.
Coming!
Coming! Coming!......Come!.....Gone! This describes the huge, even extravagant,
build-up to Christmas, it’s brief but
joyful celebration, and then it’s all over. This closure is eloquently stated
by the return to school at the end of
the vacation.
To some it may seem that the
Church wraps up Christmas neatly by celebrating the Solemnity of the Epiphany – the journeying
l of the Magi from the East to see for themselves one particular, very special,
newly born baby boy.
It’s
truly surprising that the one person to
ask what’s going on is the vicious King Herod. He puts it to the Magi, “Go
and find out all about the child, and when you have found him, let me know, so
that I too may go and do him homage,” (Mtt.2.8). As we all know his resolve was
to wipe out the opposition, ’this infant king of the Jews.’
Very different was
the attitude of the shepherds who left
their sheep on the hillside while they went to see this infant for themselves.
“They went back glorifying and praising God for all they heard and seen,” (Lk.2.20).
Our
Christmas celebration has surely been centred on this child beautiful in His
infancy who is, in truth, actually the Son of God, now one of us - a member of
the human family. From earliest times the celebration of the Solemnity of the
Epiphany has been hugely important. It enables us to see that child was, as a
man, to be active as only God can be.
The word ‘Epiphany’ means a revelation in
which God exposes, unmasks His hidden self. Jesus is God seen in action as a
man among men. Epiphany occurs when the human mind, the human heart identifies the presence of God – as did Peter
when he exclaimed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” Jesus
concurs with this and explains to Peter what has happened. “You are a blessed
man! Because it was no human agency that revealed this to you but my Father in
Heaven, (Mtt.16.17).
The shepherds and the Magi would have left
the stable at Bethlehem deeply impressed, probably bewildered and uncertain of
what would be the future of this child to whom they had be led in such an
extraordinary way. Once Christmastide is over we are not left in such bewilderment
and uncertainty.
Our ongoing faith that Mary’s child was truly God has been
refreshed and renewed as we have devoutly celebrated Christmas. Our faith takes
us beyond the stable in Bethlehem to a time when the divinity of Jesus was
openly exposed. In an ongoing epiphany we are made to know the consequences of the
Son of God becoming man.
The
visit of the gentile Magi immediately expanded the God’s embrace of mankind –
no longer exclusively to the Chosen People of Israel. Through Jesus the global family of mankind would be the
Chosen People of God.
Further, in the celebration of the Epiphany the Church
draws our attention to that time when Jesus was baptized in the River
Jordan and a voice from Heaven proclaimed, “This is my beloved son in whom I am
well pleased.”
And finally, on this day the
Church draws our attention to the happiness of the wedding Jesus attended
in Cana. There He not only changed water into wine. In a brilliant Epiphany it
is revealed to us that in Jesus, truly God, truly man, the Almighty is
lovingly, inseparably wedded to mankind.
I conclude with the Antiphon in Evening
Prayer of the Church for the Solemnity of the Epiphany
Three wonders mark this day we celebrate: today
the star led the Magi to the manger; today water was changed into wine at the
marriage feast; today Christ desired to be baptized by John in the river Jordan
to bring us salvation, alleluia.
Peter Clarke, O.P.
No comments:
Post a Comment