Catechism Links[1]
CCC 528,
724: the Epiphany
CCC 280,
529, 748, 1165, 2466, 2715: Christ the light of the nations
CCC 60,
442, 674, 755, 767, 774-776, 781, 831: the Church, sacrament of human unity
 |
| “Adoration of the Magi” by Bartolomeo Biscaino, c. 1650 |
Reading I: 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.
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Commentary on Is 60:1-6
The Church sees, in the images of
Isaiah’s prophecy, symbols of her universality. We hear echoes of Isaiah’s
prophetic vision of the coming of Christ and what that means (“See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; but
upon you the Lord shines, and over you appears his glory.”) Verses 5 and 6 give clear reference to the arrival of the
Magi as the Prophet envisions the gifts of gold and frankincense being brought
from the east in praise of the Lord.
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Responsorial Psalm: 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.
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Commentary on Ps
72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13
Psalm 72 is one of the Royal
Psalms. The psalmist exhorts God to bless the king and his dynasty ("...and with your justice, the king’s son").
References are made to messianic peace which will be a perpetual blessing for a
land ruled by God's justice. In the third strophe, the singer describes kings
bringing gifts, and finally in the fourth strophe we see another image of the
messianic kingdom of peace and justice, care for the poor. Seen in the context
of the incarnation of the Messiah, the song is prophetic, announcing the coming
Savior and providing an early image of the Magi.
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Reading II: 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.
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Commentary on Eph
3:2-3a, 5-6
Paul, in his Letter to the
Ephesians, makes reference to the revelation by God of his Only Begotten Son
through various means to all peoples. He mentions specifically that the
Apostles and prophets have been led to enlightenment by the Holy Spirit and
now the Gentiles (see Acts 9:15) . The reference traces the predictive revelation
from the prophets who foresaw the coming of the Messiah, to the Apostles who
walked with him, to Paul whose mission to the Gentiles fulfills the global
mission of Jesus.
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Gospel: 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.
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Commentary on Mt
2:1-12
Matthew's Gospel tells the story
of the Magi (whom tradition holds were named
Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthasar) coming to pay homage to Jesus. The story holds
significance not only as a principal event in the life of Jesus, but also as a
symbol of the Lord’s universal revelation. Scripture and tradition teach that
the Magi were from Persia and were not Hebrew. Their participation in the
revelation of the Messiah provides a global element to the coming of Christ.
Scriptural references would have held importance for the Jewish
readers of St. Matthew’s Gospel. They would have recognized the reference to
“his star at its rising” as being a reference to Numbers 24:17; his star
rising from Jacob – a reference to the coming of the Davidic King – the
Messiah. The Gospel supports this idea, citing Micah 5:1-3 which in turn is coupled with 2 Samuel 5:2, confirming the
kingship of the coming Messiah.
While this story provides depth and meaning to the coming of
Christ as a universal symbol of salvation, it also sets the stage for other
events in the life of Jesus. Had Herod not been made aware of the prophecy, he
would not later have dispatched his solders to Bethlehem to slaughter the Holy
Innocents, and Joseph would not have been forced to flee to Egypt with a babe
in arms.
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Homily:
Less than two weeks ago we were full of anticipation as we
waited for the birth of “baby Jesus” and the grand celebration that took
place. For most of the Christians in the
United States, that day, Christmas Day, marked the beginning and end of the
celebration of our Lord’s incarnation.
Most protestant traditions do not mark the feasts the Catholic Church
celebrates in the Christmas season.
Lest we forget, here is what has happened so far this year:
·
December 26th, Feast of St. Stephen-
First martyr of the Church and one of the first Deacons.
·
December 27th, Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph- remembering the
sacrifices and trials of the earthly parents of the Savior; celebrating their
lives.
·
December 28th, Feast of The Holy Innocents-
Memorializing the infants slaughtered in Bethlehem by Herod in an attempt to
kill the newborn King.
·
January 1st, The Solemnity of Mary – the Octave Day of Christmas- where we
celebrate in a special way the Mother of God, Mary Most Holy and her witness to
God in the world.
Following the Octave of Christmas which was packed with the
power of God’s revelation, we continued our celebration of Christmas in the
balance of the week remembering especially two great saints of the Church
·
Sts.
Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen from the 4th century;
While many of brothers and sisters celebrate this weekend as
a time when Christmas decorations come down, we recall another momentous sign
that salvation has come into the world; the Feast of the Epiphany.
Indeed today we think about the symbol that tells the world
that Jesus did not come just for the Jewish people, but for all people of all
nations. Gaspar, Melchior, and
Balthasar, the Three Kings, represent all of us and today we consider their
legacy.
As we pray about the trek of Gaspar, Melchior, and
Balthasar, we are reminded how difficult that journey must have been. We forget
how difficult travel was in the past. When our three “Wise men” set out following
the Morning Star, they did not know how long they would be gone. They did not know what difficulties they
would face along the way. They must have
prepared very well, not just physically, but mentally as well. What we know for sure is they were compelled
to go by a belief in what they would find.
Do you think, as they sat so many nights out in the deserted lands they
passed through, they ever thought; “What am I doing here?” If they had lesser convictions in the hope
they took on their journey they would have turned back or stopped.
Their success in arriving at the manger is a testament to
their faith. They brought gifts of
homage to help the Holy Family who would soon flee to Egypt to avoid Herod’s
hatred that would spill the blood of many children in that little hamlet of
Bethlehem. What we know for sure,
because we have seen the man Jesus would later become, is that the gift
treasured most by the infant savior was the gift of their faith in him.
As we consider these remarkable travelers, we must also
consider our journey of faith as analogous to theirs. We are on a journey of unknown duration and
distance. If we are faithful in our
trek, as Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthasar were in theirs, we will face challenges
and dangers along the way. They prepared
for a difficult journey and so must we.
Our Holy Father established a Jubilee Year of Mercy. Less than a month ago he opened the Holy Door
of St. Peter’s Basilica on December 8th, 2015. In doing so he established a special time for
us. We are called to show mercy to
others and to take solace as mercy is shown to us.
Often we do not listen carefully to the Psalm sung during
the Mass. We are too busy trying to
remember our response. Today, in the final
strophe of Psalm 72 (one of the Royal Psalms) we heard these words:
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.
King David sang this song prophetically, looking ahead to a
time when God’s justice and mercy would prevail over all the earth. Now, at the Epiphany of the Lord, we prepare
to follow in the footsteps of Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthasar in our own
journey to the Lord. In doing so we
remember that our faith calls upon us to practice the Spiritual and Corporal
Works of Mercy:
(In case anyone can’t remember them, we will remind
you. Oh, and notice I am reading them,
not reciting them from memory. One of my
resolutions this year is to dedicate one week to each of them. That way I will develop the Jesus reflex,
acting as the Lord would without thinking.)
The Spiritual Works of Mercy are:
·
Counseling the doubtful
·
Instructing the ignorant
·
Admonishing the sinner
·
Comforting the sorrowful
·
Forgiving injuries
·
Bearing wrongs patiently
·
Praying for the living and the dead
The Corporal Works of Mercy are:
·
Feed the hungry
·
Give drink to the thirsty
·
Shelter the homeless
·
Visit the sick
·
Visit the prisoners
·
Bury the dead
·
Give alms to the poor
Whatever the obstacles, we must be prepared. Our dialogue
with God in prayer will help us. Following Christ’s example of mercy will
strengthen us.
Today we pause once more to remember that heartwarming
scene: Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus resting in a manger, welcoming the
Magi as they honor and worship the young Messiah. We rejoice with them, hoping our own journey
will find the same great prize waiting for us at its end, our Lord, welcoming
us into his heavenly kingdom.
Pax
[1]
Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, Published by the
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June
2014
[3]
The picture is “Adoration of the Magi” by Bartolomeo Biscaino, c. 1650
[4]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This
re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
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