06/01/2007 - EPIPHANY of OUR LORD - Year C
First Reading Isaiah 60: 1-6 Psalm 71
Second Reading Ephesians 3: 2-3; 5-6 Gospel Matthew 2: 1-12
The mystery that we celebrate today is the Epiphany of the Lord; it is an episode
which shows Him as the Son of God and as the Messiah, whom the prophets promised.
The Evangelical passage shows us two means through which He can be found by
men! Furthermore, from the Reading of the same page, we are convinced that the
search for Him would not end well, unless He, Himself, would come to meet us.
The Magi, who come from far away pagan countries, come to meet Him. Their means
of searching are rooted in magic, in totally strange contradictions to faith.
They, though, don't know of any other way. Their search is authentic, though
their means may be strange; rather, strange to the One they are seeking. Nonetheless,
they come to the right place, because they cannot continue their search without
the help of wise among the Hebrews - of their Scriptures.
The high priests and the scribes of the people, who own the Scriptures, search
fo Him. They are pushed to look for Him, forced almost by Herod, and through
the Scriptures, they find the answer, but they have no desire to meet Him, the
desire necessary to move them, concretely, towards Bethlehem. The scribes, secure
in their truth, seek Him without loving, for fear that He may change something
in their daily living.
The pagans, though wrongly, are moved by love, of the certainty that they cannot
live without Him, of the joy of hoping for great changes in their lives, when
they meet Him.
Each of them comes close, very close to the center of their "singular"
desire. Yet, none of them would arrive to the actual encounter, without the
light that comes from above.
Today, our prayer is to ask God to continue to let His light shine, so that
those who come from afar may find…... may find Jesus!
Today, many come from afar. Not only do those who've never heard of the Baby
of Bethlehem come from afar, but also many so called Christians come. They come
because they heard superficial and contradictory news from those who don't love
Him and who don't want Him to come into their lives.
And, then, we pray in thanksgiving for having encountered Jesus in the arms
of His Mother. We thank Him, anxious that we might, still, lose the assurance
of His presence and the grace to serve Him! Our thanks becomes, therefore, a
plea: we ask God for the humility to remain faithful, even, when we might recognize
the fear of Herod, and that of his followers, and we ask for the strength to
win over the fear of other human beings and of their rejection. But our prayer
remains, above all, the desire that, on one hand, we too, may be knowledgeable
in the Scriptures, so that we can help our brothers; on the other hand, that
we may be luminous, so that, even without speaking, our life may be an attraction
and a direction towards Him!
We can be discouraged if we live in world without God, or in a world that serves
the idea of God, instead of the God that is present. Let us not be discouraged:
God, Himself, is capable of letting a significant light shine in everyone's
eyes. As possible as it is that, among the Muslims, some begin to search, sincerely,
for Jesus, so it is that, even, the eyes of our careless and confused youth
will see the shining light that guides them to Him. All, therefore, must come
to Him: those who seeks life, those who search for the truth, those who hunger
for bread and water for their heart.
He is the Only Son who gathers the children in true brotherhood, the Only Bread
that feeds mankind, the Only Truth who responds to anxious hearts. He, who is
humble, will find Him; he who humbly follows the signs that he, himself, is
capable of understanding; who is humble enough to welcome the directions given
by the one who reads the Scriptures; who is humble enough to acknowledge the
throne of the King, the Son of God, the arms of a Mother, who is poor, prayerful
and silent!
May you, also, see your God in Him! This is the reason the Father draws us towards
Jesus! He knows that, if we love and welcome the Baby, He will lead us to enter
into His perfect life, full and rich in communion with many of our brothers!