Wise men still seek him

Readings for  January 5, 2014

  Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord

 Solennita' ta’ l-Epifanija tal-Mulej

(Messalin A pp 116)

Reading 1                                                         ISaiah 60:1-6

Rise up in splendour, 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.   This is the Word of The Lord.

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

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) 1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13)

                   

R/.  11)   Il-ġnus kollha ta' l-art jagħtuk qima, Mulej

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/.

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/.

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/.

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/.

Reading 2                                          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.  This is the Word of The Lord.

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, 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.

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 triq oħra.  Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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 COMMENTARY:

The Decisiveness of the Magi

Gospel Commentary for the Epiphany  by Father Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap 

We will closely follow the Gospel's account of the coming of the three magi to Bethlehem to find in it some practical instruction for our life. In this account the historical element mixes with the theological and symbolic element. In other words, the Evangelist did not intend only to report the facts, but to inculcate the things to be done, indicate models for the readers to follow, or avoid. As the rest of the Bible, this page too was written "for our instruction."

There are three different reactions to announcement of Jesus' birth that clearly emerge in this account: that of the Magi, that of Herod and that of the priests. Let us start with the negative models, the ones to avoid.

First of all, Herod. He, just having heard the news, "was greatly troubled." He convokes a meeting of the chief priests and scribes, not to know the truth but to plot deception. Herod represents the person who has already made his choice. Between God's will and his will, he has clearly chosen his own will. He sees nothing but his own interests and he is determined to cut down any threat to the current state of things. He probably even thinks that he is doing his duty, defending his royalty, has caste, the good of the nation. Even ordering the killing of the innocents must have seemed to him, as with many dictators in history, a measure demanded by the public good, morally justified. From this point of view the world is full of many "Herods" even today.

Let us turn now to the attitude of the priests and scribes. Asked by Herod and the Magi where the Messiah is to be born, they do not hesitate to give the right answer. They know where the Messiah is born; they are even able to tell others; but they are not moved. They do not run to Bethlehem, as would be expected of people who await the coming of the Messiah, but remain comfortably in Jerusalem. They act like road signs: They indicate the way to follow but they remain immobile on the side of the road.

We see an attitude symbolized in them that is also found among us. We know well what is necessary to follow Jesus and, if the need arises, we know how to explain it to others, but we lack the courage and radicality to seriously put it into practice. If every baptized person is for this reason "a witness to Christ," then the attitude of the chief priests and the scribes must bring us all to reflect. They knew that Jesus was in Bethlehem, "the least" of the cities of Judea; we know that Jesus is found today among the poor, the humble, the suffering.

We finally come to the protagonists of this feast, the Magi. They teach not with words but with deeds, not by what they say but by what they do. They have not tarried, they have set on the way; they have left the security of the environment familiar to them, where they are known and revered. They have acted decisively, they have not hesitated. If they had begun calculating, one by one, the dangers, the unknowns of the journey, they would have lost the original determination and would have been lost in vain and sterile considerations.

One last precious indication comes to us from the Magi. "Having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way." Changing one's life changes the way one takes. The encounter with Christ must bring about a turn, a change of habits.

[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]