THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD A

[cappie]

An “epiphany” is an appearance. In today’s readings, with their rising stars, splendorous lights, and mysteries revealed, the face of the Child born on Christmas day appears. The Magi’s pilgrimage in today’s Gospel marks the fulfillment of God’s promises. The Magi, probably Persian astrologers, are following the star that Balaam predicted would rise along with the ruler’s staff over the house of Jacob as in the Book of Numbers.

 However, King Herod is motivated by a fear which has gripped his heart. He fears that what has been prophesied about this baby will be true – and that his power will be compromised, even by a little child. He becomes obsessed – wanting to entice the wise men to come back and tell him where this baby is.   So terrified of this little baby and what he might mean, the threat he might bring to the monarchy and the power of the throne, Herod can’t bring himself to go and visit an infant.

The wise men, for their part, are equally important to this story. They are called in secret by Herod and sent to Bethlehem. These wise ones follow the star, which would mean they travelled largely in the dark. They finally arrived at the stable where Jesus was, and they were “overwhelmed with joy”.

When they enter the stable and see Mary and Jesus, they kneel and offer him their gifts.   At some point, the wise ones are given a dream.  This dream is like the lightbulb going on. Suddenly, there is an understanding of who Herod really is – and they decide to leave by a different road and go straight back to their own homes.

What allows these three visitors the wisdom to listen to this dream? Herod is motivated by fear –  these three visitors are motivated by love. They have been to visit the infant Jesus, who is love incarnate – and it has transformed their whole lives. They are no longer manipulated by an evil king; they are able to see his motivations clearly and make their own decisions about what they will do.

From this well-known story, perhaps we learn a new thing  by looking at the motivations each character holds.  

Like Herod, we can be motivated by fear: fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of change – these are just some of the major fears we all face daily.

We might also be curious, as the wise ones were. Willing to go on an adventure, even though we don’t know exactly what it might entail. Perhaps we have also travelled many miles by night, following a small star in the night sky.

Laden with gold and spices, their journey evokes those made to Solomon by the Queen of Sheba and the “kings of the earth”  Interestingly, the only other places where frankincense and myrrh are mentioned together are in songs about Solomon  

One greater than Solomon is here. He has come to reveal that all peoples are “co-heirs” of the royal family of Israel, as today’s Second Reading teaches.

His manifestation forces us to choose: will we follow the signs that lead to Him as the wise Magi did? Or will we be like those priests and scribes who let God’s words of promise become dead letters on an ancient page?

In this story, we are given a gift – we can come with the wise ones to worship Jesus, and those forces of fear and control which have been acting upon our own lives are seen for what they are. In a moment of clear vision, we can see the truth as the hymn “Hail to the Lord’s Anointed proclaim in its final verse His name shall stand forever; That name to us is Love.” and choose to follow Love incarnate.

When we make the choice to follow that Love, we are changed. We are transformed. We are overwhelmed by joy and finally, free.