(Mt 2:2)
Epiphany: the Good News of Inclusion
January 8, 2012, Feast of Epiphany
Isaiah 60:1-6
Ephesians 3:1-3 Matthew 2:1-12
First reading from Isaiah
Arise Jerusalem, and shine like the
sun; the glory of the Lord is shining on you! The Gentiles will be covered by
darkness, but on you the light of the Lord will shine; the brightness of His
presence will be with you. The Gentiles will be drawn to your light, and kings will
marvel at your shining radiance. The wealth of the Gentiles will be brought to
you. Great caravans of camels will come from Midian, Ephah and Sheba, bringing gifts of
gold and incense, and proclaiming the praises of the LORD. The word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Second reading from Ephesians
The word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Alleluia,
alleluia.
A reading
from the holy Gospel according to Matthew
Glory
to you, Lord.
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of
Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, astrologers
from the east arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the
Jews? We
have seen His star in the east, and
have come to do Him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was greatly
troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Assembling all the chief priests
and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They
said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through
the prophet: And
you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel[1].”
Then Herod called the astrologers
secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance.
He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the
child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I, too, may go and do him homage.” After their audience with the king
they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded
them, until it came and
stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the
star, and on entering the house they saw the child
with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they
opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And
having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they returned home by
another route.
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord
Jesus Christ.
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Introduction
The glitz of Epiphany
Epiphany
is a Greek word meaning `a manifestation’ or `a pointing to.’ In the Eastern
Church Epiphany focuses on the Lord’s baptism when a heavenly voice pointed to
Jesus and declared that this is “my beloved son with whom I am well pleased.”
(Mt 3: 17) In the Western Church, Epiphany focuses on
the adoration of three astrologers (gazers of heavenly bodies). A star
pointed out to them
a manger where lay an infant wrapped in swaddling
clothes. (Mt 2:1-12) In the course of time, tradition dressed up Epiphany with a lot of glitz. With chapter 60 of Isaiah in mind, tradition turned the astrologers into kings, placing crowns on their heads and gifts of gold and frankincense in their arms for the infant. (Is 60: 1-6) Because Matthew adds a third gift of myrrh to Isaiah’s gold and frankincense, tradition had to add a third king to carry the third gift of myrrh.[2] (Mt 2:11) By the middle of the 3rd century, tradition even gave the kings names: Melchior of Nubia (a Babylonian scholar), Caspar of Tarshish (a Persian scholar), and Baltazar of Chaldea (an Arab scholar). By the 9th century, tradition claimed that the three kings represented the whole human family: Baltazar was Asian, Caspar a white European, and Melchior was African and therefore black. Tradition even claims that the remains of the three kings were discovered in Persia, brought to Constantinople by St. Helena, transferred to Milan in the fifth century and finally to Cologne, Germany in 1163, where they are now the prized treasures of that city’s cathedral.
A `cute’ little
story?
Before
Vatican II, Epiphany was an `immovable feast.’ That is to say, it was always celebrated
on January 6. Now it may be moved to the Sunday after January 1. In those days
the feast also enjoyed a `privileged octave’ in the liturgical calendar. That
is to say, for eight straight days the Mass of Epiphany would be repeated
verbatim -- using the very same epistle, gospel, and prayers. With Vatican II,
however, the feast lost its privileged octave; now it’s simply celebrated once
- either on January 6 or on the Sunday after January 1.
Was it
because the liturgical revisionists after Vatican II were not as wise as the
wise men that the feast lost its privileged octave? Did those revisionists at
the end of the day view Epiphany as not much more than a `cute’ little story to
tell our kids?
In search of the religious meaning
of Epiphany
The
Book of Ecclesiastes contains that oft-quoted litany:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a
time to plant and a time to harvest,
a
time to weep and a time to laugh,
a
time to embrace and a time to abstain,
a time for war and a time for peace.
a time for war and a time for peace.
(Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)
To Ecclesiastes we add a litany of our own:
There
is a time for everything under God’s sun. There is: a time to be simple and
uncomplicated about the story of Three Kings, as children are. There is a time
to take the Magi story at its face value, as children do. But then there is
also a time to be grownups, and to go in search of the religious meaning of Epiphany.
The glitzy medieval story which depicts three
kings bedecked in fine robes and riding on camels might delight the child in
us, but at the end of the day it isn’t very profound. Nor is it very profound
to simply debunk the story. The task at hand is to go in search of the religious
meaning behind Epiphany. At the end of the day, we remind ourselves that the
gospels are not historical documents;
their aim is not to be historically accurate. The gospels are religious
documents; their aim is to communicate religious meaning. And the religious
meaning of Epiphany is the Good News
that “the Gentiles also are included in the kindness of God.” (Eph 3:3)
The Good News
of inclusion
Up until
now, all
the main characters in the Christmas drama are Jewish. Joseph and Mary,
Zachary and Elizabeth, old Anna and Simeon in the temple are Jews. The
shepherds, though unwashed and unkempt, are also Jews. Even the angels singing
“Glory to God in the highest” seems to be singing in Hebrew. The lead actor in
the Christmas drama, the Messiah Himself, is for sure a Jew -- "a descendant
of David according to the flesh." (Rom 1:3) Up until Epiphany, the Gentiles are missing from the Christmas drama. The drama of universal salvation waits for the last act, and it comes with the arrival of Gentile astrologers. The story of a bright-shining star leading them into the Christmas drama is suffused with religious meaning. It bears tidings of good news that “Gentiles also are included in the kindness of God.” (Eph 3:3)
That, indeed, was shocking news for Jews of old who thought that they alone belonged to the household of God. Epiphany summons the Jews to move over and make room for Gentiles in God’s house. The drama which began on Christmas Eve with no room in the inn for the holy family (Lk 2:7), now ends with much room for everybody. The arrival of Gentile astrologers announces the same good news that Peter announced in Cornelius’ house “that God has no favorites but gives welcome to anyone of any nation who fears Him and does what is right.” (Acts 10:34-35)
The bad news of exclusion
The Jews of old scrupulously excluded
Gentiles. They built exclusion right into their very Temple.
A stone wall five feet tall (called the Separation Wall) divided the Temple’s
outer court of the Gentiles from the inner court of the Jews. On the wall were
attached xenophobic signs prohibiting any Gentile under the pain of death from
going beyond the prescribed line.
By an ironic twist of fate, Gentiles down
through the centuries have excluded Jews. With the fires of Holocaust still
burning in our minds, we ask who, indeed, hid the Good News from the Nazis that
not only German Gentiles but also German Jews were included in the kindness of
God? Did God hide that Good News from the Nazis, or did they hide it from themselves?
Excluding women, gays, infidels
Today
we ask who hides the Good News that women in society and the Church are also
included in the kindness of God? Does God hide that Good News from society and the Church, or do these male-driven institutions hide that
Good News from themselves?
Who
hides the Good News that we Western infidels are included in the kindness of
Allah? Does Allah hide that Good News
from Islamic extremists, or do they hide it from themselves?
If
there’s mystery here, it is this: why would God or Allah or anyone else ever
want to hide the Good News of Inclusion?
Dismissal of the Christmas seasons
With
Epiphany Sunday the curtain comes down on the Christmas season, and next
Sunday, January 15, 2012, we return to
the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time. All the great religious stories (whether
Jewish, Islamic or Christian) need a last act, and all need the same last
act! All need a Star of Epiphany to
purify them not of their diversity, uniqueness and quaintness but of their
hostility, hatred and exclusive spirit. All need a feast of Epiphany to summon
their adherents to move over and make room for others. And ample room there is,
indeed. When Jesus came into the world
the inn-keepers said to Joseph and Mary: “There is no room for you in the inn.”
(Lk 2:7) As He was leaving the world, Jesus said to His disciples, "In my
Father's house there is much room for everyone." (Jn 14:2)
When the song of
the angels is stilled,
when the star in
the sky is gone,
when the kings have
returned to their villas,
when the shepherds
are back in their fields,
the real business
of Christmas begins:
to find the lost,
to heal the broken,
to feed the hungry,
to seek the path to peace,
and to start
worshiping a God
who
includes everyone in His kindness,
and who asks us to do the same.
The Adoration of the Magi
