- Isaiah says there will be wealth streaming into the restored Israel.
- Paul says the inclusion of the Gentiles is the revelation of a great mystery.
- The Magi visit Jesus and depart.
Homily: 675 words
Estimated Time: 5 minutes
Today is the feast of the epiphany. The word “epiphany” means a surprise realization, a sudden revelation of an insight. That invites the question “of what?” What insight are we celebrating today?
Our first reading is from the prophetic text of Isaiah. The Old Testament prophets tend to be of two notes. There is the note of coming doom, in which they are warning Israel of the coming destruction at the hands of foreign powers and the exile of the Jewish people into foreign lands. But there is also the second note, one of glorious restoration.
Today’s reading from Isaiah is of that second note: a description of the future glory of the restored Israel. It is often said that the Jews at the time of Christ expected the Messiah to be a righteous political ruler who would restore the Davidic monarchy and sit on the throne. That he’d make everything back the way it was in the better days of David and Solomon, only better. With today’s first reading, it is easy to see why people would have expected this. It talks about foreign dignitaries bringing their wealth as gifts into Jerusalem. One can imagine the Davidic King sitting on his throne receiving these visitors as guests. You can imagine them offering sacrifices in the Temple. But none of this was to be… at least not in that way.
In our second reading Paul describes the real way this was fulfilled; the establishment of a Church which transcends political boundaries and unites ethnicities. That’s how all the nations bring their wealth to Israel. The Church, which Paul describes in Galatians 6 as the “Israel of God”, comes to them. And all mankind is united within it. That, Paul says, is the mystery was hidden in previous generations. That is the revelation, the epiphany. That God’s desire all along was to unite all people in Christ and to be at one at the table of the Lord.
That brings us to the Gospel. The Magi were astrologers from a foreign land. Some say Persia, others Babylon or Egypt. Either way, they see a star rising which they interpret to be the star of a Jewish king. So what did they do? Contrary to the Christmas songs, they did not follow the star. The text never says they did that. No, they went to the logical place where you’d expect to find a Jewish king – in the capital city of Jerusalem. But instead they are directed to the humble town of Bethlehem – to a family living in an unassuming house. And the new king is just some toddler playing on the floor. What a shock this must have been for the magi. They were probably wondering what marvelous plans the God of Abraham had for this child which would eventually see Him become king.
It says they departed by another way. The primary meaning of this detail is that they were trying to avoid being followed by agents of the murderous King Herod. But commentators have long seen this as a spiritual detail indicating a kind of conversion on their part. That after their encounter with Christ they are never the same.
Matthew includes this in his narrative to show us the kingly nature of Christ and also to show the beginning of the project of drawing all the nations to Christ. Today we live on the other side of that epiphany. Today we take for granted that God wanted to unite all people in Christ through the Church. But as we approach the altar today, give some thought to the amazing wisdom that God had in sending Jesus into the world, so all people – wherever they are and wherever they come from - can be coheirs to the kingdom of God.
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