Epiphany :: Op-stjoseph.org

Epiphany of the Lord, January 6, 2008 Seeing the Manifestation of Mystery Scripture Readings First: Isaiah 60:1-6 Second: Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6 Gospel: Mt 2:1-12 Prepared by: Fr. Jonathan Kalisch, O.P. 1. Subject Matter •

The wise men come only through a work of God in their hearts – which attracted them and moved them to recognize Him who they were journeying to see. Why do others who should know, (the Jewish leaders) not see and remain indifferent (even when informed of his birth) or hostile to him?

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Non-believers are made worthy of the “heritage of Israel” – walking by her light – only by being emptied in her sight and walking by a different route. Paradoxically, their despoiling, gains them the eternal Light.

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The Epiphany reveals the 2 stages of pilgrimage: man’s search for God and the God who comes to meet humanity.

2. Exegetical Notes •

Mt 2:2 – they have come to worship him – the verb proskuneo (to worship) is frequently used by Matthew to describe the attitude of men before Jesus (2:8, 11; 8:2; 9:18, 14:33). In 2:11, “and falling down, they worshipped him” – indicates that they knelt down before him, with heads to the ground. In 4:9, at Jesus’ Temptations, falling down accompanies the alternatives to worshipping God.

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Both Zechariah and Mary were troubled in the Gospel of Luke, here, Matthew has King Herod and all of Jerusalem troubled. Why?

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Mt 2:11 – they offered him gifts – indicating submission and allegiance (Ps 72:10, 15; Is 60:6) – traditionally symbols of Jesus’ royalty (gold), divinity (incense) and Passion and death (myrrh). In doing so, they become prototypes for the disciples, who gave up earthly treasures for heavenly riches.

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Note how the contrast between the pagans who are ready to accept the king of the universe and the Jewish king who refuses, reveals the revelation of the Light to the Gentiles – who are

now coheirs and copartners in the promise in Christ. It is only the Magi and the Gentiles in the Passion who call Jesus the king of the Jews. 3. References to the Catechism of the Catholic Church •

# 528: The Epiphany is the manifestation of Jesus as Messiah of Israel, Son of God and Savior of the world. The great feast of Epiphany celebrates the adoration of Jesus by the wise men (magi) from the East, together with his baptism in the Jordan and the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee.

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#528: In the magi, representatives of the neighboring pagan religions, the Gospel sees the first-fruits of the nations, who welcome the good news of salvation through the Incarnation. The magi's coming to Jerusalem in order to pay homage to the king of the Jews shows that they seek in Israel, in the messianic light of the star of David, the one who will be king of the nations. Their coming means that pagans can discover Jesus and worship him as Son of God and Savior of the world only by turning toward the Jews and receiving from them the messianic promise as contained in the Old Testament. The Epiphany shows that "the full number of the nations" now takes its "place in the family of the patriarchs," and acquires Israelitica dignitas (are made "worthy of the heritage of Israel").

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#439: Many Jews and even certain Gentiles who shared their hope recognized in Jesus the fundamental attributes of the messianic "Son of David," promised by God to Israel. Jesus accepted his rightful title of Messiah, though with some reserve because it was understood by some of his contemporaries in too human a sense, as essentially political

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#711: "Behold, I am doing a new thing." Two prophetic lines were to develop, one leading to the expectation of the Messiah, the other pointing to the announcement of a new Spirit. They converge in the small Remnant, the people of the poor, who await in hope the "consolation of Israel" and "the redemption of Jerusalem.”

4. Patristic Commentary and Other Authorities •

Chrysostom: “Herod naturally, as being king, and afraid both for himself and for his children; but why Jerusalem? …From the same feeling which caused them before also to turn away from God when pouring His benefits on them, and to be mindful of the flesh-pots of Egypt, while in the enjoyment of great freedom…But nevertheless, although troubled, they seek not to see what hath happened, neither do they follow the wise men, nor make any particular inquiry; to such a degree were they at once both contentious and careless above all men. For when they had reason rather to pride themselves that the king was born amongst them, and had attracted to Him the land of the Persians, and they were on the point of having all subject to them, as though their affairs had advanced towards improvement, and from the very outset His empire had become so glorious; nevertheless, they do not even for this become better. And yet they were but just delivered from their captivity there; and it was natural for them to think (even if they knew none of those things that are high and mysterious, but formed their judgment from what is present only), “If they thus tremble before our king at His birth, much more when grown up will they fear and obey Him, and our estate will be more glorious than that of the barbarians.”

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Chrysostom: “But none of these things thoroughly awakens them, so great was their dullness, and with this their envy also: both which we must with exact care root out of our mind; and he must be more fervent than fire who is to stand in such an array. Wherefore also Christ said, “I am come to send fire on earth, and I would it were already kindled.” And the Spirit on this account appears in fire. But we are grown more cold than a cinder, and more lifeless than the dead.”

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Augustine: “As the Magi seek a Redeemer, so Herod fears a successor.”

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Chrysostom: "Concerning the young Child," he says, not 'of the King;' he envies Him the regal title.”

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Ambrose: “The star is the way, and the way is Christ; and according to the mystery of the incarnation, Christ is a star. He is a blazing and a morning-star. Thus where Herod is, the star is not seen; where Christ is, there it is again seen, and points out the way.”

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Chrysostom: “See the faith of the Magi; they were not offended, nor said within themselves, What need now of flight? or of secret return, if this Boy be really some great one? Such is true faith; it asks not the reason of any command, but obeys.”

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Thomas Aquinas: “By proclaiming [Christ King] the Magi foreshadowed the constancy of the Gentiles in confessing Christ even until death. Whence Chrysostom that, while they thought of the King who was to come, the Magi feared not the king who was actually present. They had not yet seen Christ, and they were already prepared to die for Him.”

5. Examples from the Saints and Other Exemplars •

St. Robert Bellarmine: “But it may be asked, Was not Christ our Lord a King before His death? Beyond a doubt He was, and therefore the Magi continually inquired, "Where is He that is born King of the Jews? (Mt 2,2). And Christ Himself said to Pilate: "Thou sayest that I am a King. For this was I born, and for this came I into the world; that I should give testimony to the truth. (Jn 18,37). Yet He was a King in this world like a traveler amongst strangers, therefore He was not recognized as a King except by a few, and was despised and ill received by the majority. And so in the parable we have just quoted, He said that He would go "into a far country to receive for Himself a kingdom." He did not say He would gain it as it were from another, but would receive it as His own, and would return, and the thief wisely remarked, "When Thou shalt come into Thy kingdom."

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Pope Benedict at World Youth Day in Cologne used the Epiphany story to say this: “The saints and the blesseds did not doggedly seek their own happiness, but simply wanted to give themselves, because the light of Christ had shone upon them. They show us the way to attain happiness, they show us how to be truly human. Through all the ups and downs of history, they were the true reformers who constantly rescued it from plunging into the valley of darkness; it was they who constantly shed upon it the light that was needed to make sense - even in the midst of suffering - of God's words spoken at the end of the work of creation: "It is very good".

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Pope Benedict at World Youth Day in Cologne: “One need only think of such figures as St Benedict, St Francis of Assisi, St Teresa of Avila, St Ignatius of Loyola, St Charles Borromeo, the founders of 19-century religious orders who inspired and guided the social movement, or the saints of our own day - Maximilian Kolbe, Edith Stein, Mother Teresa, Padre Pio. In

contemplating these figures we learn what it means "to adore" and what it means to live according to the measure of the Child of Bethlehem, by the measure of Jesus Christ and of God himself. The saints, as we said, are the true reformers. Now I want to express this in an even more radical way: only from the saints, only from God does true revolution come, the definitive way to change the world. “ •

Again, Pope Benedict in Cologne on the example of John Paul II: “Pope John Paul II, as well as revealing the true face of the Church in the many saints that he canonized, also asked pardon for the wrong that was done in the course of history through the words and deeds of members of the Church. In this way he showed us our own true image and urged us to take our place, with all our faults and weaknesses, in the procession of the saints that began with the Magi from the East. It is actually consoling to realize that there is darnel in the Church. In this way, despite all our defects, we can still hope to be counted among the disciples of Jesus, who came to call sinners.”

6. Quotations from Pope Benedict XVI •

“This hunger and thirst had spurred them on in their pilgrimage - they had become pilgrims in search of the justice that they expected from God, intending to devote themselves to its service…The new King, to whom they now paid homage, was quite unlike what they were expecting. In this way they had to learn that God is not as we usually imagine him to be. This was where their inner journey began. It started at the very moment when they knelt down before this child and recognized him as the promised King. But they still had to assimilate these joyful gestures internally.”

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“They had to change their ideas about power, about God and about man, and in so doing, they also had to change themselves. Now they were able to see that God's power is not like that of the powerful of this world. God's ways are not as we imagine them or as we might wish them to be. God does not enter into competition with earthly powers in this world. He does not marshal his divisions alongside other divisions. God did not send 12 legions of angels to assist Jesus in the Garden of Olives (cf. Mt 26: 53). He contrasts the noisy and ostentatious power of this world with the defenseless power of love, which succumbs to death on the Cross and dies ever anew throughout history; yet it is this same love which constitutes the new divine intervention that opposes injustice and ushers in the Kingdom of God.”

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“God is different - this is what they now come to realize. And it means that they themselves must now become different, they must learn God's ways. They had come to place themselves at the service of this King, to model their own kingship on his. …Now, though, they have to learn that this cannot be achieved simply through issuing commands from a throne on high. Now they have to learn to give themselves - no lesser gift would be sufficient for this King. Now they have to learn that their lives must be conformed to this divine way of exercising power, to God's own way of being. They must become men of truth, of justice, of goodness, of forgiveness, of mercy. They will no longer ask: how can this serve me? Instead, they will have to ask: How can I serve God's presence in the world? They must learn to lose their life and in this way to find it. Having left Jerusalem behind, they must not deviate from the path marked out by the true King, as they follow Jesus”.

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“The Epiphany shows…a state of "pilgrimage", that is, in a movement of seeking, often somewhat confused, whose point of arrival, in short, is Christ, even if the star is sometimes hidden. At the same time, the Epiphany shows to us God who in turn is on pilgrimage, a pilgrimage to man. There is not only the pilgrimage of man towards God; God himself has set out towards us: who is Jesus, in fact, if not God who has, so to speak, come out of himself to meet humanity? It was out of love that he made himself history in our history; out of love that he came to bring us the seed of new life (cf. Jn 3: 3-6) and sow it in the furrows of our earth so that it might sprout, flower and bear fruit.”

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“He is the ultimate destination of history, the point of arrival of an "exodus", of a providential journey of redemption that culminates in his death and Resurrection. Therefore, on the Solemnity of the Epiphany, the liturgy foresees the so-called "Announcement of Easter": indeed, the liturgical year sums up the entire parable of the history of salvation, whose centre is "the Triduum of the Crucified Lord, buried and risen"…These are words that the Church uses to emphasize the "epiphanic" dimension of the Incarnation: the Son of God becoming human, his entry into history, is the crowning point of God's revelation of himself to Israel and to all the peoples. In the Child of Bethlehem, God revealed himself in the humility of the "human form", in the "form of a slave", indeed, of one who died on a cross (cf. Phil 2: 68). This is the Christian paradox.”

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Indeed, this very concealment constitutes the most eloquent "manifestation" of God. The humility, poverty, even the ignominy of the Passion enable us to know what God is truly like. The Face of the Son faithfully reveals that of the Father. This is why the mystery of Christmas is, so to speak, an entire "epiphany". The manifestation to the Magi does not add something foreign to God's design but unveils a perennial and constitutive dimension of it, namely, that "in Christ Jesus the Gentiles are now coheirs... members of the same body and sharers of the promise through... the Gospel".

Other Considerations •

Note the parallels between Jesus and Moses - in Jewish Midr. Rabbah to Exod 1, Pharaoh has all boys drowned for nine months because he was told the savior-figure of Israel was born. Other Midr. state that when Moses was born, the whole house was filled with a great light, like that from a star or the sun. See Hebrews 3:1-6

Recommended Resources Benedictus: Day by Day with Pope Benedict XVI ed. Peter John Cameron, Ignatius Press, 2006. Gundry, Robert H., Matthew: A Commentary on His Literary and Theological Art. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 1982. Harrington, Daniel J., S.J., The Gospel of Matthew, Sacra Pagina Series, vol. 1, ed. By Daniel J Harrington, Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1991. Jerome Biblical Commentary, ed. Raymond Brown, Joseph Fitzmyer, and Roland Murphy, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1968. Schweizer, Eduard. The Good News according to Matthew. Trans. By David E. Green, Atlanta: John Know Press, 1975.