EPIPHANY OF OUR LORD
Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:2-3a.5-6; Matthew 2:1-12
Christ our light has come into the world and shines in
the darkness. On this feast of Epiphany
he manifests himself to us in a unique way. The feast of the Epiphany is the
mystery of the Lord’s manifestation to all peoples, represented by the Magi,
who came from the East to adore the King of the Jews. The word ‘epiphany’ comes
from Greek, meaning, a ‘manifestation’.
Today we celebrate the feast of the coming of the Magi
in search of the newly born king and God revealing himself to the universe to a
group essentially non-Jewish. The magi
were strangers, foreigners, total outsiders who came to pay royal homage to
this tiny child. The Gospel of today
tells us about the wise men from the East who followed a star in search of the
new born king of the Jews. When they
find him, they worship him and pay him homage as they offer him gifts of gold,
frankincense and myrrh.
Today’s First Reading from the Book of Isaiah speaks
of a prophecy that was made approximately seven hundred years prior to the
birth of Christ expresses the joy of the Israelites as they returned after
years of captivity and entered the holy city Jerusalem. The prophecy of Isaiah
gave them hope that the promised Messiah would soon rise among the people and
that His glory would be seen by all. As God’s chosen people, it was prophesied
to the Jewish nation that they would be the light of the world and that the
nations of the world would come to their light. At last Jerusalem has achieved
its ideal as a city of light.
Matthew tells us that the Magi or the wise men found
Jesus by following a star, which thus traditionally known as the Star of
Bethlehem and accepted the interpretation of the star and followed it to
discover the King they were seeking. On
finding him, without hesitation or doubt they pay their homage and present him
three symbolic gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh.
The three gifts had a spiritual meaning: gold as a
symbol of kingship on earth, frankincense or incense as a symbol of priesthood,
and myrrh, the embalming oil as a symbol of death. This story points to the
future of Jesus.
All in all, today’s feast is telling us that for God
there are no foreigners, no outsiders. There is no room for discrimination of
any kind based on nationality, race, religion, class or occupation. The story tells us that God, in the person of
Jesus, is reaching out to the whole world. These pagan foreigners went to great
lengths to find the King of the Jews and do him homage.
We can learn much from the manifestation of God to the
three wise men. They were the pilgrims in search of the divine and their joy
was immense when they made the discovery.
Their faith was childlike and deeply religious. They had a specific purpose in mind and they
went in a particular direction. They followed the star and they encountered
God. It tells us that we too have to
search for our God and cannot rest till we find him.
Finally, the Feast of Epiphany is a reflection of the
Light. Through the Birth of Jesus, we see the arrival of the Light in the
world. The three wise men followed the brilliant star in the sky. To them, the
light of the star was a symbol of hope, of joy and of peace. To them, the star
was but a small reflection of the fullness of the Light of the world that
awaited them at the end of their journey. Through the Magi, we see the light of
hope, of joy and of peace to come. Through the Baptism of Jesus, we see the
beginning of the ministry of the Light in the world. Through the miracle at
Cana, we see the Light of God manifesting His Supreme power over the element of
water. All these events are reminders to us that we too are called to be a
light in the world.
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