Cycle A - Year II:  

5 January 2014: Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord

(Liturgical color: White)

Matthew 2:1-12

The Lord's Epiphany: Salvation comes to all!

Time goes so fast and Christmas 2013 is now just a part of our human experience. And now we welcome the New Year 2014, with hope and enthusiasm to enjoy the wonderful gift of living.

If you miss receiving gifts last Christmas, well cheer up because today, the Feast of the Lord's Epiphany or traditionally known as the Feast of the Three Kings, may just be your last chance to receive Christmas gifts from dear someone. So make your wish upon a star.

The Gospel from Matthew narrates about the three kings, (or Magi, or Wise Men) looking for the infant Jesus guided by a bright star in order to pay Him homage with their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The Western Church has assigned them the names of Melchor (believed to be a Babylonian scholar), Caspar (a Persian scholar), and Balthazar (an Arab scholar). Because of the gifts these three kings brought to the baby Jesus, by tradition today is also considered the last day of sharing Christmas gifts to our loved ones.

The word "epiphany" means manifestation or appearance of God in person like us through the humanity of Jesus. In the Lord's epiphany we see the plan of God to give his only Son as King and Savior, not just for the Jewish people, who are God's chosen people in the Old Testament, but to all nations as well. Because the three kings, or wise men, or magi were foreigners and non-Jews. Thus, the implication of today's feast is that the Lord Jesus comes to both the Jews and the gentiles (or non-Jews), including our present generation of believers in Christ, so that all may find true and lasting peace with God.

The gifts of the three kings have symbolic significance to the divine identity and mission of Jesus. Gold has great value, and symbolizes the kingship of Jesus. Frankincense is a perfume, and the symbol of the divinity of Jesus. And myrrh is a common anointing oil which symbolizes the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross that brought about the salvation of the whole humanity. These gifts they brought to the infant Jesus speak of their respect for his divine identity and their realism about his death at the hands of humankind.

But what is the relevance of the Feast of the Lord's Epiphany (or the Feast of the Three Kings) to our lives today? Let us consider the following reflections:

Epiphany tells us that God became visible and audible for us in the person of Jesus, who is the human image of the invisible God. So that even to our generation we experience God living among us and within us in the Holy Eucharist.

Epiphany makes known to us the way to the Father through Jesus Christ. He leads our path in our journey in this present life to our heavenly home. As Jesus Himself declares: "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

 

Epiphany reveals to us God's plan for all men and women to be saved, from the fall of our first parents Adam and Eve, by believing that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Because God's kingdom is meant for all people of all generations.

As we conclude the celebration of the Christmas season, we pray that the examples of the three kings, magi, or wise men be our guide in our own spiritual pilgrimage in the New Year 2014. Like the three kings, we too acknowledge Jesus as our Lord and Savior and do him homage. And like the three kings, we also open our gifts of unwavering faith, amidst the temptation of "religion by convenience" in our present generation, and commit our undivided loyalty to Christ's teachings through his Church. 

In Holy Mass this Sunday, let us pray that the Lord's revelation on the Feast of Epiphany shine forth on everyone so that the power of salvation from sin may be shared by all.

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!