2024-Jan-7 and 2022-Jan-2 The Epiphany of the Lord

 2022-Jan-2: The Epiphany of the Lord

Welcome

- Who shall we pray for today ...

Opening prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you for bringing us together today to study your Word. Help us to find the true meaning of your mysteries. May your peace be in our hearts, your grace be in our thoughts, your love be in our words and your joy be in our souls. May your Spirit guide us, your words bring us your peace, your shield protect us, your wisdom arm us, wherever you may lead us. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.

Significance of Feast of the Epiphany: 

Up until the 4th century, Christmas or Jesus’ birth was celebrated on January 6 (it still is in most parts of the Orthodox Church around the world). However, in 325 AD Emperor Constantine (the first to convert to Christianity through the influence of his mother Saint Helena) moved the observance of Christmas in the Western Church to December 25, the day of the Sol Invictus or the Unconquered Sun.

Epiphany (from the Greek 'epiphaneia' to appear or become manifest) means the sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something - in this case it means the Saviour has come to save Gentiles as well as Jews. This was contrary to almost 1800 years of Jewish tradition starting with Abraham himself that said Yahweh was the God/saviour for Jews alone. 

Epiphany (or Theophany) which falls on the twelfth day after Christmas, was not about the arrival of the three Magi in the early church but the revelation that Jesus Christ was God’s only and beloved child revealed not just for Israel but to the whole world (the Magi were Gentiles from Persia).

Isaiah 60:1-6

Isaiah 60, taken from Third Isaiah (chapters 56-66), casts a magnificent vision of Zion’s future — full of light, prosperity, and prestige. It was written when the exiles returned from Babylon giving rise to a major conflict between those who had remained and those who returned after 70 years. People were divided among themselves

Isaiah 60 is a major shift from the earlier passages 58 and 59 which were gloom and doom, calling for repentance. This passage says God will pour forth unconditionally with salvific glory - not just for those returning from exile, not just for Jerusalem but for all the nations of the Earth.

The contrast of light and darkness is ancient and universal spanning cultures and religions. The light here refers to the very presence of God and pervasive darkness is the prevalent force of despair and evil.

This city, whose history is riddled with the wreckage of war and marked by the scars of empire, will exchange the sounds of violence and ruin for the glory of a victorious ruler.

Traditionally this passage was read during the Feast of the Three Magi who followed a magnificent light to bring treasures of Gold and spices to the baby Jesus, who is the true light of the world.

For us today we need to remember no matter how strong the darkness of the pandemic, we can take heart. However powerful the forces of evil may seem, God has chosen to work through the Church. When we recognize the needs of the poor in this world and bring them the glory of God through our ministry. Isaiah's visions are meant to sustain and empower us to create and to build, to remain faithful, and to love our God and each other. 

Psalm 72

This psalm titled 'THE KING AND THE KING OF KINGS', is thought to be authored by King Solomon as a fitting conclusion for the collection of mostly his father King David’s psalms. But surprisingly it is not about David himself but the Messiah who will come from the house of David.

• In the first verse, he asks for God's wisdom to be bestowed on this king. 
• In the second, just as in the kingdom of Solomon, through the influence of his wisdom, good men were encouraged, righteousness flourished, and the land enjoyed tranquillity, so too in the days of the Messiah will justice and peace flourish throughout the whole Earth.
• In the third verse, the kingdoms listed were from the ends of the Earth - even kings would come from far and wide to pay him homage
• In the fourth verse, we see that the lowly and humble will be exalted - this we know to be the cornerstone of Jesus' ministry

Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6

Written after Jesus’ death and resurrection, Ephesians 3:1-12 boldly proclaims that God’s gift of Christ is still to be manifest to the world: no longer in the physical person of Jesus Christ, but in the church—Christ’s own body—through the unity of its diverse members.

The mystery that St. Paul refers to is that previously Gentiles were locked out of the covenant made by Yahweh to his chosen people the descendants of Abraham, but the sacrificial gift of Christ’s own life reconciled both Jews and Gentiles to God and to each other - breaking down supposedly insurmountable social, cultural and religious barriers. 

This is the gospel, or good news, which Paul was made by God’s intervention on the road to Damascus, following which he became a true evangelist and disciple. God chose Paul to be his messenger and Paul dedicated his life to God's mission.

Even today, we have this human weakness of claiming God for ourselves. We are even guilty when we blasphemously claim to have a truer knowledge of God than others do. This passage encourages reflection on the extent to which our Church today embraces the radical inclusiveness of all races, cultures, socio-economic, religious and even various behavioural groups as envisioned by the Gospel. It should be our ministry, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, to bring about reconciliation and peace among all peoples so that the true mystery of Christ gets revealed to all peoples, all nations.

Matthew 2:1-12

The three wise men (“magi” in Greek means Zoroastrian priests) came from Persia - at the time a political rival to Rome. They were scholars of their day, learned to interpret dreams and understand astrology and enjoyed access to the Persian emperor. 

The magi in Matthew 2 are depicted as servants not kings as is depicted in pop culture today. Isn't that radical? They are persons who do as they are instructed (more correctly inspired by the Holy Spirit), who seek no honour for themselves, and who gladly humble themselves, kneeling ('proskuneo' in the original Greek) before a woman and a child laying in a modest manger. Clearly, they fit the image of servants better than that of kings. 

Unsurprisingly, they also embody perfectly the two traits that are ascribed to infants in Matthew’s story. They are persons to whom God reveals what is hidden [Mt 11:25] and from whom God derives worship or praise [Mt 21:16]

The coming of Christ, was revealed to outsiders and paradoxically rejected by many inside the Jewish faith (the scribes remembering scripture [Micah 5:3] pointing to Bethlehem were happy to collaborate with Herod who wanted to eliminate this newborn King)

The Magi give Jesus three gifts. 

• Gold is a sign of kingship, and foretells Jesus as King of Kings.
• Frankincense represents worship and wisdom, and foretells Jesus' Godly status. 
• Myrrh is a sign of long life and healing; and was used to embalm bodies and here it foretells the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

But the three Magi are told in a dream to return back without reporting to Herod, who then orders the massacre of all children under the age of two (Feast of the Holy Innocents). Joseph too, as told in a dream of Herod’s plot, flees with the Holy Family to Egypt instead of returning to Nazareth.

Closing prayer

Faithful Father, we thank you for hearing our prayers, feeding us with your word, and encouraging us as we gather. Take our lives and use us to love and serve you, and all people, in the power of your Spirit and in the name of your Son. We are created by your power, redeemed by your love and strengthened by your Spirit. We give ourselves into your service, may we love you and love others with all our hearts.  Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.

Our Father - Hail Mary - Holy Mary - Glory Be