6 Jan 2024 – The Epiphany of the Lord
6 Jan 2024 – The Epiphany of the Lord
(or the Sunday between 2 January and 8 January)
1st Reading: Isaiah 60:1-6
In those days the Messiah will reveal his glory to all the nations
Arise, shine; for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will appear over you.
Nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
Lift up your eyes and look around;
they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from far away,
and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms.
Then you shall see and be radiant;
your heart shall thrill and rejoice,
because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you,
the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
A multitude of camels shall cover you,
the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.
Responsorial: Psalm 147: 12-15, 19-20
R./: Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
Sion, praise your God!
He has strengthened the bars of your gates,
he has blessed the children within you. (R./)
He established peace on your borders,
he feeds you with finest wheat.
He sends out his word to the earth
and swiftly runs his command. (R./)
He makes his word known to Jacob,
to Israel his laws and decrees.
He has not dealt thus with other nations;
he has not taught them his decrees. (R./)
2nd Reading: Ephesians 3:2-3, 5-6
Christ is here to save all people, without racial distinction
Surely you have already heard of the commission of God’s grace that was given me for you, and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12
The Magi’s visit shows the light of Christ for all the nations
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.”
When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”
Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
Imaginative story-telling
The stories about Jesus’ childhood are closely linked to some well-known Old Testament stories. The Evangelists Matthew and Luke use these re-written narratives to explore the identity of Jesus. This literary device seems strange to us, as not being real history at all, but for the original hearers and readers, the Jewish Christians, these biblical resonances gave these stories encouraging and devotional meaning for their faith. We can note three points in particular:
1) The gifts brought by the Magi call to mind a universalist text in Isaiah: “A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.” (Is 60:6) It was concluded from this text as well that the mode of transport of the magi was camels, although Matt supplies no such detail.
2) The Magi themselves, symbolising the Gentiles, are an echo in Psalm 72: “May the kings of Tarshish and the islands render him tribute, may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts. May all kings fall down before him…” From this reference, it was deduces that the magi were kings. Eventually they were given names – Balthasar, Melchior and Gaspar.
3) Bethlehem, the city of David, is often mentioned in the Old Testament, unlike Nazareth. One mention of it was, at the time, read as a messianic prophecy. “But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth the one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.” (Mic 5:2)
Presents and Presence
During Christmas time we give presents to different people and others give presents to us. What’s it all about? It all goes back to the story of the wise men going to Bethlehem, falling down on their knees, and offering the best gifts they could afford to the Baby King. But Christmas is not just about giving presents. It’s more about being present, i.e. sharing ourselves with warmth, affection and sincerity. The quality of our personal presence is everything.In practice, gift-giving may sometimes be aimed more at keeping on side and keeping the peace than being really present. In fact, gift-giving may at times be part of the commercialisation of Christmas instead of an expression of unconditional love.
The wise men were completely single-minded and sincere in their gift-giving. Their gifts were expressions of their respect, reverence, gratitude and love for the child. Their gifts were given with no strings attached, no conditions, and no mixed motives. The flaws in our own gift-giving may make us feel that the whole business of exchanging Christmas presents should be abolished, and that the commercialisation of Christmas should be restrained and restricted, if not eliminated altogether.
If we think such thoughts, it may help to remember that the consumerism of Christmas is somewhat necessary. Were it a completely spiritual celebration, hundreds of small businesses would go to the wall. Thousands of factory workers making bon-bons, trees, chocolates, decorations, cards and toys, would find themselves unemployed. It may also be helpful to remember that if people did not spend money on gifts to family and friends at Christmas, their consciences would not be roused to make donations to the poor and needy at this special time of giving and sharing. (Many charities, in fact, experience a big boost at Christmas time).
Despite the limits and flaws in our gift-giving, it’s important to both keep the practice alive and to purify it of its worst excesses. It’s particularly important to the lives of children. The good news is that while they are attracted to receiving e.g., a gift of an I-pad or of shiny new roller-blades, they are also attracted to the Crib and to the story of the baby lying there clothed in rags. Their hearts are touched by the plight of his parents who are so poor that they can offer him nothing but their protection and affection.
In fact, children very easily get the message that this is a story of love. They appreciate the humanity of the Holy Family, their struggles and their sacrifices, to bring to the human race the Light of the Nations. The story of the visit to the Crib by the Wise Men is a story of giving and receiving. It speaks of how gifts express love between persons, and of how gifts given with love bind people together. But it is not simply about the giving of things (in this case gold, frankincense, and myrrh) but the giving of persons, the sharing of selves.
In celebrating Epiphany we are celebrating the greatest proof of goodness there has ever been, of God’s deeply personal love for us. For it was out of love, that the Father gave us the Son, and gave him to be our Light, our Saviour, our King and our Joy. His present to us is nothing less than the divine presence in our lives. The poet John Betjeman has aptly called this:
A present that cannot be priced
Given two thousand years ago.
Yet if God had not given so
He still would be a distant stranger
And not the Baby in the manger.
Guided by the stars
It seems most likely that Jesus was in fact born in Bethlehem. But fixing the date of his birth is quite another matter, not even the year, let alone the day or the month. A slim clue may lie in today’s story about the star that led the way to him. The part of the Infancy Narrative one might be most tempted to discard as fairy-tale can also be highly meaningful. Whatever else has changed since Christ was born, the sky at night remains the same. Star-gazers today can follow the same star the Wise Men followed.
Christian tradition has opted for three as the number of the Wise Men and has given them the exotic names Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar. We may imagine that they travelled from Persia or South Arabia, though Matthew simply indicates that they came from the East. The gospel leaves no doubt that they were men of conviction, with enquiring minds and adventuresome spirit; in a word, intellectuals.
Our church’s leaders have often not shown such welcome to intellectuals as did Mary and Joseph, in allowing the Magi to visit the child Jesus. No church or religion can flourish if it does not cherish specially its poets, writers and thinkers. The true church in the world is an island of saints and scholars. Stars reveal their secrets to dreamers. The searching of the Wise Men is a fine illustration of the Latin adage for theology, fides quaerens intellectum (faith seeking understanding). The message for us is clear: if there is to be any epiphany in our lives we will need our heads as well as our hearts. We can ill-afford to ignore the insights of questing intellectuals.
Learn from the Magi
(Epiphany reflection by pope Francis, in his Apostolic Letter Admirabile Signum, on the meaning and importance of the nativity scene)
At the feast of Epiphany we place the statues of the Three Kings in the Christmas crèche. Observing the star, those wise men from the East set out for Bethlehem, in order to find Jesus and to offer him their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. These costly gifts have an allegorical meaning: gold honours Jesus’ kingship, incense his divinity, myrrh his sacred humanity that was to experience death and burial.
As we contemplate this aspect of the nativity scene, we are called to reflect on the responsibility of every Christian to spread the Gospel. Each of us is called to bear glad tidings to all, testifying by our practical works of mercy to the joy of knowing Jesus and his love.
The Magi teach us that people can come to Christ by a very long route. Men of wealth, sages from afar, thirsting for the infinite, they set out on the long and perilous journey that would lead them to Bethlehem (cf. Mt 2:1-12). Great joy comes over them in the presence of the Infant King. They are not scandalized by the poor surroundings, but immediately fall to their knees to worship him. Kneeling before him, they understand that the God who with sovereign wisdom guides the course of the stars also guides the course of history, casting down the mighty and raising up the lowly. Upon their return home, they would certainly have told others of this amazing encounter with the Messiah, thus initiating the spread of the Gospel among the nations.