Everyone's Messiah ~ A Reflection on the Feast of the Epiphany (C)

Feast of the Epiphany (C)

Is 60:1-6

Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13

Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6

Matt 2:1-12

The birth of Jesus was not to be simply a local phenomenon. We know that Scripture had indicated that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, and that he would rule a kingdom.  However, the Kingdom he would rule was not understood... We know that King Herod on learning about the birth, felt that his own kingdom was in danger because he believed this Baby would grow up to usurp his throne.  But an earthly kingdom is not what Jesus had been born to rule.  His Kingdom was not a political entity.

The arrival of the wise men brought forth another important aspect of Jesus' birth; that is, the universality of God's saving action.  These wise men had come from somewhere in the East.  They had followed a star - a star that seemed to beckon them to begin a journey that ended in a home in Bethlehem where they finally found the Child and his Mother.  No longer in the stable but in a house... a permanent residence.

Were these wise men friends or did they happen to meet up and decide to travel together because each one seemed to be heading in the same direction and each one knew about the star?  However it happened, these magi were not Jews... they did not know of the prophecies, only of a new star rising and to them, it meant a king had been born.  They had brought gold, frankincense and myrrh, worthy treasures for a king.  The magi themselves represented all peoples and showed that God intended that every nation and every peoples would be welcome in his Kingdom.

We read in Paul's letter to the Ephesians, that through the Spirit, it was now understood that "the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel."  The wise men had already prefigured this inheritance though it was not understood until later.

Isaiah also had prophesied about the coming birth by calling on Jerusalem to "rise up in splendor... Your light has come!"  That the wealth of the nations would be brought to her.  Gold and frankincense, all "proclaiming the praises of the Lord."

Even the psalmist sang of the King who would "govern the people with justice"... and he would rule to "the ends of the earth."  This is the kind of Kingdom that Jesus meant:

"...he shall rescue the poor when he cries out, and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.  He shall have pity on the lowly and the poor; the lives of the poor he will save."  (Ps 72)     


 ~ Image: Journey of the Magi by James Tissot, 1902