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
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
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 in this section of a hymn envisioning a
completely restored and radiant Jerusalem. 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.
"Today, the wise man finds lying in a
manger the One he had searched for as a brilliant light shining among the
stars. Today, the wise man sees wrapped in swaddling clothes the One he long
sought to find, unveiled, in the heavens. Today, to his great surprise, the
wise man discerns in what he studies: heaven on earth, earth in the heavens,
man in God, and God in man; what the whole universe could not contain inhabits
the body of a child. And seeing all this, he believes and doubts no more; and
he announces it to all, using his mystical powers: incense for God, gold for
the King, and myrrh for the One who will die. Today, the Gentile who was once
last is first, because the faith of the wise man sanctifies the belief of all
the peoples" (St Peter Chrysologus, "Semones", 160). [5]
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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 are also led (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.
The Old Testament revealed that the
nations would be blessed, but it remained unclear how this would take place (Genesis 22:16-18; Sirach 44:21; Isaiah 49:6; Zechariah 2:11). It was
also not clear before the proclamation of the Gospel whether the Gentiles would
be saved on an equal footing with Israel (Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:11). [6]
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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
“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
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
“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:
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 great saints of
the Church
·
Sts.
Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen from the 4th century;
·
St.
Elizabeth Ann Seton a 19th century American saint;
·
St. John
Neumann who served in the U.S. a few decades after her.
While many of our 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 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. 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.
We are reminded at this time of
the year of the non-scriptural tale of the fourth Magi. It was written back in
1895 by Henry van Dyke (some of you may be more familiar with the film version
produced in 1985). While it is a work of fiction, we think the story is a good
one to relate on our feast. It tells of
a fourth king (Artaban, one of the Medes from Persia) who was to join Gaspar,
Melchior, and Balthasar. According to the tale, he had also seen the signs in
the heavens and wished to give his own gifts: a sapphire, a ruby, and a
"pearl of great price."
“However, he stops along the way
to help a dying man, which makes him late to meet with the caravan of the other
three wise men. Because he missed the caravan, and he can't cross the desert
with only a horse, he is forced to sell one of his treasures in order to buy
the camels and supplies necessary for the trip. He then commences his journey
but arrives in Bethlehem too late to see the child, whose parents have fled to
Egypt. He saves the life of a child at the price of another of his treasures.
"He then travels to Egypt
and to many other countries, searching for Jesus for many years and performing
acts of charity along the way. After 33 years, Artaban is still a pilgrim, and
a seeker after light. Artaban arrives in Jerusalem just in time for the
crucifixion of Jesus. He spends his last treasure, the pearl, to ransom a young
woman from being sold into slavery. He is then struck in the head by a falling
roof tile and is about to die, having failed in his quest to find Jesus, but
having done much good through charitable works. A voice tells him ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one
of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ (Matthew 25:40b)
He dies in a calm radiance of wonder and joy. His treasures were accepted, and
the fourth Magi found his King.”[7]
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.
Whatever the obstacles, we must
be prepared. Our dialogue with God in prayer will help 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
think of that fourth Magi as analogous to our own journey, for we too were too
late to see the newborn king in his manger.
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.
[2]
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 republication is not authorized by USCCB and is
for private use only.
[5]
The Navarre Bible: “Major Prophets”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002,
p. 261.
[6]
Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, © 2010, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA. p.
348.
[7]
Summary taken from Wikipedia.
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