The Epiphany of the Lord

Gospel Reading: Matthew 2:1-12

1 After Jesus had been born at Bethlehem in Judaea during the reign of King Herod, some wise men came to Jerusalem from the east.
2 'Where is the infant king of the Jews?' they asked. 'We saw his star as it rose and have come to do him homage.'
3 When King Herod heard this he was perturbed, and so was the whole of Jerusalem.
4 He called together all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, and enquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
5 'At Bethlehem in Judaea’ they told him, 'for this is what the prophet wrote:
6 And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judaea, you are by no means least among the leaders of Judah,for out of you will come a leader who will shepherd my people Israel’
7 Then Herod summoned the wise men to see him privately. He asked them the exact date on which the star had appeared,
8 and sent them on to Bethlehem. 'Go and find out all about the child’ he said, 'and when you have found him, let me know, so that I too may go and do him homage.'
9 Having listened to what the king had to say, they set out. And there in front of them was the star they had seen rising; it went forward and halted over the place where the child was.
10 The sight of the star filled them with delight,
11 going into the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, and falling to their knees they did him homage. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.
12 But they were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, and re­turned to their own country by a different way.

Meditation

In the Christmas story as told by St Luke, the Word made flesh manifests himself to the shepherds; in St Matthew's version, he manifests himself to the wise men from the East.

Although at first sight the two stories seem different, they are in fact basically alike - as you will discover when you meditate on each passage - since there is only one God and he has one way of relating with us.

For this feast, then, make the journey with the wise men, as you did with the shepherds on Christmas Day and on January 1st.

The story is told in clearly defined stages, and you will find that each of these stages will touch you in your meditation, so that you need not include the entire story in order to do a good meditation.

• Verses 1 and 2 tell us of the journey from 'the east' to Jerusalem, and the symbolism of the first searching which takes us some of the way, before we get lost and have to resort to a religious centre.
• In verses 3 to 9 we have the meeting between the wise men and Herod - very7 dramatic, and so true to experience. You can read these verses from the point of view of the wise men, so humble and open to learning from religious leaders, even though these have bad motives; or from the point of view of Herod, typical of ourselves when we are in a position of authority and privilege and become insecure at the mere thought of a new religious insight.
• In verses 10 and 11 we have the touching story of all mo­ments of grace - the joy of recognition, the sense of homecom-ing, the simplicity of the presence of God. The mention of the 'treasures7 is clearly meant to convey the arrival of other cultures doing homage to Jesus.
• Verse 12 is very significant, indicating the new-found freedom of the believers.
  

Lord, there comes a point in our lives when we finally discover at we want to give our whole lives to:

• a cause like racial equality, community development, women's rights
• a spirituality which combines union with God and social involvement;
• the religious life or the priesthood;
• contemplative prayer.

We look back on the long journey that brought us to this point, from the time we knew in some vague way we wanted to change our ways - like the wise men seeing a star as it rose deciding to follow it.

Then as it always seems to happen on a spiritual journey, we lost sight of the star and drifted aimlessly for some years, until we realised that the only sensible thing to dowas to get help.

So we went to our religious leaders, and though they were rather confused themselves, they put us back on the right track and the old enthusiasm returned.

The last part of the journey went quickly: suddenly we knew that we had found what we had been looking for, and it was like coming home, so that we went into the house, fell on our knees and opened our treasures. Thank you, Lord, for guiding us every part of the way.

Lord, it is strange how we become attached to positions of privilege

• as parents or teachers;
• occupying a position in the church;
• accepted as one of the better educated members of our little circle.

When people come forward who are from a different background, or who are asking new questions, we are perturbed, as Herod was when the wise men came to Jerusalem.

We reflect on what to say, and may even give them good advice, but deep down our main concernis that we should continue to feel secure where we are.

No wonder those whom we help do not come back to us but return to their country by a different way. Lord, for many centuries now the church has been European.

We thank you that in our day people of other cultures are looking for Jesus
because they have seen a star out in the east.

Naturally, we are perturbed by all these foreigners, and so is the whole of Jerusalem, for they will bring changes to the whole church, and we will lose our special status.

So, though we give them the right instructions, we tell them that once they have discovered Jesus. They must come back and tell us exactly what they have found.

But you are guiding them, Lord, and when they come to Jesus. They will open the treasures of their own cultures.

Furthermore you will reveal to them that there is no need to come back to us, and they will make their own way home.

Lord we sometimes think that we must spend plenty of money to make Jesus more attractive, or that we must be very learned so that our preaching of him can draw many to him.

But wise men are looking for an infant king. And the scriptures say that he will come from Bethlehem, the least among the leaders of Judah,

Because people are tired of great kings who dominate them. But if they go into a simple house

And see the child Jesus with his mother Mary, even as they fall on their knees and do him homage they will feel comfortable to open their treasures and offer him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Lord we look today for instant results and for  the "quick fix” in all things,  so that we end up looking for instant spiritual growth as well.

But before we can see Jesus And fall on our knees and do him homage we have to make a long journey from the east.  

We have to follow a star, lose it and discover it again many times, until finally it halts over the place where he is.