Epiphany

Jan 13 2025

Arise and Shine Like a Star

They were men in love with the lights of night—astrologers, star-gazers, meaning-makers tuned in to the signs in the heavens, as Matthew tells it. A strange star moving across the sky led them into Israel. Arriving in Jerusalem, they asked where the newborn king of the Jews was, so they could offer homage.

Herod was less than delighted, indeed “greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him,” at hearing of a new king on the block (Matthew 2:3). But he assembled the chief priests and the scribes, who remembered that the prophet Micah had proclaimed that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.

So they set out again, with Herod’s duplicitous request whispered into their ears. The star reappeared and led them to the house where the child and his mother were. Falling down in worship, they offered gifts, and went back home. End of story—as we like to remember it.

Of course, that is not the end. Receiving no word, Herod is enraged and orders the death of all children under the age of two. Joseph, Mary, and the child flee to Egypt. Power does not welcome competition, even in the form of a child.

But God wills all people to know salvation. Jesus came to draw all into the reign of God and to empower them to live the God-life that is the Father’s gift. The darkness of evil continues to threaten but it will not overcome as long as there are those who seek the light, follow it, and allow it to lead them to the child.

Consider/Discuss

When has the light that is Christ come into your darkness?
How are you being called to arise and shine like a star, leading others to Christ?

Responding to the Word

We pray that the light of God’s love, shown to us in Jesus Christ and placed within us with the gift of faith, may lead others to this same faith. We also pray that we may continue our own journey into the mystery of God and find Christ waiting for us at journey’s end.

Jan 13 2025

Scripture Study for

The reading from Isaiah opens with a twofold summons addressed to the city of Jerusalem: Arise! Shine! Although it had been downtrodden and enshrouded in darkness, it is now called out of this desperate state. The illumination into which it emerges is not merely the light of a new day, a new era of peace and prosperity. It is the very light of God. Its dispersed inhabitants return; its destroyed reputation is restored; and its despoiled prosperity is reconstituted. This is not a promise to be fulfilled in the future; Jerusalem’s salvation is an accomplished fact. It is happening before its very eyes.

The primary message to the Ephesians, that in Christ the Gentiles are co-heirs, co-members, and co-partners with the Jews, had been revealed to Paul by God. Since what qualifies one as an heir is life in the Spirit of Christ and not natural generation into a particular national group, there is no obstacle in the path of Gentile incorporation. The body to which all belong is the body of Christ, not the bloodline of Abraham. The promise at the heart of gospel preaching is the promise of universal salvation through Christ.

As we near the end of the Christmas season we read another popular Christmas story: the Three Kings or Three Wise Men. Actually, they were astrologers, men who studied the heavenly bodies and sought to discover the meaning of human life on earth. These anonymous men come out of obscurity and they return to obscurity. All we know about them is that they were not Israelite, and this is the whole point of the story. It illustrates that people of good will, regardless of their ethnic or religious background, are responsive to the revelation of God. The openness of these astrologers brought them to the child, and they did not go away disappointed. This child draws Jew and Gentile alike.

Jan 08 2025

Underdogs Become Stars

In the movie Rudy, Rudy isn’t smart enough to get into Notre Dame. He’s too small to play football. Could he make a touchdown for the Fighting Irish in the final game of his senior year? There’s no way. Not a chance. In the story Hidden Figures, Katherine Johnson is a mathematical genius. She works at NASA as a “calculator.” Yet she is a black woman in the early 1960s. Could she do the mathematical calculations for John Glenn’s return from orbit? There’s no way. Not a chance.

We love these underdog stories, don’t we? The one full of grit and determination, the one who was not supposed to be there—a light shines, someone cracks open a door. The hero(ine) pushes through and comes to victory. The elation! The joy! The success!

Today’s readings give us other underdog stories. St. Paul didn’t walk with Jesus. He persecuted Christians. There’s no way. Not a chance. The magi—astrologers from the east, they were not of the Chosen People. How could they ever see the Messiah? There’s no way. Not a chance.

Yet God opens a crack in the door. Light from heaven strikes Paul to the ground. The risen Lord draws him in. In turn, Paul opens the door for those other underdogs, the Gentiles.

A star in the heavens directs the magi to the King of the Jews, and by that light they are overjoyed to see that baby. The elation! The thrill! The success! Unlikely heroes, we still sing their song, “We Three Kings.”

You and I, we are unlikely heroes, too. People of faith, in love with the Lord? No way. Not a chance. Yet a light has shone into our darkness, too—a glimmer, a taste of the Holy Spirit, and a touch of glory. Wow. Sing praise!

Consider/Discuss

What is your favorite underdog story? With whom do you identify most? Who is it that shines the light, opens the door for the hero(ine)? At the conclusion, what causes you to feel elation and joy at their success?
Sometimes we take our faith for granted. Yet glimpses of light have enlightened our darkness. God is faithful. The heavens have opened and we are allowed to enter. How has that door opened for us?

Living and Praying with the Word

Lord Jesus, you came into this world as an underdog, born in a small backwater of a vast empire. But when the magi saw you, they knew that you truly reigned over all. Thank you for opening the door for us. We are not worthy of you, but you have let us in, too. Show us the elation—the joy—the unexpected successes that you want for us in our own lives.

Jan 08 2025

Scripture Study for

The beginning of the book of Isaiah presents a vision in which, one day, Zion will attract “all nations” seeking to learn from the God of Israel (Isaiah 2:1–4). Here too, toward the end of the book, we hear a similar proclamation in an oracle from the post-exilic period, during which the returnees from exile are slowly rebuilding Jerusalem and a new temple. The hopeful vision announces that because of God’s presence (“the glory of the Lord”), the city is filled with light shining forth over the whole earth, presently darkened (by ignorance or violence?). Once again, we hear that nations will be attracted to Jerusalem because of the God who dwells within, bringing with them tribute to God, whose sovereignty they acknowledge, whose praises they proclaim.

The reading from Ephesians explores the extension of God’s relationship with Israel to include, in Christ, Gentiles also. Here the emphasis is on God’s “outreach” to the nations. Paul has been entrusted with the message of God’s grace. The content of that grace is precisely that Gentiles are now called to join with Jews as heirs of God’s ancient promises. Like the original promises to the Jews, this inheritance has not been earned, but is founded solely on the graciousness of God, whose benevolence is now extending beyond ethnic Israel to include all those who become members of the body of Christ.

The magi, wise men and astrologers who were part of the priestly class in Persia, would have shared the cultural belief that the birth of kings was “announced” through celestial phenomena, such as the “rising of a star.” Thus, they arrive, having ascertained the birth of a Jewish king. Herod, a Jewish client king of the Romans, is understandably threatened. Having determined exactly where such a newborn king might be found, he slyly sends the magi to search him out for him. The gifts of the magi are costly and appropriate for a king; they do not seem particularly dismayed to find the newborn king sleeping in a manger.