lord
Light Revealed to the Nations
The celebration of Epiphany, meaning “manifestation,” is like a second Christmas. It is, in fact, the Christmas of the Eastern Churches. It proclaims that the child Jesus belongs to and is given to the whole world as its Savior. With the magi the world brings to him its variety of gifts: its culture, its many facets, its different identities. And we here, like people from other nations, bring him the gift of ourselves: our faith, our fidelity, our love, as we meet him in prayer and in people, especially in the poorest.
First Reading: Isaiah 60:1-7
“Get out of bed, Jerusalem!
Wake up. Put your face in the sunlight.
God’s bright glory has risen for you.
The whole earth is wrapped in darkness,
all people sunk in deep darkness,
But God rises on you,
his sunrise glory breaks over you.
Nations will come to your light,
kings to your sunburst brightness.
Look up! Look around!
Watch as they gather, watch as they approach you:
Your sons coming from great distances,
your daughters carried by their nannies.
When you see them coming you’ll smile—big smiles!
Your heart will swell and, yes, burst!
All those people returning by sea for the reunion,
a rich harvest of exiles gathered in from the nations!
And then streams of camel caravans as far as the eye can see,
young camels of nomads in Midian and Ephah,
Pouring in from the south from Sheba,
loaded with gold and frankincense,
preaching the praises of God.
And yes, a great roundup
of flocks from the nomads in Kedar and Nebaioth,
Welcome gifts for worship at my altar
as I bathe my glorious Temple in splendor.
Second Reading: Ephesians 3:2-6
This is why I, Paul, am in jail for Christ, having taken up the cause of you outsiders, so-called. I take it that you’re familiar with the part I was given in God’s plan for including everybody. I got the inside story on this from God himself, as I just wrote you in brief.
As you read over what I have written to you, you’ll be able to see for yourselves into the mystery of Christ. None of our ancestors understood this. Only in our time has it been made clear by God’s Spirit through his holy apostles and prophets of this new order. The mystery is that people who have never heard of God and those who have heard of him all their lives (what I’ve been calling outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God. They get the same offer, same help, same promises in Christ Jesus. The Message is accessible and welcoming to everyone, across the board.
Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem village, Judah territory— this was during Herod’s kingship—a band of scholars arrived in Jerusalem from the East. They asked around, “Where can we find and pay homage to the newborn King of the Jews? We observed a star in the eastern sky that signaled his birth. We’re on pilgrimage to worship him.”
When word of their inquiry got to Herod, he was terrified—and not Herod alone, but most of Jerusalem as well. Herod lost no time. He gathered all the high priests and religion scholars in the city together and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”
They told him, “Bethlehem, Judah territory. The prophet Micah wrote it plainly:
It’s you, Bethlehem, in Judah’s land, no longer bringing up the rear. From you will come the leader who will shepherd-rule my people, my Israel.”
Herod then arranged a secret meeting with the scholars from the East. Pretending to be as devout as they were, he got them to tell him exactly when the birth-announcement star appeared. Then he told them the prophecy about Bethlehem, and said, “Go find this child. Leave no stone unturned. As soon as you find him, send word and I’ll join you at once in your worship.”
Instructed by the king, they set off. Then the star appeared again, the same star they had seen in the eastern skies. It led them on until it hovered over the place of the child. They could hardly contain themselves: They were in the right place! They had arrived at the right time!
They entered the house and saw the child in the arms of Mary, his mother. Overcome, they kneeled and worshiped him. Then they opened their luggage and presented gifts: gold, frankincense, myrrh.
In a dream, they were warned not to report back to Herod. So they worked out another route, left the territory without being seen, and returned to their own country.
Prayer
God of all nations, peoples and cultures,
this is the day you have made bright
with your light and your love
destined for all.
Guide us in the new ways of your Son.
Let your kindly light shine everywhere,
that all peoples may praise you
in their own language
and enrich your Church with their own gifts.
We ask this in the name of Jesus,
our Lord and Savior for ever. R/ Amen.
Reflection:
God reveals himself, if only you could open your eyes
Today the Church celebrates the solemnity of the Epiphany. “Epiphany” means manifestation. It refers to the manifestation of a glory of the Saviour that was hidden to humanity until the birth of Jesus. The Evangelist Matthew tells us that the Magi, when they came to Bethlehem, “saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him” (Mt 2:11). Worshiping the Lord is not easy; it does not just happen. It requires a certain spiritual maturity and is the fruit of an at times lengthy interior journey.
It is true that we pray. But, how do we describe our prayer life! Well, we might say, “I pray before meals, I pray the rosary, I pray before going to bed….” All these are indeed good, but we have somewhat lost the meaning of the prayer of adoration and worship, because we do not have enough time for all these. The Magi of the epiphany teach us to learn how to contemplate on the Lord.
The Magi invite us to go out in search for the Lord and to fall down and worship him. We often face the danger of imitating Herod instead of the magi. Herod asks for the location where the Lord can be found and waits for the report. Many are like Herod, waiting for the exact location while refusing to go in search of him.
There are three phrases that can help us to understand more fully what it means to be worshipers of the Lord. They are: “to lift up our eyes”, “to set out on a journey” and “to see”.
Do not think that by lifting our eyes to God, we could keep ourselves away from life’s problems. The Magi had to undertake a lengthy journey before they could meet the infant in the manger. The manger assures us the strength to deal with life’s problems.
The next point is “to go on a journey.” A journey always involves a transformation, a change. After a journey, we are no longer the same, we learn new things, encounter new people and situations, and find inner strength amid the hardships and risks. Like the Magi, we too must allow ourselves to learn from the journey of life, by humbly acknowledging our falls and failures, and turning them into opportunities to progress towards the Lord Jesus.
The Magi teaches us “to see” the presence of the King, who is now present amidst the filths of the manger. They were able to look beyond those lowly surroundings and recognize in that Child a royal presence. They were able to “see” beyond appearances. Faith is to believe in the things that are unseen. The Epiphany of the Lord calls us to look beyond what is visible.
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