Ephiphany of the Lord

First Reading:  Isaiah 60:1-6

Psalm #72 R.  Lord, Every nation on earth will adore You. 

Second Reading:  Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6

Gospel Acclaim. Verse: (Matt 2:2) We observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay homage to the Lord.

Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12

Theme:  Jesus came to save all of us!!

Commentary:   by Jane Prini

  Today we celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord. A fun trivia: Did you know that Easter and Epiphany along with Pentecost (when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles) were the early Church’s biggest celebrations? Christmas was added about 300 years later when Constantine, (legalized Christianity), was Roman Emperor. Until then, Epiphany was a ‘big deal’ of the Church year. Why do you suppose that was? 

Let’s look at what Epiphany means. It means a “showing forth” or an understanding of something not seen or noticed before. We might call it “an aha moment”. That moment when you suddenly understand something that was not clear before. 

Now let’s look at Matthew’s gospel, which is the only gospel that tells this story. He tells us “wise men from the East” or some translations use “Magi”, followed a star that lead them to the house where Mary and Jospeh lived with Jesus. It is understood that there were at least three wise men, because of the three gifts that they offered. So, they came from far away, they studied the stars, and were possibly priests, which meant, (wait for it), they were not Jews. Matthew wanted us to know that Jesus is the King of kings and was to be worshipped by all. That meant not just the Children of Israel, the Jewish people, but also those not Jewish, the ‘outsiders’, the Gentiles, us! This was huge.  

Here was the “aha moment”. Who Jesus was and what he was to do was made known to outsiders before it was clear to the Jewish priests. That means that the wall between Jews and Gentiles was to be broken down by this baby boy. This is what is celebrated today. Jesus came to save all of us!  God the Father sent Jesus to bring all of us together like in the garden of Eden. The journey back to The Father began with the birth of Jesus. We are all invited to say ‘yes’ to that friendship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Last Sunday Fr. Paul Keller gave us two words to remember: seen and sent. When God makes himself seen (like the angel to Mary, then Joseph, and the star to the Magi, or a new understanding when we are praying), it is his way of telling us he notices us. Be prepared for a wonderful adventure! He will always give a task as well. He will prepare and send us. Most of the time it is simply to tell others of how they can be friends with God too.

The Magi were ‘sent’ to follow the star. Watching and studying the stars was their job, their life. Following a star would have been dangerous, but something they just had to do. A star that bright lead them to expect a powerful King. They gave three gifts: Gold: a gift fit for a King (Jesus is the King of kings), Frankincense: incense used in temple worship (we worship Jesus), and Myrrh: mixed with holy oils was used for preparing bodies for burial (Jesus would die to save us from our sins and bring us back to right friendship with God the Father). But this King was different. He was accepting everyone…that means you and me and EVERYONE. Isn’t that amazing?!  Let’s take it one step farther. Our King of kings, Jesus, accepts everyone. We must do the same. Now there’s an aha moment for us!

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