Today, the Universal Church celebrates the feast of the Epiphany, a major Christian solemnity that is celebrated on January 6th and commemorates the presentation of the infant Jesus to the Magi, or the Three Wise Men, traditionally named Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar. Tradition also has it that Melchior represented Europe, Caspar, Arabia and Balthazar, Africa.
The celebration of the Epiphany began in the Eastern Church and included the birth of Christ. However, by the 4th century AD, the various calendar reforms had moved the birth of Christ to December 25th and the Church of Rome began to celebrate January 6th as the Epiphany.
The entrance antiphon of this Mass says: “The Lord and ruler is coming; kingship is his, and government and power. Amen.” Today’s readings express the grandeur of this feast. In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah shouts: “Arise, Jerusalem, shine out, for your light has come, the glory of the Lord is rising on you.” In the second reading, Saint Paul praises the majesty of God’s plan, which has revealed that pagans too now share in the same inheritance as Jews. In the Gospel, Matthew tells us the well-known story of the Magi, the three Wise Men, who came from the East bringing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the new born king, Christ the Lord. We pray in the course of this Eucharist for the grace to recognize Christ as the Messiah and as Emmanuel, God with us.
First Reading: Isaiah 60:1-6.
Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you. See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; but upon you the Lord shines, and over you appears his glory. Nations shall walk by your light, and kings by your shining radiance. Raise your eyes and look about; they all gather and come to you: your sons come from afar, and your daughters in the arms of their nurses. Then you shall be radiant at what you see, your heart shall throb and overflow, for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you, the wealth of nations shall be brought to you. Caravans of camels shall fill you, dromedaries from Midian and Ephah; all from Sheba shall come bearing gold and frankincense, and proclaiming the praises of the Lord.
Comment
Of all the Old Testament Books, pride of place in the liturgy belongs to the Book of Isaiah. It leads the collection of Old Testament prophets more for its religious importance and beauty than for its age and size. The prophet Isaiah, often considered the greatest of the prophets, was born in about 765 BC into a Jerusalem aristocratic family. He received his prophetic vocation in 740 BC and his long ministry spanned a period of over forty years.
The Book of Isaiah covers three distinct periods of Israel’s history. The first part, chapters 1-39, was written by the prophet himself; the second and third parts were written by other prophets when the people of Israel were in exile in Babylon and after their return from exile.
Chapter 60, from where the reading of the day is taken, of Isaiah is an exceptionally beautiful expression of the glory and the splendour that Zion would enjoy after her restoration. God will once again reside with his people in the holy city of Jerusalem, which will be illuminated by the light of his glory. Foreigners as well as Jews from the dispersion will come with expensive gifts to pay their homage; peace will reign in the city and countryside, and Jerusalem will become the center to which all nations will congregate around Israel’s God, in a universal brotherhood.
The light that is shining out of Jerusalem reminds the people of Israel that God led them in their desert wandering with a pillar of fire. Now that the new exodus is here, God attracts not only the chosen people with his brightness, but pierces the darkness of the earth, thus enabling nations and kings from every corner of the earth to come to Jerusalem and look to her for guidance. Their royal gifts are offered in recognition of her God and King.
What does this passage teach me? It teaches me that the city of light is the Church, shining with the light of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, and all peoples are moving towards it, carrying with them the richness of their diverse cultures. We, the people of Africa, are also among those moving towards the light of God’s salvation as embodied by the Church of which Christ is the head. Through what, in his Post Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Ecclesia in Africa, Saint John Paul II calls, inculturation, that is, “catechesis taking flesh in the various cultures,” we bring our own share into the universal culture of the Church.
Let us say this prayer, which Saint John Paul II left to the Church that is in Africa. “May the outpouring of the Holy Spirit make of the cultures of Africa places of communion in diversity, fashioning the peoples of this great continent into generous sons and daughters of the Church, which is the family of the Father, the Brotherhood of the son, the Image of the Trinity, the seed and the beginning on earth of the eternal kingdom, which will come to its perfection in the City that has God as Builder: the City of justice, love and peace. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.”
Second Reading: Ephesians 3:2-3. 5-6.
Brothers and sisters: You have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for your benefit, namely, that the mystery was made known to me by revelation. It was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Comment
There are four letters of Saint Paul that have traditionally been classified as the “Captivity Epistles”. They are his letters to the Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians and Philemon. They are called “Captivity Epistles” because they were written when the Apostle to the Gentiles was in prison. Saint Paul suffered imprisonment I Ephesus, Caeserea and Rome and it is not possible to say where he wrote the different letters from.
In the time of Saint Paul, Ephesus was the leading city in Asia Minor. It had been conquered by Alexander the Great in 334 BC and it later came under the dominion of Rome in 133 BC. The Romans made it the administrative and religious center of the Roman province known as Asia.
The inhabitants of the city of Ephesus were notorious for magic and superstitious activities. Saint Paul came into that city around the year 52 AD (Acts 18: 19ff) towards the end of his second apostolic journey. He spent more than two years in the city and was so successful in his conversion mission that some leading Jews of the city organized riots against him and he had to leave.
What is the Letter to the Ephesians all about? Someone has said that it is more a sermon than a letter since it is an exhortation to celebrate the life of the Church in Christ and to live that life in a manner worthy of Christ. This letter centers more on Christ in his church than on Christ as a person. It emphasises the sublime mission of the church, which is to bring salvation to the whole of creation, a task that is particularly pertinent to our times. The church is equipped for its mission because it is built on “the foundation of the apostles and the prophets”, and has Christ as head and source of its life and work.
In the passage for our meditation today, Paul praises the majesty of God’s plan for us. God’s purpose has remained his own secret until Christ reveals it to those who believe in him. In other words, it is God’s intention that through Christ, the Gentiles are called to have a part with the Jews in his new people, the body of Christ.
From Paul’s call on the road to Damascus, God’s plan was specially revealed to him that he was to be the nations’ apostle. Not even in Isaiah was it known of old that God intended to break down the dividing wall between Jew and non-Jew. Now all men and women have become co-heirs, co-members and co-sharers in a body, the Church, with Christ as its head.
Let us pray to God this day that he may reveal whatever plans he may have for us, whatever he may be calling us to do in his name. For this, we call on the Holy Spirit to enlighten us and strengthen our resolve that we may become like Paul, determined to carry out our individual missions on earth, in total defiance of whatever obstacles there may be on our way. Amen.
Gospel acclamation: “Alleluia, alleluia. We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage. Alleluia.”
Gospel: Saint Matthew 2:1-12.
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, 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.” When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet: And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.” Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.” After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.
Comment
Today, the Church celebrates Jesus being made known to the whole world. Epiphany means ‘manifestation’, and the three Kings, the Magi, who come looking for the Star of Bethlehem are the representatives of all peoples of every language, culture and nation who set out, called by God, to adore Christ.
In the Magi, the Gospel sees the first fruits of the nations, who welcome the good news of salvation through the Incarnation. The Magi’s coming to Jerusalem to pay homage to the King of the Jews shows that they seek in Israel, in the messianic light of the Star of David, the one who will be king of the nations. Their coming means that pagans can discover Jesus and worship him as Son of God and Saviour of the world only by turning towards the Jews and receiving from them the messianic promise as contained in the Old Testament.
As we see in the first reading from Isaiah, the Messiah, Jesus, is coming like the light of the world. The light of the sun shines on everyone alike, good or bad, rich or poor, black or white. Since Christ is the light of the world, it means he comes to show the way for everyone to God.
The passage from Ephesians in the second reading, just like the first reading, states that Jesus, who is the Good News of God, did not come for one select group of people. He came for everyone – Jew and Gentile alike.
In the Gospel we see the Gentile kings coming to adore the new born king. The faith of these gentile kings gives them a unique privilege: that of being the first among the gentiles to adore Christ, the Son of God, when the whole world still does not know him. They are able to contemplate the Messiah soon after he comes into the world.
The kings come from the East with precious gifts, offering only the best to the Lord. They offer him gold, a symbol of royalty. They offer him incense, the perfume that was burned each evening on the altar as a symbol of the hope placed in the Messiah. They offer him myrrh because God Incarnate will take upon himself our weaknesses and be burdened with our sorrows. Myrrh reminds us of the passion of our Lord. On the cross, he is offered wine mingled with myrrh (Mark 15:23). It is with myrrh that his body was anointed for burial (John 19:39).
In these outstanding travelers from the East, we see thousands of souls from all over the earth setting out to adore our Lord. Over twenty centuries have gone by since that first adoration, and this long procession of the gentile world continues to make its way to Christ.
Through this feast of the Epiphany, the Church proclaims the manifestation of Jesus to all mankind of all times, with no distinction of race or nation. As the Fathers of Vatican II Council so clearly indicate: “The Feast of the Epiphany moves all the faithful to share the concerns and labours of the Church, which prays and works at the same time so that the entire world may be incorporated into the People of God, the Body of The Lord and the Temple of the Holy Spirit.”
What am I taking home from this Gospel message? Each of us has a star to follow, an individual call in life, a path that he or she alone can walk. The Magi crossed mountains and deserts to follow their own star, their destiny. Even in the midst of our everyday activities, we still carry within us a star of a calling, an interior light that blooms and comes alive each time we speak with Jesus in prayer.
As Saint John Paul II said in a homily he gave on the Epiphany on January 6, 1979, “The Church more aware each year of the vastness of her mission, participates in the feast of the Epiphany. How many people are there who still have to be brought to the faith! How many have to be brought back to the faith they have lost! This at times is more difficult than the first conversion to the faith. The Church, however, aware of the great gift of the Incarnation of God, cannot pause, can never stop. She has to seek continually the way to Bethlehem for all men and for all times. The Epiphany is the feast of God’s challenge.”
In his homily last year on the feast of the Epiphany, Pope Francis emphasized the notion of worshipping God. When Christians fail to worship God, they end up, like Herod, only worshipping themselves. “Christians who do not know how to worship, who do not know how to pray by worshipping,” says the Holy Father, run the “grave risk of using God instead of worshipping him. How many times have we confused the interests of the Gospel with our own? How many times have we cloaked in religiosity the things we find convenient? How many times have we confused God’s power, which is for serving others, with the power of the world, which is for serving ourselves!”
Let us pray to the Holy Spirit to strengthen our faith so that we do not lose the sense of worship because when we do, warns the Holy Father, “we lose our direction in Christian life, which is a journey towards the Lord, not towards ourselves.” Help us, Holy Spirit so that we too can each day bring our own gold, our own incense and our own myrrh to Christ in the form of friends, relatives and colleagues, who might have fallen by the wayside in their faith, but whose faith we strengthen by bringing them to Church to worship and adore the infant Jesus, who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.
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