"Come to do the Lord homage."
January 8, 2023.
Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord – A.
“We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him
homage.” Mt 2:2
A Spanish proverb says: “Stars are not seen by sunshine.”
And a Nilotic proverb adds: “The voyager's path is marked by the stars and not
the sand dunes.”
God often uses those things most familiar to us, things that
are part of our daily life, to send forth His calling and reveal to us his
glory. Our God manifests himself to us in the ordinary. It is only by entering
into that ordinary that extraordinary things happen and tell us of His
grandeur. A star or a light is nothing extraordinary. A little child has nothing extraordinary.
Thousands are born every single day. The sky is always filled with billions of
stars. Even though times, we cannot notice their presence due to rains or bad
weather conditions, stars are always shining. But then, the extraordinary comes
from noticing one particular star and looking at it differently. Though all the
stars in the sky seem the same, one can from time attract our attention
differently and shine brighter than the others.
We are celebrating today a feast of light. The Son of God is
born into our human nature to be a new light that dispels our darkness. Jesus
is the King of light. He alone deserves our homage.
The tradition goes that the feast of the Epiphany was first
celebrated in Africa, in Egypt, where it replaced a Pagan feast that celebrated
the victory of light over darkness. The Christian liturgy took over this theme
and proposed it for reflection in our today's liturgy, particularly, in the
first reading and the Gospel. And when we accept the light that comes into the
world to dispel our darkness, we too become people of light, therefore, the
people of God.
Today, the splendor of the majesty of God sheds its light
upon us. Our hearts are illuminated by the glory of God. The light of the Lord
has taken over the shadows of this world, and its brightness reaches the
extremities of the earth. We all are called to walk toward him and make him
homage.
About the Epiphany, the Catechism says: “The Epiphany is the
manifestation of Jesus as Messiah of Israel, Son of God and Savior of the
world. The great feast of Epiphany celebrates the adoration of Jesus by the
wise men (magi) from the East, together with his baptism in the Jordan and the
wedding feast at Cana in Galilee. In the magi, representatives of the
neighboring pagan religions, 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 in order 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 Savior of the world only by turning towards
the Jews and receiving from them the messianic promise as contained in the Old
Testament. The Epiphany shows that "the full number of the nations"
now takes its "place in the family of the patriarchs", and acquires
Israelitica dignitas (is made "worthy of the heritage of Israel").”
CCC. 528
Here then is the great message of this solemnity. In Jesus,
God reveals himself to us all to make of us his people, his children. He is the
light of our lives, the star of our steps toward the Father’s glory.
Isaiah, in the first reading, speaks of the glory of God
that shines upon the city of Jerusalem. The people are called to rise in
splendor for their light has come. All that kept them in obscurity and
sorrowful gloom vanished. Now has come a time to jubilate and rejoice. The
nations will again turn to the pole of the earth, and Jerusalem will become the
highest mountain where people and nations will come to offer gold and
frankincense, paying their homage to the Lord.
This prophecy of Isaiah finds its fulfillment in the Gospel
through the visit of the Magi to the newborn king. Jesus is the reason for the
season. He is the light that shines in the obscurities of this world. And so,
Wisemen have seen this light and came from distant lands to adore him.
A simple star, an ordinary sign has turned out to be an
extraordinary message, a messenger of great good news, for, a King is born.
Thus, the inquiry of the Magi to Herod: “Where is the newborn king of the Jews?
We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.”
Two attitudes, two messages for us in this visitation of the
Wisemen to Jerusalem. One is about joy, and the other one is about jealousy.
While the Wisemen were filled with joy to hear about the birth of an infant
king, King Herod, on the other side was filled with greed, fear, and jealousy.
He was afraid of the possibility of losing his power. People who nourish
jealousy against their fellow are never secure, unhappy, and ready for all
kinds of evil. But joyous hearts are eager to love and praise God for his
blessings in others' life. While Herod was unsecured, the Wisemen, instead,
went, filled with joy to praise and honor the newborn king. And that is what
makes the great difference between jealous and joyous people.
On the other side, the offering of the Magi bears also a
message. It is a premonition and a revelation of the triple identity of Christ:
Priest, Prophet, and King. The priest is offered Frankincense to raise prayers
and praises to God. To the King, the Gold symbolizes his power and riches. And
to the Prophet, the Myrrh, announcing his future death for truth, justice, and
love.
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