Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord
Solennita' tal-Epifanija tal-Mulej
Messalin
A pp 116
Reading
ISaiah 60:1-6
Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem Sheba
L-Ewwel Lezzjoni
Qari
mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta Isaija 60. 1-6
1Qum! Ħa
jiddi wiċċek! Id-dawl tiegħek wasal! Jiddi fuqek sebħ
il-Mulej! 2 Ara d-dlamijiet jiksu l-art, u sħab iswed il-popli: iżda fuqek
jiddi l-Mulej, u s-sebħ tiegħu jfiġġ
fuqek. Il-ġnus għad jimxu fid-dawl tiegħek,
u s-slaten fid-dija tas-sebħ tiegħek. 4 Għolli u
dawwar għajnejk madwarek u ara: ilkoll miġbura ġejjin għandek.
Uliedek ġejjin mill-bogħod, u bnietek
iġorruhom
fuq id-dirgħajn. 5 Imbagħad
tħares u wiċċek
jiddi, u tħabbat u timtela qalbek, għax fuqek taqa' l-kotra tal-ġid ta' l-ibħra, u l-għana
tal-ġnus jiġi għandek. 6 Imrieħel
ta' iġmla għad jgħattuk, l-iġmla żgħar ta'
Midjan u Għefa; ilkoll minn Seba jiġu,mgħobbija id-deħeb u l-inċens, u jxandru t-tifħir tal-Mulej. Il-Kelma
tal-Mulej
Responsorial Psalm
PSalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13
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.
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 ofArabia and Seba shall bring
tribute.
All kings shall pay him homage,
all nations shall serve him.
the kings of
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.
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.
Salm Responsorjali
Salm 71 (72) 1-2, 7-8, 10-11,
12-13)
1 O Alla, agħti lis-sultan il-ħaqq tiegħek,
il-ġustizzja tiegħek lil
bin is-sultan,
2 biex
jiġġudika l-poplu tiegħek bil-ġustizzja,
u bil-ħaqq l-imsejknin tiegħek.
R/. 11)
Il-ġnus kollha ta' l-art jagħtuk
qima, Mulej
7 Tħaddar f'jiemu l-ġustizzja,
u sliem kotran sa ma jintemm
il-qamar.
8 Isaltan minn baħar sa baħar,
u mix-xmara sa truf l-art.
R/. 11)
Il-ġnus kollha ta' l-art jagħtuk
qima, Mulej
10 Is-slaten ta' Tarsis u tal-gzejjer jagħtuh
ir-rigali,
is-slaten ta' Seba u ta' Saba
għotjiet iġibulu.
11 Iqimuh is-slaten kollha,
il-ġnus kollha lilu jaqdu.
R/. 11)
Il-ġnus kollha ta' l-art jagħtuk
qima, Mulej
12 Għax hu jeħles lill-fqir li jsejjaħlu,
u lill-imsejken li m'għandux
min jgħinu.
13 Iħenn għad-dgħajjef u għall-fqajjar;
il-ħajja tal-fqajrin isalva.
R/. 11)
Il-ġnus kollha ta' l-art jagħtuk
qima, Mulej
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.
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.
It-Tieni Lezzjoni
Qari
mill-Ittra ta' San Pawl Appostlu lill-Efesin
3, 2-3a, 5-6
Ħuti, 2intom
smajtu bil-pjan tal-grazzja li Alla tani għall-ġid tagħkom, jiġifieri, li
permezz ta' rivelazzjoni għarrafni l-misteru. 5 Dan hu l-misteru li fil-ġenerazzjonijiet l-imgħoddija
ma kienx mgħarraf lill-bnedmin bħalma
issa ġie rrivelat lill-appostli qaddisa tiegħu u
lill-profeti fl-Ispirtu, 6 jiġifieri, li l-pagani huma msejħa biex ikollhom sehem mill-istess
wirt, ikunu membri ta' l-istess ġisem
ikollhom sehem mill-istess wegħda,
fi Kristu Ġesu' permezz ta' l-Evanġelju. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
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 Jerusalem Bethlehem
Evanġelju
Qari
mill-Evanġelju skond San Mattew 2.
1-12
1 Meta twieled Ġesu'
f'Betlehem tal-Lhudija, fi żmien is-sultan Erodi, xi maġi mill-Lvant ġew Ġerusalemm jistaqsu:
2 "Fejn hu dak li
twieled sultan tal-Lhud? Għax rajna l-kewkba tiegħu tielgħa, u ġejna nqimuh." 3 Is-sultan Erodi sama' bihom, u
tħawwad hu u Ġerusalemm kollha miegħu. 4 Ġabar flimkien il-qassisin il-kbar u l-kittieba kollha
tal-poplu, u ried jaf mingħandhom fejn kellu jitwieled il-Messija. 5 U huma qalulu: "F'Betlehem, tal-Lhudija, għax hekk inkiteb mill-profeta: 6 "U
int, Betlehem, art ta' Ġuda,
le, m'intix l-iżgħar fost il-bliet
il-kbar ta' Ġuda, għax minnek joħroġ mexxej li jirgħa l-poplu tiegħi Iżrael." 7 Erodi mbagħad
sejjaħ lill-maġi bil-moħbi,
u tkixxef bir-reqqa kollha mingħandhom
iż-żmien li fih dehritilhom il-kewkba: 8
bagħathom Betlehem u qalilhom:
"Morru, staqsu sewwa għat-tifel,
u meta ssibuh ejjew għiduli,
ħalli jien ukoll niġi nqimu" 9 Dawk,
wara li semgħu lis-sultan, telqu, u ara,
il-kewkba li kienu raw tielgħa
bdiet miexja quddiemhom sakemm waslet u waqfet fuq il-post fejn kien hemm it-tifel. 10Kif
raw il-kewkba mtlew b'ferħ
kbir tassew. 11 Meta mbagħad
daħlu d-dar u raw lit-tifel
ma' ommu Marija, inxteħtu fl-art iqimuh; fetħu t-teżori tagħhom u offrewlu rigali deheb, inċens u mirra. 12
Imbagħad, billi kienu mwissijin
f'ħolma biex ma erġgħux imorru għand
Erodi, telqu lura lejn arthom minn
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The Tedious Journey to Truth and Joy -- A Biblical Reflection for the Solemnity of
the Epiphany
The
word "epiphany" means "to show forth". Epiphanies,
both large and small, tend to be private events- yet events with great
significance for the public. Trying to share the details with another of
an epiphany is fraught with complications. The words are never quite
right, and even the most sympathetic listener cannot fully bridge the gap
between description and what is was like being there. Most of us keep our
personal experiences of the Holy to ourselves. Who would believe
it? And who would really understand? The irony is that epiphanies
are made for sharing, even as they are impossible to communicate fully.
Jesus is Messiah
and Lord from the beginning. The
purpose of the whole magi story is clearly Christological. The foreigners
are Gentiles, illustrating the universal breadth of the good news brought by
the “king of the Jews.” They are people of good will, open to God, ready
to hear and follow the call of God. They are people willing to follow a
star, wherever it might lead. Open and starry-eyes, they are naive,
guileless, easily taken-in by self-serving priests and murderous kings.
They are romantic and lovable figures, pursing the truth and searching for a
deep and abiding joy that the world cannot give.
What does the story
mean for us?
When we read the story of the
turmoil the child Jesus brought into the lives of Mary, Joseph, the Magi,
Herod, the whole of Jerusalem, and all the newborn babies of Bethlehem -- we
are forced to ask ourselves whether the adult Christ challenges and moves our
lives in the same way. When we read the story of the shepherds and their
vision of angelic choirs, we discover anew how God can break into our life as
well. In remembering and reliving the angelic roles in Jesus' birth in Bethlehem
True joy
The great English Christian writer
and apologist C.S. Lewis is associated more than anything else with his use of
the word "joy." It is interesting that he used it, not so much to
describe his sense of the abiding presence of God, as to speak of the ongoing
longing for God. The story of the Magi and the brightness of the star in
the heavens evokes profound feelings despite the fact that, as with many other
signs of the sacred, it runs the risk at times of being emptied of its
meaning. The star we contemplate in the manger also speaks to the mind
and heart of the men and women of our time. The journey of the Magi and
the star speak to our secularized culture, awakening in our contemporaries the
nostalgia of our condition as pilgrims in search of truth, of the absolute
desire, and of a deep, abiding joy.
The true work of
Christmas
In the end, the Magi went their
own way, and because they refused to be seduced by cynicism, because they
allowed themselves to be surprised by this great joy, the star to which they
had committed themselves appeared again. This is not only the description of
the times into which Jesus was born, but also our times. When we have found our
lasting joy in the midst of the encircling gloom, cynicism, despair,
indifference and meaninglessness, the only thing to do is to kneel and adore,
as did those foreign seekers long ago in Bethlehem
If we are truly wise, let us do
what the wise astrologers did. When we hear the voice of the old king of death
and fear and cynicism, let us have the courage to go our own way -- rejoicing.
The star and the journey will send us onwards, by newer paths, to come into the
presence of the Child of Light and the Prince of Peace, who is the fulfillment
of humanity's deepest hopes and desires for light, justice, love and peace.
Today we can truly exclaim, with
deep and abiding joy: Lord, every nation on earth will adore you! This
poem from the Shaker tradition illustrates what the real work of Christmas and
of Christ is all about:
When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings are back home,
When the shepherds are once more with their flocks,
When Simeon and Anna have gone to their Master in peace,
Then the work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost, to heal the broken,
To release the prisoners, to rebuild nations,
To bring peace to all people,
To make music in the heart. Amen.
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