God shining forth...

The Epiphany of the Lord

Lectionary: 20

L-Epifanija tal-Mulej

Solennità

Reading 1       ISAIAH 60:1-6

Rise up in splendor, 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.

                                                                                   

Qari 1    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 jfiġġ 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.

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.

R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

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. 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.

R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

Salm Responsorjali        Salm 71 (72), 1-2.7-8.10-11,12-13

R/. (ara 11): 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 baħar,

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

Is-slaten ta’ Tarsis u tal-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 min jgħinu.

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.

Qari II        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 wirt, ikunu membri tal-istess ġisem, ikollhom sehem mill-istess wegħda, fi Kristu Ġesù 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. This is the Word of the Lord.

Evanġelju      Qari skont San Mattew 2, 1-12

Meta twieled Ġesù f’Betlehem tal-Lhudija, fi żmien is-sultan Erodi, xi maġi mil-Lvant ġew Ġerusalemm jistaqsu: “Fejn hu dak li twieled sultan tal-Lhud? Għax rajna l-kewkba tiegħu tielgħa, u ġejna nqimuh”. 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

////////////  A reflection by Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB

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. On this Sunday 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 

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 Matthew’s narrative.

Details

King Herod reigned from 37 to 4 BC. 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 in that case the star meant not an astral phenomenon but the king himself.

The Magi’s act of worship, which corresponded to Simeon’s blessing of the Child Jesus as “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.

At home in their distant, foreign lands, the Magi had all the comfort of princely living, but something was missing – they were restless and unsatisfied. They were willing to risk everything to find the reality that their vision promised. Unlike the poor shepherds, the Magi had to travel a long road; they had to face adversity to reach their goal. The shepherds also knew adversity, and it had prepared them to accept the angels’ message.

But once they overcame their fright, they simply “crossed over to Bethlehem” to meet the Christ Child. It was anything but the romantic, sentimental pilgrimage that we often see in our manger scenes!

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!

A tragic adult story     

Matthew’s Gospel shows us that right at the beginning of the story of Jesus, the one who is to rule Israel is greeted with the cheers of some and the fearful fury of others. Matthew introduced “all the chief priests and scribes of the people” as advisers of the sinister Herod (2:4).

It might appear that they do no more than answer a theological question. Matthew certainly implies something else. In the first place, they too had been troubled by the Magi’s word of the birth of the Messiah. Knowing that Herod was paranoid about the possibility of any threat to his throne, the Magi should have realized that he would not look kindly upon an infant “king of the Jews” (2:2).

By disclosing to Herod the birthplace of the Messiah, the advisers became, effectively, collaborators in his evil intent. In fact it is they, not Herod, who will later bring about the death of the “king of the Jews.” It is the “chief priests and elders of the people” who will plot to arrest and kill Jesus (Matthew 26:3-5, 47; 27:1-2, 12, 20); “the scribes” are likewise mentioned in 26:57 and 27:41. Jesus was a threat to Herod and to them: to the throne of one, to the religious empire of many.

The negative reaction of Herod and his advisers, the chief priests and scribes, turns the infancy narrative into a veritable Gospel. If we read the story carefully, we realize that far from being a children’s tale, it is a tragic adult story.

Already at Christmas, we see a hint of the inevitable sacrificial death of this “newborn king” – the schism between a worldly ideology and a godly one. The battle lines are drawn, and the forces are being marshaled.

To those who are alert to the signs of the times and the places, the coming of Jesus is an invitation to risk and to embark on a journey of faith and a journey of life. 

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