Reflection on the Epiphany of the Lord – Fr. Kenneth Ahanonu
On the night when Christ was born in Bethlehem, the angel of the Lord announced the joyful news to the shepherds who were keeping watch of their flock. They quickly left their job and located where Christ was born. They praised God. This incidence was recounted in the Gospel readings of the Christmas midnight Mass and the Mass at dawn. But the shepherds were not the only people that came to the birth place of the Lord. The Bible narrates that the magi from the east made a long journey to locate the birth place of Jesus. They adored and worshiped the newly born Savior of the world. While the liturgy celebrates the visit of the shepherds as the essential narrative on Christmas, it focuses its gaze on the visits of the magi on the Epiphany. With this understanding, brothers and sisters, welcome on board as we journey together on this reflection.
Like most of the important events in the life of Christ, the epiphany was also foretold in the Old Testament. Precisely in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah 60:1-6, the event of the epiphany was prophesied. This prophecy was not made in the narrow context of ‘three rich men’ coming from the east to visit Jesus, Mary and Joseph with precious gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Rather, it was prophesied in its wider context of manifesting the arrival of the Lord beyond the shores of the Jewish community. This Isaiah’s prophecy as heard from today’s first reading sets the context for the significance of the Epiphany being celebrated.
Epiphany as a Greek word meaning manifestation celebrates God’s vision of salvation for all of creation that was made manifest in Christ. Today’s readings portray this vision that includes the ingathering of all peoples into God’s embrace, thus eliminating racial, ethnic, religious, social, and national divisions. The passage read in the first reading is part of the so called third Isaiah that was written for the post-exilic Israelite community that is now back in the land of Israel (circa 520 BC). It was a consolation for the humiliated and traumatized Israel that is now recovering. Part of the traumatic experience of the exile was looting the Jerusalem temple of its precious treasuries and transporting same to Babylon, carting away the wealth of the nation where ever they were to Babylon and carrying away the people themselves into bondage in Babylon. It was a horrific experience.
Now that the people are back to their homeland, thanks to the saving mercy of God, they are faced with rebuilding their nation. The Isaiah’s words as heard today in the first reading is like saying, ‘Hei! Wait a minute. Your troubles are over.’ “Then you shall see and be radiant, your heart shall throb and overflow. For the riches of the sea shall be poured out before you, the wealth of nations shall come to you. Caravans of camels shall cover you, dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; All from Sheba shall come bearing gold and frankincense, and heralding the praises of the LORD” (Is 60:5-6). It’s like saying, your wealth was taken away forcefully from you, time shall come when nations shall joyfully bring their hard-earned wealth to you. It’s like saying, one nation took away your wealth and your glory, time shall come when all nations shall gladly bring their wealth to you.
In today’s gospel passage, we hear about the magi bringing the precious wealth of gold, frankincense and myrrh from their faraway lands. But the significance of Isaiah’s prophecy is much more than the arrival of the magi. It rather helps us to understand why up till now, the nations of the world joyfully carry their own wealth to Jerusalem and they are blessed each time they do so. Today we still talk of pilgrimage to the holy land and contributions to the holy land and this comes from all the nations of the world. The response of today’s responsorial psalm aptly describes it: “Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.”
Beyond adoring the Lord in his holy land with our gifts, the celebration of the Epiphany once more brings to our consciousness the glaring truth of our religion “that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and co-partners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (Eph 3:6). By saying this, Paul explains to the Christians in Ephesus that their new reality (being one body in Christ) abolishes previous divisions of race, ethnicity, and religion. His use of the words: “members of the same body,” emphasizes that something truly unique is happening. Yes, this is the truth of our religion.
Although we are different in many ways and if you like, in every way, yet we all share sonship in God and co-brothers and sisters with Christ. This is the beauty of Christianity. We may be from different races, ethnicities and cultures. We may speak different languages and adopt different philosophies and ideologies. We may have come from different family backgrounds, social status and stratifications. We may have different personality types, inclinations and nurtures. We may have different targets, struggles, difficulties and setbacks. We may have different opportunities, favours and winning experiences. Yet we are all one in Christ. We are all united because of Christ – unity in diversity.
In the gospel passage of today, it was read that “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” (Mt 2:1-2). The magi are not Jews. They are gentiles – the Jews refer to the non-Jews as gentiles. The Lord draws all peoples to himself to do him homage, worship and adoration. It does not matter whether you are Jewish as in the case of the shepherds or gentile as in the case of the magi. Our diversity is not an impediment in reaching out to the Lord. It is rather an added gain – unity in diversity.
The same Lord uses diverse means to draw us to himself. In the case of the shepherds, he used the angels to announce to them the Goodnews of the birth of the Saviour. The angels even sang melodiously to the poor shepherds. What a delightful spectacle. In the case of the magi, the same Lord used the star as a guiding instrument to bring them to himself. The result is the same – adoring and praising God. It does not matter how we are called or where we are called to follow Jesus. What matters is that we answer the call and follow him.
The shepherds were informed immediately about the birth of Christ and they quickly reached out to him in the manger. They were the first to arrive. The magi arrived later. The shepherds made a little journey to arrive; Jesus was born in their neighbourhood. The magi made a long journey; they came from distant lands. The shepherd’s journey to the manger was swift and smooth; they met no obstacle on the way. It was not so for the magi. Even the guiding star at a time disappeared. They had to resort to asking for direction. This led them face to face with Herod. Yet, they arrived to their destination and wholeheartedly worshiped the Lord.
My dear ones, what happens to your journey to Christ does not matter. What matters is that you actually find Christ. For some, the Christian journey is rough; for some others it may be smooth. Some people do not need a conversion experience. They are born into a good Christian family. They live their whole life and die in it. For some others, undertaking a decisive conversion experience is the way to go. For some people, the Christian teachings and values are natural to their genetic and personality make-ups. For some others, it is not so. They have to struggle to make meaning of the Christian values for their life. All these differences are not what matters. What matters is that we are embracing Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour even if this is not making a real sense to us. It is in this context that the grace of God on its own time, complements the rest in our lives. Happy feast of Epiphany.
