FR. TONY'S HOMILY – Epiphany ABC - The Word This Week (2024)

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For the people of Israel, then in exile in a foreign land, Isaiah was promising redemption, renewal, and restoration –- a new life, to be lived in their own land. And the promise goes beyond the Jewish people to include all peoples. For the prophecy continues,“Nations will come to your light and kings to the brightness of your dawn.”Thus, in this passage, the prophecy which the Lord God gives His people celebrates the Divine Light that will emanate from Jerusalem, and it pictures all the nations acknowledging and enjoying that Light and walking by It. As a sign of gratitude for the priceless lessons of Faith offered by Jerusalem, the nations will bring wealth by land and sea, especially gold for the Temple and frankincense for the sacrifice. Everyone will be drawn to Jerusalem because the radiance of God’s favor rests on her. This prophecy of Isaiah is realized in Jesus Christ, God’s Anointed One (Christ; Messiah), Savior of the world, and in His Church, the New Jerusalem made up of Jews and Gentiles.

Today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 72) declares “The kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts; the Kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute. All kings shall pay Him homage, all nations shall serve Him” (vv 12-13)In Christ, God is calling together the one human race to acknowledge and serve Him in holiness. Thus, this reading with its response expresses Hope for a time when “the people of God” will embrace all nations. As a privileged recipient of a Divine “epiphany,”

SOURCE: Fr. Tony’s Homilies / Used with permission

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Jesus implements this Divine plan by extending membership in the Church, making it available to all peoples. Thus, the Jews and the Gentiles have become, “coheirs, members of the same Body and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.”Hence, there are no second-class members in the Church among Christian believers. Paul declares that he has been commissioned by Christ to make this mystery known to the world.

SOURCE: Fr. Tony’s Homilies / Used with permission

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The sixth century Italian tradition that there were three magi – Casper, Balthazar, and Melchior – is based on the fact that three gifts are mentioned in Matthew’s gospel: gold, frankincense and myrrh. TheOrthodox Church holds that the Magi consisted oftwelve kings, corresponding in number to the twelve tribes of Israel. Commentaryon the Torah by Jewish rabbis suggested that a star appeared in the skyat the birth of Abraham, Isaac and Moses. Likewise,in the Book of Numbers, the prophet Balaam speaks of “a star that shall come out of Jacob.” Stars were believed to be signs from God,announcing important events.So when the kings “saw his star at its rising” they understood it to mean the birth of a King, and went to pay him homage.

Gold, frankincense and myrrhmay be thought of as prophesying Jesus’ future. Goldwas a gift forkings;frankincense (an ancient air purifier and perfume) wasoffered to God in Temple worship(Ex. 30:37); and myrrh (an oriental remedyforintestinal wormsin infants)was used by the High Priest in the anointing oil (Ex. 30:23) and to prepare bodies for burial. This gift of myrrh pointed out that Jesus was the sacrificial lamb whose death restored life. These gifts were not only expensive but portable. Perhaps Joseph sold the giftsto finance the Holy Family’s trip to Egypt. This was probably God’s way of providing for the journey that lay ahead.

The star:Commentary on the Torah by Jewish rabbis suggests that a star appeared in the sky at the births of Abraham, Isaac, and Moses. Similarly, in the Book of Numbers, the prophet Balaam speaks of “a star that shall come out of Jacob.” Stars were believed to be signs from God, announcing important events. Thus, the brightness of the Light to which Magi were drawn was made visible in the star they followed. (In the last 40 years, a number of scientists and astronomers have pointed to particular clusterings of planets or stars around the time of Jesus’ birth, which would have created an unusual or dramatic heavenly “portent,” suggesting that perhaps Matthew’s account is more historical than some exegetes might choose to believe). The star which shone over the area and served as a beacon for the astrologers can be explainedscientifically. Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), a German astrologer and mathematician, calculated that the planetary conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn which occurred ca 7-6 B.C.E. could have produced such an illumination in the sky over Bethlehem. However, the star featured in Matthew’s narrative figures more importantly because of itstheologicalsignificance. No doubt, Matthew, with his mission to demonstrate that Jesus was the Promised One and the fulfillment of all Jewish hopes and prophecies, intended his readers to recall the story of Balaam in the book of Numbers (chapters 22-24). Therein, Balaam, a pagan seer from the East was co-opted by Balak, king of Moab tocursethe Israelites. Prevented by Yahweh from uttering the curse, Balaam blessed Israel and prophesied, “a star shall rise from Jacob and a scepter shall arise out of Israel” (Numbers 24:17). Matthew portrayed the astral herald that proclaimed the appearance of Jesus and beckoned the Gentiles to salvation as the fulfillment of Balaam’s prophesy.(Sanchez Files).

The threereactionsto Jesus’ birth: Epiphanycan be looked on as a symbol for our pilgrimage through life to Christ. The feast invites usto see ourselves as images of the Magi, a people on a journey to Christ. Today’s gospel also tells us the story of the magi’s encounter with the evil King Herod.This encounter symbolizesthreereactionsto Jesus’ birth: hatred, indifference, and adoration. a) A group of people headed by Herod plan to destroy Jesus. b) Another group composed of priests and scribes ignores Jesus. c) A third group — shepherds and the magi — adore Jesus whom they have gone to find, and offer themselves to Him.

A) The destructive group: King Herod considered Jesusa potential threat to his kingship. He was a cruel and selfish king who murdered his mother-in-law, wife and three children on suspicion that they had plotted against him. Later, the Scribes and Pharisees plotted to kill Jesus,because he criticizedthem and tried to reform some of their practices. Today, many oppose Christ and his Church fromselfish motives, evil ways and unjust lives. Children still have Herods to fear. The United States aborts annually one million and a half innocents.

B) The group that ignored Christ: The Scribes, Pharisees and the Jewish priests knewthat there were nearly 500 prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures concerning the promised Messiah. Theywere able to tell Herod the exact time and place of Jesus’ birth. Theywere in the habit of concluding their reading from the prophets on the Sabbath dayby saying, “We shall now pray for the speedy arrival of the Messiah.”Unfortunately, they were more interested in their own selfish gainsthan in discovering the truth. Hence, theyrefused to go and see the child Jesus — even though Bethlehem was quite close to Jerusalem. Today many Christiansremind us ofthis group. They practice their religionfrom selfish motivessuch as political power, prestige and recognitionby society.They ignore Jesus’ teachings in their private lives.

C) The group that adored Jesus and offered Him gifts:This group was composed ofthe shepherds and the Magi. The shepherds offeredthe onlygifts they had: love, tears of joy, and probably woolen clothes and milk from their sheep. The Magi offered gold, in recognition of Jesus as the king of the Jews; frankincense, in acknowledgment that he wasGod, and myrrhas a symbol of his human nature.

SOURCE: Fr. Tony’s Homilies / Used with permission