Cycle A - Year II:  

5 January 2020: Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord 

(Liturgical Color: White)

Readings:

First Reading:        Isaiah 60:1-6

Second Reading:   Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6

Gospel:  Please Read  Matthew 2:1-12

"The Lord's Epiphany: the visible God!

 The Church celebrates today the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord.  It used to be traditionally known as the Feast of the Three Kings and celebrated 6th of January.  

What do we understand by the word "epiphany"?  It means manifestation or appearance of God in person like us through the humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ.  So that in the Lord's epiphany we can 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, meaning to the non-Jews.  Because the three kings were in fact 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 generations of believers in Christ, so that all may find true and lasting peace with God.

Now the journey of the three kings (or Magi, or Wise Men) is admittedly one of the favorite stories in the Gospel.  A star started them on the journey and guided them to the end.  We will read from Matthew's narrative about the three kings looking for the infant Jesus in order to pay  Him homage with their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.  The Western Church has assigned names to these three kings as Melchor (believed to be a Babylonian scholar), Caspar (a Persian scholar), and Balthazar (an Arab scholar).  

The gifts that the three kings brought to the infant Jesus have symbolic significance to the divine identity and mission of Jesus.  That is to say, "gold" has great value which then 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 salvation of the whole humanity.  These gifts speak of the three kings' respect for Jesus' divine identity and the realism about His death at the hands of humankind.

But then, the question is what relevance does the Feast of Epiphany have on our lives today?  Let us consider the following reflections:

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

The Lord's 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." (Jn 14:6)

The Lord's 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 our celebration of the Christmas season, we pray that the examples of the Three Kings be our guide in our own spiritual pilgrimage in the New Year 2020.  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 teaching though His one and only Catholic Church.

Incidentally, because the Three Kings brought gifts to baby Jesus, today by tradition is also considered the last day of sharing Christmas gifts to our loved ones.

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!