Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord Lectionary: 20
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.
WORD OF HOLY FATHER The encounter with the Child, the King When our search is energized by truth, then we find what we are seeking, even if it comes from a “Child wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger” (Lk. 2:12). This passage is interesting. It is not enough to “seek” if our hearts are not pure, if they are not free from prejudice, if they are not guided by sentiments of truth. “ Herod wants to adore the Child, but we know that his desire was twisted (cf. Mt. 2:16: “Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men … he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under”; Lk. 9:9: “He sought to see him”, he was curious because of Jesus’ miracles). Engulfed by fear and uncertainty, imprisoned so by power, Herod was not able to see in that Child what He really was, and so he allowed himself to be taken over by the fear that the Child was a dangerous competitor.
Epiphany manifests Jesus and our hearts Epiphany not only manifests Jesus, the Son of God, but also reveals our hearts. It shows us that the Savior can be welcomed (as happened with the shepherds and the Magi) and rejected (as happened with King Herod). Let’s not hide the fact that there are aspects of “the magi” and aspects of “King Herod” in each of us. There’s a part of us already ready to set out on the journey, to know and understand, to grow and improve, to surpass ourselves. But there is also a Herod always ready to destroy our dreams and hopes. A Herod, always ready to massacre, lurks behind our desire for what is good, beautiful and right, not wanting us to find “the Child” who can change our lives. The Magi teach us that life is a journey and that we are invited to live it as Jesus did, while the Herods of this world delude and flatter us into believing that success and power are necessary in order to exist.
The gifts Gold and incense recall the gifts of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon, a reference we find in the Responsorial Psalm (Ps. 72). Gold represents Jesus’ kingship; incense, His divinity; myrrh, His humanity since it was a substance that was used to sprinkle over the bodies of the dead. The light of the star always leads to an act of adoration, of bowing before the mystery that has drawn near. It leads to giving, but even more, to self-giving. It is precisely this act of “self-giving” that stops many from allowing themselves to be attracted to Jesus because it leads to the fear of losing a position, comfort, security, privileges, thus hindering them from a change of life and conversion.
FAUSTI - In this story the "Christmas of the soul" (M. Ecklart) is presented,as the birth of the believer in God and of God in the believer. It is a gradual generation, in five moments: the con-sidering (staying with the stars) of the intelligence that opens up to desire and to follow the personal star, the Scripture that reveals Him whom we desire, the joy of the heart that shows where He is, the adoration and finally the gift of self to Him who has already given Himself. Even if we know the material place where He was born, it is not sufficient. We must personally follow the itinerary of the Magi with a night journey full of fascination and fears, desires and doubts, hopes and uncertainties, under the direction of a star that appears and disappears. Reason makes us looking for the Savior, Revelation says where to find Him: the former component says that He is present, the latter who He is, giving to the reason new criteria of evaluation, the those of God. Jesus is the King of the Jews, the Christ, Light of the Gentiles, born for all in Bethlem of Judea. The light of reason and Revelation brings to Him humanity, which finds its life in Him. The Church is made not only by Jews, but also by pagans who, like the Magi, accomplish the journey of search until they find Him, kiss Him and open their treasure to Him. "They rejoiced very much in great joy" God is Love; God is joy, His perfume, a sign of presence. It is communicated to everyone who loves, to those who discover the treasure (13:44), to those who meet the Living One (28:8). In this place you finally "enter the house" and find the king. The child is to be seen. Where is the Child, if not in the heart of those who love Him, listen to Him and rejoice in Him? The exterior pilgrimage is stopped; with adoration the interior pilgrimage begins. Three times it is said "to adore". You will find the Child if you enter the " home ", and He is always with His Mother. You will find the Son in Israel, in Mary, in the Church, in your brothers and sisters, in yourself, if you love Him and listen to Him! The treasure in Matthew is the heart of man. Where is your treasure, there is your heart. The Magi open their hearts and offer what is in them. Gold, visible wealth, represents what one has; incense, invisible as God, represents what one desires; myrrh, an ointment that heals wounds and preserves from corruption, represents what one is. The kingship, the divinity, the mortality proper of the creature, everything that man has, but especially what he desires and what he lacks, is his treasure. It opens to God his possessions, his desires and his penuries. And God enters into his treasure. Here is "where" the Son is begotten by the Father. By giving what they are, the Magi receive Him who is, and become like Him in themselves. God is born in man, and man in God. Here the pilgrimage is completed. Even the Magi, like Joseph, receive God's message in a dream. God's dream has more influence on history than the power of any powerful person, and it mocks him. They return to the place where they departed. But "by another road". No longer that of those who seek someone that they do not know, but that of those who have found the One they seek. In fact, they are no longer those of the past, they have found "where" the king was born. The "where" of God is the heart of man, and the "where" of man is the heart of God. They withdrew as " anchorites "as the Greek text says, in their own land. They now have with them a new heaven and a new earth, seeds that they will carry everywhere they will go.
Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord
RispondiEliminaLectionary: 20
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.
WORD OF HOLY FATHER
RispondiEliminaThe encounter with the Child, the King
When our search is energized by truth, then we find what we are seeking, even if it comes from a “Child wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger” (Lk. 2:12). This passage is interesting. It is not enough to “seek” if our hearts are not pure, if they are not free from prejudice, if they are not guided by sentiments of truth. “
Herod wants to adore the Child, but we know that his desire was twisted (cf. Mt. 2:16: “Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men … he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under”; Lk. 9:9: “He sought to see him”, he was curious because of Jesus’ miracles). Engulfed by fear and uncertainty, imprisoned so by power, Herod was not able to see in that Child what He really was, and so he allowed himself to be taken over by the fear that the Child was a dangerous competitor.
Epiphany manifests Jesus and our hearts
Epiphany not only manifests Jesus, the Son of God, but also reveals our hearts. It shows us that the Savior can be welcomed (as happened with the shepherds and the Magi) and rejected (as happened with King Herod). Let’s not hide the fact that there are aspects of “the magi” and aspects of “King Herod” in each of us. There’s a part of us already ready to set out on the journey, to know and understand, to grow and improve, to surpass ourselves. But there is also a Herod always ready to destroy our dreams and hopes. A Herod, always ready to massacre, lurks behind our desire for what is good, beautiful and right, not wanting us to find “the Child” who can change our lives. The Magi teach us that life is a journey and that we are invited to live it as Jesus did, while the Herods of this world delude and flatter us into believing that success and power are necessary in order to exist.
The gifts
Gold and incense recall the gifts of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon, a reference we find in the Responsorial Psalm (Ps. 72). Gold represents Jesus’ kingship; incense, His divinity; myrrh, His humanity since it was a substance that was used to sprinkle over the bodies of the dead. The light of the star always leads to an act of adoration, of bowing before the mystery that has drawn near. It leads to giving, but even more, to self-giving. It is precisely this act of “self-giving” that stops many from allowing themselves to be attracted to Jesus because it leads to the fear of losing a position, comfort, security, privileges, thus hindering them from a change of life and conversion.
FAUSTI - In this story the "Christmas of the soul" (M. Ecklart) is presented,as the birth of the believer in God and of God in the believer. It is a gradual generation, in five moments: the con-sidering (staying with the stars) of the intelligence that opens up to desire and to follow the personal star, the Scripture that reveals Him whom we desire, the joy of the heart that shows where He is, the adoration and finally the gift of self to Him who has already given Himself.
RispondiEliminaEven if we know the material place where He was born, it is not sufficient. We must personally follow the itinerary of the Magi with a night journey full of fascination and fears, desires and doubts, hopes and uncertainties, under the direction of a star that appears and disappears.
Reason makes us looking for the Savior, Revelation says where to find Him: the former component says that He is present, the latter who He is, giving to the reason new criteria of evaluation, the those of God.
Jesus is the King of the Jews, the Christ, Light of the Gentiles, born for all in Bethlem of Judea. The light of reason and Revelation brings to Him humanity, which finds its life in Him.
The Church is made not only by Jews, but also by pagans who, like the Magi, accomplish the journey of search until they find Him, kiss Him and open their treasure to Him.
"They rejoiced very much in great joy" God is Love; God is joy, His perfume, a sign of presence.
It is communicated to everyone who loves, to those who discover the treasure (13:44), to those who meet the Living One (28:8). In this place you finally "enter the house" and find the king.
The child is to be seen.
Where is the Child, if not in the heart of those who love Him, listen to Him and rejoice in Him? The exterior pilgrimage is stopped; with adoration the interior pilgrimage begins. Three times it is said "to adore".
You will find the Child if you enter the " home ", and He is always with His Mother.
You will find the Son in Israel, in Mary, in the Church, in your brothers and sisters, in yourself, if you love Him and listen to Him!
The treasure in Matthew is the heart of man. Where is your treasure, there is your heart.
The Magi open their hearts and offer what is in them.
Gold, visible wealth, represents what one has; incense, invisible as God, represents what one desires; myrrh, an ointment that heals wounds and preserves from corruption, represents what one is. The kingship, the divinity, the mortality proper of the creature, everything that man has, but especially what he desires and what he lacks, is his treasure. It opens to God his possessions, his desires and his penuries. And God enters into his treasure.
Here is "where" the Son is begotten by the Father.
By giving what they are, the Magi receive Him who is, and become like Him in themselves.
God is born in man, and man in God. Here the pilgrimage is completed.
Even the Magi, like Joseph, receive God's message in a dream. God's dream has more influence on history than the power of any powerful person, and it mocks him.
They return to the place where they departed. But "by another road".
No longer that of those who seek someone that they do not know, but that of those who have found the One they seek.
In fact, they are no longer those of the past, they have found "where" the king was born.
The "where" of God is the heart of man, and the "where" of man is the heart of God.
They withdrew as " anchorites "as the Greek text says, in their own land.
They now have with them a new heaven and a new earth, seeds that they will carry everywhere they will go.