The Epiphany of the Lord
Reflection: Epiphany gives us hope
By SISTER MARY McGLONE
“Rise in splendor, your light has come!”
“When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled.”
Isaiah and Matthew spoke about the same reality and opposing reactions from people who heard of it. Ignatius of Loyola would explain that when good people hear the Gospel, the “good spirit” gives them peace and consolation; the “evil spirit” causes the same news to bring dreadful consternation to those whose purposes run counter to God’s designs.
First, let’s look at the evil side. According to Matthew’s narrative, the news of a newborn king disturbed King Herod that he ordered a massacre of all boy children born around the time of the Magi’s travels. This story is probably less factual than symbolic: It creates a parallel between Jesus and Moses who was saved from Pharoah’s slaughter of the Hebrews (Exodus 1:15-22). Yet even if Herod didn’t order the massacre, he was cruel enough to order the death of his own sons, whom he saw as rivals.
Typical of Jesus’ enemies, Herod couldn’t tolerate the danger Jesus posed to the evil powers that propped him up. To Herod, as to the pharaoh, the good news posed a lethal threat.
Now to the good spirits. Isaiah proclaims that the very glory of God will shine on and through the people. The darkness they experienced stood in stark contrast to what God was working among them. Isaiah teaches that knowing God’s glory causes people’s hearts to throb and overflow such that their very faces reflect divine glory. According to Isaiah, knowing God’s glory makes people so attractive that the whole world will be drawn to them.
In Matthew’s narrative, the Magi symbolize all people who seek the glory of God and who, when they see signs of it, are willing to journey beyond their own horizons, seeking God’s yet-unknown grace and wonders.
Paul, in his own way, reflects the Magi’s spirit through his life-changing discovery of the mystery of Christ’s love. In contrast to the murdering Herod, when Paul encountered Christ, he became the apostle who proclaimed the good news to Gentiles, insisting that Christ came for all Earth’s people.
This year, we will hear the Gospel of Matthew. The story of the Magi introduces two of his key themes. First, Matthew highlights Christ as our Emmanuel, God with us. The angel who appeared to reassure Joseph called Mary’s unborn child Emmanuel, indicating who Jesus would be (Matthew 1:23). In the last words of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus commissions his disciples with the promise, “Behold, I am with you [Emmanuel] until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
The second theme the Magi introduce is Emmanuel’s presence for the whole world. Just as Isaiah proclaimed that nations would walk by the light of Israel, Matthew speaks of foreigners who sought the one heralded by their star. They trekked long and far to the insignificant town of Bethlehem to find that light.
This theme, too, finds its counterpart at the end of the Gospel when Jesus commissions the disciples to “Go and make disciples of all nations.” In the presence of Emmanuel, there are no foreigners.
Matthew’s Gospel invites us all to contemplate the reality of Emmanuel, God with us here and now. We are setting off into a year of paying particular attention to recognizing Emmanuel in our midst.
The feast of the Epiphany reminds us that the good news is for everyone of every age. Its proclamation can bring great joy or cause terrible consternation, depending on what each person or society values.
The feast of the Epiphany invites us to enter deeply into these readings. With Isaiah, we can meditate on what truly makes our hearts throb and grow. Reading Paul’s words to the Romans, we can recall ways in which we have felt God’s invitation into mystery and newness. We can discern about the signs of our times and ask what things we have heard that were “not made known to people in other generations.” Then we ask ourselves what we are capable of as people made “coheirs, members of the same body and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus.”
If we are adventurous enough, we might ask the Magi what would draw them forth today. What is happening that would echo in their hearts? Who would they invite to journey with them seeking God’s newness? The Magi would then ask us, “What do you long for so much that you would search heaven and Earth to find it?”
Epiphany urges us to decide what will orient us in this coming year and to set off toward it with the bold and adventurous hope that can only spring from faith — a wonderful way to begin a year of concentration on the Gospel of Matthew.
First Reading
(Isaiah 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
(Psalm 72: 1-2,7-8, 10-11, 12-13)
Second Reading
(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.
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, 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.