Sunday, January 2, 2005
Epiphany

1st Reading: Isaiah 60:1-6
Nations will come to your light

Arise, Jerusalem, shine, for your light has come.
The Glory of Yahweh rises upon you.

Night still covers the earth and gloomy clouds veil the peoples, but Yahweh now rises and over you his glory appears.

Nations will come to your light and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
Lift up your eyes round about and see: they are all gathered and come to you, your sons from afar, your daughters tenderly carried.

This sight will make your face radiant, your heart throbbing and full; the riches of the sea will be turned to you, the wealth of the nations will come to you.
A flood of camels will cover you, caravans from Midian and Ephah.
Those from Sheba will come, bringing with them gold and incense, all singing in praise of Yahweh.

2nd Reading: Ephesians 3:2-3,5-6
The gentiles share the inheritance

Brothers and sisters, you may have heard of the graces God bestowed on me for your sake. By a revelation he gave me the knowledge of his mysterious design, as I have explained in a few words.

This mystery was not made known to past generations but only now, through revelations given to holy apostles and prophets. Now the non-Jewish people share the Inheritance; in Christ Jesus the non-Jews are incorporated and are to enjoy the Promise.

Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12
They knelt and worshipped him

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in Judea, during the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem. They asked, "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw the rising of his star in the east and have come to honor him." When Herod heard this he was greatly disturbed and with him all Jerusalem. He immediately called a meeting of all high-ranking priests and those who taught the people of God his Law, and asked them where the Messiah was to be born.
"In the town of Bethlehem in Judea," they told him, "for this is what the prophet wrote: And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, you are by no means the least among the clans of Judah, for from you will come a leader, the one who is to shepherd my people Israel."

Then Herod secretly called the wise men and asked them the precise time the star appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem with the instruction, "Go and get precise information about the child. As soon as you have found him, report to me, so that I too may go and honor him."

After the meeting with the king, they set out. The star that they had seen in the East went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. The wise men were overjoyed on seeing the star again. They went into the house and when they saw the child with Mary his mother, they knelt and worshiped him. They opened their bags and offered him their gifts of gold, incense and myrrh.
In a dream they were warned not to go back to Herod, so they returned to their home country by another way.

Commentary

EPIPHANY means manifestation or showing forth. Here, outsiders discover the revelation of the mystery of God as a human child born among us. This child belongs to the world and will shepherd his people Israel, but reign over the whole peoples in forgiveness, justice and mercy. Those from afar off strangers see what those who are inside a religious tradition cannot perceive. Sadly even the teachers and priests who know the promises that were meant to sustain the people under oppression live in collusion with their rulers who see these prophets' words as threatening to their own power.

Epiphany is about power and what power we worship. There is the power of the Word of God that sustains. There is the power of Herod and nations that only serves its own ends. There is the power of the Child of the Star who comes to liberate and free. There is the power of worship and pilgrimage in search of the truth. There is the power of dreams that protect others. What powers do we serve?

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