Finding Christ today

Sunday after January 1

Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord

Solennita' tal-Epifanija tal-Mulej

M essalin Ċ pp 129

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.

L-Ewwel Qari  -    mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta 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

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)

                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/

Second Reading    -   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.

It-Tieni Qari   -   mill-Ittra lill-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

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   -    skond San 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 jitwieled 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 mtlew 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: by Fr Thomas Rosica

A STAR AND A PURE HEART

The term epiphany means “to show,” “to make known” or “to reveal.” The solemnity of the Epiphany had its origin in the Eastern Church. In Jerusalem, close to Bethlehem, the feast had a special reference to the Nativity. Today in Eastern Orthodox churches, the emphasis for this feast is on the shining forth and revelation of Jesus Christ as the Messiah and second person of the Holy Trinity at the time of his baptism. Usually called the feast of the Theophany, it is one of the great feasts of the liturgical year. “Theophany” comes from the Greek for “God shining forth.”

The West took up the Oriental January feast, retaining all its chief characteristics, though attaching overwhelming importance, as time went on, to the visit of the Magi who bring gifts to visit the Christ child, and thus “reveal” Jesus to the world as Lord and King.  The feast is observed as a time of focusing on the mission of the Church in reaching others by “showing” Jesus as the Saviour of all people. The future rejection of Jesus by Israel and his acceptance by the Gentiles are retrojected into this scene of the Matthew’s narrative.

Details

King Herod reigned from 37 to 4 B.C. The “magi” were a designation of the Persian priestly caste and the word became used of those who were regarded as having more than human knowledge. Matthew’s Magi are astrologers. As for the star in Matthew’s story, it was a common ancient belief that a new star appeared at the time of a ruler’s birth.  Matthew also draws upon the Old Testament story of Balaam, who had prophesied that “a star shall advance from Jacob” (Numbers 24:17), though there the star means not an astral phenomenon but the king himself.

The act of worship by the Magi, which corresponded to Simeon’s blessing that the child Jesus would be “a light for revelation to the Gentiles” (Luke 2:32), was one of the first indications that Jesus came for all people, of all nations, of all races, and that the work of God in the world would not be limited to only a few.

The Magi from the East, foreigners in every sense of the word, were guided not only by their own wisdom and knowledge of the stars, but were aided by the Hebrew Scriptures that now form the Old Testament.  The meaning of this is important — Christ calls all peoples of all nations, Gentiles as well as Jews, to follow him. We could say that Jerusalem and the Old Testament serve as a new starting point for these Gentile pilgrims on their road to faith in Jesus.  The people of the big city, indeed even Herod himself, were instrumental in leading the magi back to Christ!

Finding Christ today

A child is born at the same time as a death-dealing power rules. King Herod tries to co-opt the wise men to betray their journey, to end their commitment to future possibility and new life. At the centre of the whole story of striking contrasts lies a baby who is joy. Herod is afraid of this “great joy for all the people.” 

Our societies and cultures are becoming increasingly afraid of human life — the greatest joy for all peoples! We must recommit ourselves to life — preserving it, upholding it, blessing it and giving thanks to God for this greatest of gifts.  Some of us are destined to find the Christ child only after a long, tedious journey like that of the Magi. Our worldly wisdom and worldly ways, our ecclesiastical façades need to disappear; we must make sacrifices to find our deepest meaning and peace that is Christ. Most wise people need to make quite a trek if they are to find any lasting meaning.

Simple folk can usually find the Lord by crossing a field like shepherds; they bring their poverty, humility and simple openness. But knowledge, wisdom, power, prestige, and the lack of humility often lead to despair. People who believe they have the immediate, final truth and clarity about anything often are led into bleak, dead-end streets or they remain lost in the desert of solitude, self-sufficiency, selfishness and despair.

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.

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.

The journey continues

The words of the great French Catholic writer Georges Bernanos (1888-1948) speak beautifully of the meaning of this great feast in our day:

                “From the beginning, My Church has been what it is today, and will be until the end of time, a scandal to the strong, a disappointment to the weak, the ordeal and the consolation of those interior souls who seek in it nothing but Myself.

                “Yes […] whoever looks for Me there will find Me there; but he will have to look, and I am better hidden than people think, or than certain of My priests would have you believe. I am still more difficult to discover than I was in the little stable at Bethlehem for those who will not approach Me humbly, in the footsteps of the shepherds and the Magi.

                “It is true that palaces have been built in My honor, with galleries and peristyles without number, magnificently illuminated day and night, populated with guards and sentries. But if you want to find Me there, the clever thing is to do as they did on the old road in Judea, buried under the snow, and ask for the only thing you need – a star and a pure heart.”

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