The Epiphany of the Lord

Jan 29 2025

A Feast for Searchers

“If there weren’t any Wise Men, there should have been,” a spiritual mentor once told me. This was at a time when a story’s truth was equated with its being factual. The story of the Wise Men is true, whether it is factual in its details or not. From the beginning of time, there have been those who have been searching for “truth” or “light” or other divine signals. This journey often begins when something in our world catches the attention of those looking up or out from themselves, glimpsing a “star” beckoning.

The truth behind the story of the Wise Men affirms that God sends out signals for searchers to pick up on and move further down the road that will take them to God. Sometimes we might get lost for a while, our internal GPS ceasing to function because we have made a sudden turn or gone past a suggested turn-off. But, then, in a moment of grace, we hear a welcome “recalculating,” and we are off on our way once again.

Even when “darkness covers the earth and thick clouds cover the peoples,” the One we are searching for is present, and will not let us go off the trail completely—at least not for long, and eventually, in “God’s good time,” we will find our way. The light will return and the Lord’s glory will shine upon all seekers and searchers—even some not much interested in seeking or searching. These, especially, are the ones the Son of Man came to save.

Consider/Discuss

Are you a searcher, a seeker after “something”? Can you name it?
Have you had any experience of “finding God,” or “coming to Christ”?
Have you ever been a “star” for another?

Responding to the Word

Jesus, send the guiding light we all need to find you. Sometimes there is only darkness and we grow tired, frightened, even hopeless. Be with us then and bring us to that place where you can be found. We pray with St. John Henry Newman: “Lead, kindly Light, amidst th’encircling gloom. Lead thou me on!” Amen.

Jan 29 2025

Scripture Study for

Isaiah speaks of enlightenment. He cries out to Jerusalem, “Arise!” “Shine!” Jerusalem is not only delivered from its misfortune by God, but also it is reestablished as a thriving city. 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 the city’s very eyes. Such good fortune is evidence of God’s favor. This good favor is another reason why the city is summoned, “Arise and shine forth!”

The Letter to the Ephesians declares that in Christ the Gentiles are coheirs, comembers and copartners with the Jews. According to the author, the status of the Gentiles had to be revealed because it had been secret until now. The apostles and prophets constituted the foundation of the church. Now, it is through this appointed messenger that the Spirit reveals a new revelation to that established church. This new revelation contains a startling message. It claims that in Christ the Gentiles are coheirs, comembers, and copartners with the Jews. This is a radical insight for a church with Jewish roots and traditions.

The story of the Three Kings or Three Wise Men was probably a kind of haggadah or popular Jewish story fashioned from diverse biblical material intended to make a spiritual rather than historical point. This does not mean that the story is not true. It means that the truth of it is more in the total story and its meaning than in any or all of its details. The point of the story is that these men were not Israelite, but they were nonetheless open to and in search of God’s plan. The story illustrates that people of good will, regardless of their ethnic or religious background, can be responsive to the revelation of God. These men searched for and found the child, and they did not go away disappointed.

Jan 24 2025

Jesus, the Open Door

Good scribe, I am getting old. I must tell my story before I die: The porter began to push the palace door closed: “You are not of the Chosen People. We do not want your kind here.” “But wait! We have seen a star. We have come to worship the king of the Jews.”

“Wait here.”

They let us squeeze in through a crack. The room was heavy with perfume, masking the stench of unwashed bodies. In the stale air, I could not breathe. I longed to be back home, in the crispness of the desert air, basking in the radiance of the stars and the moon. The long trek to get to Jerusalem, to follow that star, just to have the door slammed in our faces, to see this man . . . This was not the king that we were looking for.

“Go to Bethlehem. Find the child. Come back and tell us so that we too can go and worship.” I smelled a lie. I smelled darkness, deceit in these halls of power. My stomach felt like it was being stabbed.

She opened the door. “Come in. Welcome!” I smelled fresh bread. (Some have pictured us coming to a stable—but no, we came to his house.) The baby laughed and reached for us, holding out his arms. I felt a surge of joy. The radiance of the star shone in his little smile, as though he would be a ray of light in the vast darkness. I was happy to give him my gift. They had welcomed us in. We were truly wanted and loved! I felt sure that this king, small as he was, would open the door for others as well.

But let that putrid Herod foul this holy place? No. No. I just wanted to go home.

Consider/Discuss

When have you felt unwanted, as though a door has been slammed in your face? How does that feel different from the welcome of a that has been door graciously opened?
Jesus opened the door of faith to the Gentiles as well as the Jews. How can we more fully appreciate that? How can we, in turn, generously open doors for others?

Living and Praying with the Word

Gifts. Savior of the world, we bring you gifts. Yet all that we give to you has already been given to us. You have clothed us in radiance. Your star has arisen in our lives. We have nothing to give. So we pay you homage and bow before you. Glory to you, O Lord! Your light has shone upon us!

Jan 24 2025

Scripture Study for

The passage from Isaiah begins with an image of a world covered in the darkness and thick clouds of spiritual blindness, confusion, ignorance, violence, and woes of every kind. The exception is Zion, the city of the God of Israel, in which God appears in glory. It is this divine presence that sheds light over Jerusalem, bringing healing, wisdom, and shalom. In such a world, the prophet concludes, all the nations are naturally drawn to the light that shines from within Israel. The prophet foresees a new day dawning for the entire world, beginning with Jerusalem, which will become a destination for all the nations as they move inevitably toward the Light, proclaiming praise for the God of Israel.

Although most of the Old Testament focuses on the particular relationship between Israel and God, that central story is clearly situated within the story of God and the entire human family: Abraham is promised that through him all the families of the earth will find blessing (Genesis 12:3). This larger divine purpose drives much of Paul’s thinking, such as we see it here in the Letter to the Ephesians. Here the emphasis is on God’s “outreach” to the nations. The grace that Paul has been called to proclaim is precisely that Gentiles are now called to join with Jews as heirs of God’s ancient promises. This inheritance, obtained through Christ, is unearned, founded solely on God’s graciousness.

Understandably threatened by the news of a “newborn king of the Jews,” Herod naturally wants to know where he might find this child. The prophecy, derived from Micah 5:1–3, speaks of a Davidic king who will emerge from David’s ancestral town. Herod of course intends to harm the child, but the focus of the reading is on the homage of the wise men, who are not dismayed in the least that the new king of the Jews is to be found in such humble circumstances. Clearly believing the child is in fact the king of the Jews, they bring him costly gifts, which tradition has suggested point toward Christ’s royalty (gold), divinity (frankincense), and eventual death (myrrh).

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.