Is 60:1-6; Eph 2:2-3, 5-6; Mt 2:1-12
Today we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany of
our Lord Jesus Christ. The Greek word epiphany means
"Manifestation" (or appearance).
The
Bible gives many accounts of God's manifestation. Moses was tending his flock
in mount Horeb (Ex 3:1-7). Then he saw a flame of fire out
of the midst of a bush. The bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.
God called him out from the bush, and said: "I am the God of your
fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." God
manifested Himself to Abraham in the form of fire on Mount Horeb
Again
we find God manifesting Himself to the people of Israel in thunder
and lightning. The Israelites gathered together at the foot of Mount
Sinai. There appeared thunder and lightning, and God appeared in the
clouds and descended on Mount Sinai in fire, and God spoke " I
am the Lord your God" (Ex 19).
We
have a number of Biblical accounts of the manifestation of God to mankind.
Finally
God has made himself known to us most dearly in Jesus Christ. St Paul
in his letter to the Hebrews writes that Christ is "the perfect picture of
God (Heb 1:3)
Man
reacted differently to the manifestation of God. When Moses witnessed the presence
of God in flames, he was taken up with wonder. He wanted to go closer
to understand the secret of the mysterious flames. When God appeared
to the Israelites in thunder and lightning they were overcome by fear and they
fell on their face.
When
God revealed himself in Jesus, the shepherds flocked together to the manger to have
a look at the new born babe. The wise men saw the sign of God's messiah in
the sky and followed it to the manger with their gifts.
Today's
first reading gives an account of the prophecy of Isaiah.
“Above
you the Lord now rises
And
above you his glory appears
The
nations come to your light
And
kings to your dawning brightness
The
wealth of the nations come to you
Everyone
in Sheba will come
Bringing
gold and incense.
In
today's second reading we listen to St Paul that the mystery that was
unknown to any man in the past generation has been revealed now. Jesus is God's
mystery and that has been revealed to everyone now. St Paul found
the mystery and he walked to the sword to bear witness to the
mystery. St Peter had a profound experience of the mystery and he willingly
embraced the cross and accepted martyrdom to bear witness to Jesus. St Thomas
went to the East bearing the mystery in his heart to be martyred there. So
did all the Apostles, Saints and Martyrs.
Science
has empowered man to cross the gravitational field of the earth and leap
into space. Human beings roamed in the space, they circled around the
planets, and they walked on the surface of the moon. These are great
achievement of human intellect and industry. Even there one of them
declared "I looked and looked and looked but I didn't see God."
To
search for God it is not necessary to cross the boundaries of the
earth. God manifests himself in his creation. The rhythmic movement
of the numerous galaxies, countless solar systems, planets and
satellites manifest God's wisdom and love. Newton wrote, "This
most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets could only proceed from
the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being. He is eternal
and infinite, omnipotent and omniscient; that is his duration reaches from
eternity to eternity; his presence from infinity to infinity; he governs all
things, and knows all things that are or can be done. We know him only by his
most wise and excellent contrivances of things."
Secondly
God manifests himself to us in other people, in our parents, who gave
us life; in our brothers and sisters, who love us; and in our friends, who
stand by us in our struggles.
Then, God makes
himself known to us in every event of our life. Oscar Hijuelos' 'Mr
Ives' Christmas' is a wonderful novel. Edward Ives had an aptitude for
drawing, he grew up and met his future wife in Art classes, he became a
commercial artist. His wife gives birth to a son and a daughter. One afternoon,
as he is walking on Madison and Forty-First Street in Manhattan, he has a full-blown
mystical vision---the sidewalks under him lift, the buildings waver, the
skyscrapers bow to him, he feels euphoric, the world's goodness spins around
him.
Mr. Ives is a devoutly religious man. But he doesn't
tell anyone else about his vision.
The next Christmas his son is senselessly murdered on
a street corner. At some point the question becomes whether he can or should
forgive the man who killed his son. If only he had a sign.
The
world is filled with signs of God's presence. But in our spiritual blindness,
our hardness of heart, our deafness to the Voice, we fail to recognize them.
Once
we discover God for us, we have to transform ourselves into another star
in the vast expanse of the universe. Our life, our acts of kindness, our sympathy
and our selflessness will fall on others as powerful rays that
radiate the warmth of our experience of God.
Like
the star of Bethlehem that led the shepherds and the wise men to the manger, we
will shine as guiding stars in our homes and wherever we go.
Satish