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.
Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13.
R. (cf. 11) Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
O God, with your judgment endow the king, and with your justice, the king’s son; He shall govern your people with justice and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
Justice shall flower in his days, and profound peace, till the moon be no more. May he rule from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
The kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts; the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute. All kings shall pay him homage, all nations shall serve him.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out, and the afflicted when he has no one to help him. He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor; the lives of the poor he shall save.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
Ephesians 3:2-3a, 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.
Matthew 2:2
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
We saw his star at its rising
and have come to do him homage.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Matthew 2:1-12
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, 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.
Isaiah 60:1-6
Our beautiful passage from Third or Trito Isaiah was selected by the early Church Fathers as the first reading for the liturgy on the Feast of the Epiphany. The setting of the reading is Jerusa-lem. A remnant of the Israelite People has recently returned home from exile in Babylon to re-build their city, their temple and their lives. The 60th Chapter of Isaiah is sometimes titled, The Glorious New Zion. Recall that during this time known as the Diaspora most of the Jewish peo-ple are scattered. Through the Prophet Isaiah, God is calling people home. Jerusalem must be a light shining from the heights, reflecting the Glory of God. drawing all people home to God.
The expression Glory of God appears 8 times in this chapter. The Hebrew Kabod Yahweh runs through the Old Testament. The etymology of the Hebrew word, kabod, translated doxa in Greek, glory in English, speaks of the bright majesty of God. The word speaks of a sense of maj-esty of the fullness of light, of wisdom, of beauty which are worthy of honor and praise. At His birth the angels sing of the Glory of God now made manifest in Jesus. “In times past. God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets; in these last days, he spoke to us through a son, whom he made heir to all things and through whom he created the universe, who is the refulgence of His Glory… (Heb. 1:1-3). “And the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us, and we see His Glory and the Glory of the Father’s only Son full of grace and truth.” (Jn. 1:14) The Glory of God must also be seen in and through us. “For it is fitting that He, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the leader of their salvation perfect through suffering.” (Heb. 3:10).
“Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you.” (Is. 60:1). Whether it is glory shining or bright majesty, the concept of glory and light goes hand-in-hand. The imagery of light runs through sacred scripture from beginning to end. In the beginning God said, “Let there be light and there was light.” (Gen. 1:3). In the end, “Night will be no more, nor will they need light from lamp or sun for the Lord God shall give them light, and they shall reign for ever and ever.” (Rev. 22:5) A few versus later in Chapter 60 Isaiah foreshadows this passage from The Book of Rev-elation, “The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you by night; but the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended. (Is. 60:19-20).
For now, Jesus is our light, “As long as I am in the world, I AM the Light of the World.” (Jn. 9:5) We as followers of Jesus are called to be that light, “I AM the Light of the World. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” (Jn. 8:12). With the indwelling presence of Jesus His light will shine through us. Jesus reminds us that we are called to be light on a lampstand for all to see.
Light is a part of created reality. “God said, ‘let there be light and there was light.’” Light trav-els through space at 186,000 miles per second. God is the source of light. Darkness is nothing. It is an absence of light. Throughout Sacred Scripture light is contrasted with darkness, lack of faith, separation from God and even death.
In the incarnation, Jesus is the glory of God made visible. “And the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us, and we saw His glory, the glory of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.” (Jn. 1:14).
As a foreshadowing of the Magi, Isaiah writes: “dromedaries from Midean and Ephah: all from Sheba shall come bearing gold and frankincense.” Note that the myrrh is missing. Perhaps this reflects the limited understanding of the promised Messiah. The gold represents the world, the frankincense is indicative of divinity, and the myrrh is a burial ointment signifying Jesus’ passion and death. The Jewish people were expecting a worldly, political savior who would save them from tyranny. The Magi, filled with the light of faith, revealed Jesus as the suffering servant, the Son of God.
The Magi were Gentiles who followed a star. A star can be seen by all. Jesus is drawing all peo-ple to Himself. “God wills that all people be saved and come to the knowledge of truth.” (1 Tim. 2:3),
Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13.
Psalm 72 and Psalm 127 are titled Of Solomon. Psalm 72 is titled A Prayer for the King – Of Sol-omon. It consist of 20 verses. Verse 20 is as follows: “The end of the psalms of David, son of Jesse.” The New Jerome Biblical Commentary dates this psalm as early as the 10th Century B.C.1
The Psalm proclaims the never-ending Kingdom under the lineage of King David, e.g., “May he live as long as the sun endures.” (Ps 72:5). “May his name be blessed forever; as long as the sun, may his name endure.” (Ps 72:17a).
The Psalm supports the theme of the universal call of all people to God. “May the tribes of the earth give blessing to his name; may all the nations regard him as favored.” (Ps 72:17b). This uni-versal call reinforces the promises found in Gen. 12:3, 22:18, 26:4, 28:14, 48:20, Sir 44:21, Is 49:6 and Zech 2:11.
Psalm 72 speaks of our right relationship with God, that in the presence of God’s Glory we are called to bow down in adoration. “May the kings of Tarshish and the islands bring tribute, and the kings of Arabia and Seba offer gifts.” (Ps 72:10).
Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6
The Apostle to the Gentiles was chosen by the Risen Lord in a particularly dramatic way. “On his journey, as he was approaching Damascus, a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him, He fell to the ground…” (Acts 93). Saul was blinded, thrown into darkness until Ananias prayed over him saying, “Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent me, Jesus who appeared to you on the way, that you may gain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 9:17), It is through the light of the Holy Spirit that the mystery is made known to Paul. As in the experience of the Magi, the heaven-ly light and the inner light come into alignment. The revelation through that light is a universal call to salvation. “For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, ‘I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the uttermost parts of the earth.’ ” (Acts 13:47).
1. Brown, Fitzmyer, Murphy; The New Jerome Biblical Commentary; P.C.; Eng. Cliffs, N.J.; page 538.
Matthew 2:1-12
The story of the Magi is unique to Matthew’s Gospel. Matthew moves quickly from the genealogy and the brief nativity story into the beautiful story of the Magi. In doing so Mat-thew is placing Jesus at once into a specific time and place, into the drama of human history. Even as a newborn infant, Jesus is being adored by some and rejected by others. The miracu-lous birth of new life and the death of the innocent children form a stark contrast. The forces of good and evil clash. The Glory of God fills the earth, and Satan is already working through Herod to kill the child.
The Magi were inquiring about the birth of the newborn King of the Jews. King of the Jews was a title that was used by Alexander Jannaeus (103-76 B.C.) and later used by Herod the Great. Herod, therefore, would have naturally viewed this child as a rival.
The assembled chief priests and scribes evoke visions of them assembled years later at the trial of Jesus. They inform that Magi that the child was to be born in Bethlehem of Judea. To substantiate this claim they quote from both the prophets Micah and Samuel, i.e. Mic 5:2 and 2 Sam 5:2. Bethlehem in the land of Judah, or Bethlehem-Ephrathah must be distin-guished from Bethlehem of Galilee. Bethlehem of Judah is the birthplace of Jesse and his son King David.
Through the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh the identity of the child is revealed. Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah. Gold stands for his earthly kingship. The sign on the cross will be correct, He is the King of the Jews. Frankincense reveals His divine nature, He is the Son of God. Myrrh is a burial ointment. As a gift to the child, it was for Him. Imagine the thoughts going through Mary’s heart as she held the burial ointment for her newborn child. Recall that the expectation of the long-awaited Messiah was misunderstood by most, including the apostles. They were hoping for a political king in the lineage of David to re-store the house of Israel, to free them from years of oppression. Jesus is revealed as the suf-fering servant, the Lamb of God who will take away the sins of the world. By dying he will restore our life. The Light of life, life eternal, is revealed to us in the events that we call the Epiphany.
3. For further study see The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible—The New Testament, page 107.
This weekend we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord. The title of this great feast is a little misleading because it is not the Lord that has an Epiphany. It could be titled the Epiphany of the World. It is the three Wise Men that have the epiphany with the world looking on.
An epiphany is a revelation, a discovery. It is a revelation of a destination by way of the arrival at that destination. Although the wise men came to a specific geographic destination, the stable in Bethlehem, the physical place is symbolic of a deeper arrival. It is the arrival of a state of being. By the guidance of a star and an interior prompting; an exterior light and an inner light come together. They both lead back to the source of all light, Jesus Christ, the Light of the World.
The Wise Men, sometimes called Magi or Kings, were thought to be teachers in the royal courts in the East. They were a part of a royal family and so would have enjoyed all the comforts available at the time. Yet, something within them led them to go searching for something more. An inner light led them to begin a difficult and dangerous journey through the desert into the darkness of night. The inner light moved them to follow a star, an exter-nal guiding light. The star stopped in perfect alignment with the child Jesus. The light of heaven led them to the light of the world. That light was now in the world, lying in a man-ger. The light of heaven and the light of the world are now one, in the person, Jesus Christ.
All of us have access to that same inner light in the depth of our souls. St. Augustine called this inner light, divine illumination. It is the presence of the risen Lord. Jesus looks to draw us and to lead us to the Father. This is the aspect of faith that is pure gift. It is called one of the theological virtues because God is the source.
Like the Magi we are called to respond to the inner light and to seek the guidance of heavenly light to lead and guide our lives through the desert, through the darkness of this world. Dante once said, “Life is like waking up in the middle of a forest standing at the fork of a road and not knowing which way to travel.” We all need the guidance of the Light of the World.
Like the Magi we would be wise to journey together. We are all companions on the same journey. Together we can share light and brighten the path for each other. Many of my brothers and sisters in Christ have been a bright source of light for me over the years, and for that I am eternally grateful.
Jesus reminds us through His parables that we are called to become the light set on a lamp stand for all to see. By allowing the Light of Christ to shine in our lives we will be-come the heavenly light shining in our world. The light of heaven and the light of the world must become one in us. When this happens, it is called an Epiphany. We ask the Holy Spir-it to enlighten us as we pray, come Holy Spirit fill the hearts of us Your faithful and enkindle in us the fire of Your love. Amen.
In Christ’s Love,
My maternal grandparents owned a small dairy farm in an extremely remote area of the county. The farm is situated on a beautiful property with rolling hills and has two separate rivers running through it. One river forms the northern boundary, and the second river bor-ders the eastern. The two-story farmhouse and the barn were both built by my grandfather. The farmhouse and the barn were constructed about 300 yards apart positioned on the high-est hill on the property and the highest elevation in the county. On this small subsistence farm my mother and her nine brothers were raised.
As a child I have many fond memories of life on the farm. My grandmother cooked on a wood stove and the kitchen was always filled with the aroma of fresh baked bread and other delights. The home was full of love and of faith. I enjoyed spending time on the farm with my grandparents. I worked on the farm and neighboring farms through my teenage years.
One of my earliest memories on the farm took place when I was seven years old. I was helping grandpa with the milking. My job was to distribute the oats and the hay to the cows while grandpa was doing his thing on the other end. As grandpa was finishing transferring the milk cans to the cooler, he sent me back to the house.
It was an extremely cold January evening. It was well below zero. The only visible lights were the dim glow coming from the barn and a little dim light coming from the farmhouse windows. About halfway to the house I recall coming to a complete stop. Standing in that extreme cold I felt frozen in time. In every direction 360 degrees at eye level all I could see were stars, billions, and billions of stars. It seemed as if I could reach out and touch them. It was the most breathtaking sky I had ever seen and have ever seen to this day. What I experi-enced at that moment I have always had difficulty finding words to describe. I felt the em-brace and the warmth of God’s love. I knew that God was real, that God loved me, and that God had a plan for my life. I remember feeling this profound connection with God and with the entire universe. I knew that I was a part of God’s creation. I was overcome by the glory and the beauty and the immensity of God and of His universe. And at that moment I knew that I was an integral part of God and His creation. I knew that God did not want a universe without me. The touch of my grandfather’s big hand grabbing mine brought me back to earth. I could smell the fresh baked bread as we neared the house.
Many times, in my life I have returned to that place, physically and spiritually. It would be easy to feel lost or insignificant in the experience of spans of the universe. I think that many people often do. I did not. I felt a profound connection with God and with all that He created. The heavenly light and a deep inner light within me seemed as one. I experienced the immensity and grandeur of God, perhaps the Glory of God. This was and will always remain, my Epiphany.
