Reading 1 Is 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.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 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.
Reading 2 Eph 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.
Gospel Mt 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.
REFLECTION
by
Andy Alexander, S.J.
The Collaborative Ministry Office, Creighton university
The Epiphany of Our Lord (in the US)
Your light has come. ... Nations shall walk by your light. Isaiah 60
Lord, every nation on earth will adore you. Psalm 72
The mystery was made known to me by revelation ... that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Ephesians 3
They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Matthew 2
An "epiphany" is a discovery or an amazing insight. It just makes things clear, all of a sudden. The feast we are celebrating is about the historic evolution of God's relationship with us, at the birth of Jesus. The promise made to the people whom God called his "chosen people" is now given, revealed, shown, made manifest to the rest of the world. The seekers, who studied the stars for an understanding of "mysteries," are led to the mystery of a child born in a stable. They could not have comprehended the full meaning of this discovery, nor could the child's parents have fully explained it to them. However, their presence as part of this story fulfills the promises of the prophets. God's saving presence among us would be a gift for all the nations, for everyone.
For us today, we can ask for the grace that we might have an epiphany - that a light will go on and that we will be filled with a sense of being gifted with the abundance of a deep mystery. The way Paul uses the word, a mystery is something like the "plot" a playwright has in his or her mind. When the curtain opens, the mystery of the story is revealed, for all of us to see it played out.
For us today, the mystery of God's love for us is revealed in the image of the child born for us - born to be one of us, and born in poverty and powerlessness, with us. We could say "God is with us, is one of us, is with me in my darkest moments," over and over and it won't sink in. But, if we contemplate that baby - and all that that simplicity and vulnerabily means - we can become deeply moved by a profound appreciation of this gift. We can kneel before him today - in our own way of expressing our reverence and awe for the holy ground on which we find ourselves. We can offer him "gifts" which recognize that we are in the presence of the God who made us and the friend who died to save us from the power of sin and death. Might we offer our simple prayer of gratitude today? Might we rest a while, savoring who we are, when we realize what God has done for us in Jesus? We don't have to stop and apologize for not having fully seen it before. We just need to let is soak in now.
I may have missed the mystery of the baby in the manger last week. If I have time to let it become clear to me today, what a gift that would be. Perhaps, I could pause, and in my imagination, enter that scene. I could pick up the child, receiving him the way I receive the Eucharist. I could say, "Amen." Amen to this gift, this love, this saving redemption, this mysterious way of surprising me into seeing my vulnerable God's love for me. I can imagine how different it will be to say "Amen" when I next receive the Eucharist! Perhaps, I can talk with the child about what I have been unable to say in prayer before.
And, this week, when we read about how this child became the healer, the calmer of storms, the feeder of crowds, and the one who brings good news to the poor, then I can continue to grow in appreciation and gratitude all week. And, the more my heart can be set on fire with this love, the more I can imagine being a light for others, sharing this wonderous light with others.
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