Word to the Wise
Sunday, January 3, 2016 - The Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord - ABC [This feast was traditionally celebrated on Jan. 6; in the USA it is now on the Sunday after Jan. 1]
[Isa 60:1-6; Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6; Matt 2:1-12]"Where is the new born king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to pay him homage." [Matthew]
The innocent question of the Magi is more than enough to trigger the paranoia of Herod who was notorious for his murderous rages. We have already commemorated the result of that paranoia in the feast of the Holy Innocents. (As I've said before, liturgical calendars don't always operate in strict historical order!) But the focus today is not on Herod but on the Magi and their question. The Magi are not Jews. Their question is one of faith. The Gospel of Matthew uses this story to warn us that Jesus did not come only for the Jewish people but for all nations. The Church's other (Eastern) "lung" - St. John Paul II's expression - celebrates the Epiphany in the same way we in the West celebrate Christmas.
A star belongs to no one on earth, despite certain notions of colonization which would never have occurred to the Magi. The star seen by the Magi was for them a sign of a significant event which powerfully beckoned them to undertake the long journey to seek the event itself. "Epiphany" means to shine forth - to reveal. In celebrating the Epiphany the church celebrates the revelation of Christ to the world in the person of the Magi.
Although a star is a prominent element in Christmas decoration, especially at the top of a Christmas tree, it tends to be reduced in size in our nativity scenes. There it can lose its power to beckon unless we somehow take it into our hearts and minds. This is one reason I emphasize the nativity scene as a part of our faith celebration in the Christmas/Epiphany season. Today the star and the figures of the Magi (tradition says three because three gifts are mentioned) and probably their camels too can receive their proper meaning, if we haven't put them away already! The gospel mentions three important gifts and tradition gives the Magi their number and names, but the star is not in our control. I pray it will shine year round in all of us, calling us to know who is born in us. AMEN