The signs of the times

Readings for Sunday, January 6^th

Solemnity of the Epiphany of The Lord

L-Epifanija tal-Mulej

Messalin Ċ pp 129

  

Reading 1 – Isaiah - Chapter 60, 1-6

Rise up in splendor! 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. This is the Word of The Lord

L-Ewwel Qari -  Isaija - 60, 1-6

Qum!  Ħa jiddi wiċċek! Id-dawl tiegħek wasal! Jiddi fuqek sebħ il-Mulej! Ara d-dlamijiet jiksu l-art, u sħab iswed il-popli; iżda fuqek jiddi l-Mulej, u s-sebħ tiegħu jfeġġ fuqek. Il-ġnus  għad jimxu fid-dawl tiegħek, u s-slaten fid-dija tas-sebħ tiegħek. Għolli u dawwar għajnejk madwarek u ara: ilkoll miġbura  ġejjin għandek. Uliedek ġejjin mill-bogħod, u bnietek iġorruhom fuq id-dirgħajn. Imbagħad tħares u wiċċek jiddi, u tħabbat u timtela qalbek, għax fuqek taqa' l-kotra tal-ġid tal-ibħra, u l-għana tal-ġnus jiġi għandek. Imrieħel ta' iġmla għad jgħattuk, l-iġmla żgħar ta' Midjan u Għefa; ilkoll minn Seba jiġu, mgħobbija bid-deheb u l-inċens, u jxandru t-tifħir tal-Mulej. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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Responsorial Psalm: Chapter 72, 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/

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/

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/

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/

Salm Responsorjali - Salm  71 (72)

R/   Il-ġnus kollha tal-art jagħtuk qima, Mulej.

O Alla, agħti lis-sultan il-ħaqq tiegħek,

il-ġustizzja tiegħek lil bin is-sultan,

biex jiġġudika l-poplu tiegħek bil-ġustizzja,

u bil-ħaqq  l-imsejknin tiegħek.                          R/

Tħaddar f'jiemu l-ġustizzja,

u sliem kotran sa ma jintemm il-qamar.

Isaltan minn baħar sa l-baħar,

u mix-xmara  sa truf l-art.                                 R/

Is-slaten ta' Tarsis u l-gżejjer jagħtuh ir-rigali,

is-slaten ta' Seba u ta' Saba għotjiet iġibulu.

Iqimuh is-slaten kollha,

Il-ġnus kollha lilu jaqdu.                         R/

Għax hu jeħles lill-fqir li jsejjaħlu,

u lill-imsejken li m'għandux minn jgħinu.

Iħenn għad-dgħajjef u għall-fqajjar;

il-ħajja tal-fqajrin isalva.                                   R/

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 Reading 2 – Ephesians Chapter 3, 2-3, 5-6

If, as I suppose, you have heard of the stewardship ¹ of God's grace that was given to me for your benefit, (namely, that) the mystery ² was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly earlier. which was not made known to human beings 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. This is the Word of The Lord

It-Tieni Qari – Efesin 3. 2-3a;5-6

Ħuti,  intom smajtu bil-pjan tal-grazzja  li Alla tani għall-ġid tagħkom, jiġifieri, li permezz ta'  rivelazzjoni għarrafni l-misteru. 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,

jiġifieri, li l-pagani huma msejħa biex ikollhom sehem mill-istess wegħda, fi' Kristu Sidna permezz tal-Evanġelju. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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Gospel – Matthew Chapter 2, 1-12

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, ² behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem,  saying, "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star ³ 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 Messiah 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. This is the Word of The Lord

 

Evanġelju  -  Mattew 2, 1-12

Meta twieled Ġesu' f'Betleħem tal-Lhudija, fiż-żmien is-sultan Erodi, xi maġi mill-Lvant ġew  Ġerusalem jistaqsu:  "Fejn hu dak li twieled sultan tal-Lhud? Għax rajna l-kewkba tiegħu tielgħa u ġejna nqimu." Is-sultan Erodi sama' bihom, u tħawwad hu u Ġerusalemm kollha miegħu. Ġabar flimkien  il-qassisin il-kbar u l-kittieba kollha tal-poplu, u ried jaf mingħandhom fejn kellu itwieled il-Messija. U huma qalulu:  "F'Betlehem, tal-Lhudija, għax hekk inkiteb mill-profeta:  "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". Erodi mbagħad sejjaħ lill-maġi bil-moħbi, u tkixxef bir-reqqa kollha mingħandhom iż-żmien li fih dehritilhom il-kewkba; bagħathom Betlehem u qalilhom:  "Morru,  staqsu sewwa għat-tifel, u meta ssibuh ejjew għiduli, ħalli jien ukoll niġi nqimu." 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. Kif raw il-kewkba tlew b'ferħ kbir tassew. 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. Imbagħad, billi kienu mwissijin f'ħolma biex ma jerġgħux imorru għand Erodi, telqu lura lejn arthom minn triq oħra.  Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.

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COMMENTARY

Father Cantalamessa on the Epiphany of the Lord

Here is a translation of a commentary by the Pontifical Household preacher, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa (left), on the liturgical readings for the solemnity of the Epiphany.
The Signs of the Times

"We celebrate three wondrous events on this holy day: Today the star leads the Magi to the stable, today the water is changed into wine at the wedding feast at Cana, today Christ is baptized by John in the Jordan for our salvation." With these words the liturgy describes today's feast; it consists in the triple revelation of Christ: to the magi, at the wedding feast at Cana, and in Jesus' baptism in the Jordan. Since ancient times, that which has brought about the unification of these three events in a single feast is their common theme of manifestation (in Greek "epiphania"). In these events Jesus progressively reveals what he is in reality, the Messiah and saviour.

Christ reveals himself to all peoples and to each category of persons with signs appropriate and comprehensible to them. To simple shepherds he sends an angel; to the wise who scrutinize the courses of the heavenly bodies he sends a star; to the Jews attached to signs, he gives a sign, that is, a miracle: He changes water into wine.

With what signs does Christ manifest himself to the men of our time? The Second Vatican Council gave important attention to the "signs of the times" ("Gaudium et Spes," No. 11). Among these are the sense of solidarity and the interdependence that is developing between nations, Christian ecumenism, the promotion of the laity, the liberation of women, the new sense of religious freedom.

 When Jesus spoke of the "signs of the times," he meant above all the messianic signs: "The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are healed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news preached to them" (Matthew 11:5). Are there such signs today? Certainly there are! The blind receive the light of faith and hope through contact with the word of God; the spiritually lame (and sometimes the physically lame) get up and walk; those who are prisoners in themselves, of evil, or of men, are freed from their chains; in sum, people are converted and live through the power of Christ and his Spirit.

Jesus insists on one of these signs in particular: "The good news is announced to the poor" (Luke 7:22). Is not the concern, typical of our time, that the Gospel be preached to the poor, a sign that Christ is at work in the Church? Perhaps today we are able to discover a new meaning in that saying of Jesus: "The poor you will always have with you but you will not always have me" (Matthew 26:11); that is to say: When I am no longer with you physically, the poor who represent me will be with you: do to them what you would do to me!

The bringing of the Gospel to the poor may sometimes appear too slow and uncertain and not always consistent, but it would be unjust to deny that there is alive in the whole Church an interest, a zeal -- which is also a positive sign -- a strong feeling in regard to the poor, whether they be individuals or an entire people. It is a new consciousness that "manifests" the power of the word of Christ.

These are some of the signs of the epiphany of Christ that continue to manifest themselves among us. We all have the task of discovering and evaluating these signs and becoming ourselves a sign of the presence of Christ in the world!   []