Walking with Jesus: The Epiphany of the Lord

Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:2-3, 5-6; Matthew 2:1-12

Let’s start out this way:

!sgnisselB ynahpipE

Can you decifer that?

Living the Word, a Scriptural reflection aid I use often, started its analysis of the readings this week and it stopped me What are they saying? Implying? What does this gibberish have to do with today’s readings? Were their fingers on the wrong keys? Have you figured it out yet?

Sometimes ... oftentimes ... we are so familiar with the Scripture passages, especially during the Christmas season, that we lose sight of the main theme the sacred writers are emphasizing. We see the little baby in the crib … shepherds and magi coming to pay honor and praise to God ... and we are lost in the beauty of being present at this most important of all births. God’s plan is now upon us. All we have to do is look at Herod’s reaction at hearing of the birth of the “… newborn king of the Jews … he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.” [Matthew 2:3] What happens when a king is troubled and everyone knows it? This was NOT good news … he was the king … he had supreme power … who is this usurper? THIS MUST STOP NOW! He had to be terribly enraged. Look what happened next: “He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under …” [Matthew 2:16]

We know this happened … but the birth stopped Herod and all the authorities in their tracks. Were we so attached to the “special birth … the Savior has come” … that we thought everyone would be attracted to the beauty and innocence and future of God’s plan being realized? Herod didn’t. Neither did the soldiers who had been sent on their urgent mission. Were they rough and cruel following these orders? Yes! Would they have broken into homes? Yes! Would they have grabbed any child (boy or girl) and killed them on the spot? I think so! Would they have cared if the child was male or female? I would say no! How many were killed? “Byzantine liturgy estimated 14,000 Holy Innocents, while an early Syrian list of saints put the number at 64,000. Coptic sources raised this to 144,000 and placed the event on 29 December.” [Wikipedia]

What is the focal point? Living the Word says “that God often works in backwards, upside-down, inside-out ways!” (Read/spell my opening line above from right to left!)

The Magi have traveled quite a distance. They know deep inside that they are right: A special event is happening, never before seen. They have brought people who agree with them. They know this event will turn the world upside down for all time. They believe … they come … they see … they worship and adore … and they return knowing that they have been in contact with the Divine. Have we? Can we? We look to the readings for deeper insights.

Isaiah’s earlier writings concern themselves with the collapse of Jerusalem after the kings and the people have sinned continually against God’s commandments. Today Isaiah is giving an entirely different message: He is projecting, imagining, Jerusalem in all its glory and brilliance. A brightness that can only come from God has enveloped it … God’s glory has come. God has initiated salvation. No kingdom could ever bring this about, only God. God invites all the rebellious to come to Him. God’s saving power and plan has arrived. Are we a part of it?

Paul has been emphasizing that God’s plan for all of humanity has entered its final phase in which all peoples are reconciled to God and to one another in Christ, making all humanity a single people. All are God’s people, called to live God’s way of love, forgiveness and care.

Matthew shares how the Magi immediately recognize the child. They prostrate themselves and pay respect and worship. God has chosen an insignificant people -- the Jews and Jerusalem -- to see, believe and share the mystery of God’s love as revealed in the child born for us. God has broken into our world and Jesus has directed our lives toward the things of God. The Magi remodel their lives and direct us to consider the “stars” that we follow. Are we directing our lives and fixing them on the “stars of God” -- on compassion, peace, mercy, justice, forgiveness and love? Do we see that this direction gives us a deep and true sense of meaning?

So I reflect on:

• Do I base my life on what I can see and touch? Could I have it backward? What if that which I cannot see and touch and measure is the ultimate reality? God is love; am I?
• How does the light that I see lead me into the glory of the One whom I cannot see?
  

Sacred Space 2022 states:

“The story told in today’s Gospel is about people being called to follow their star in order to find the fullness of life only Jesus can give. ‘I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.’ [John 10:10] You may not have thought much about the nature of the star you follow. With a view to clarifying this, it may be worthwhile to ask yourself what you want for your children, your family or your friends.”