until
it came and stopped over the place where the child was. (Mt. 2:10)
Epiphany: the Good News of
Inclusion
January 6, 2013, Feast of Epiphany
Isaiah 60:1-6 Ephesians 3:1-3 Matthew 2:1-12
1st 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
2nd reading from Ephesians
I,
Paul, the servant of Christ, am here in jail because of you – for preaching
that you Gentiles are also a part of God’s household. No doubt you already know
that God has given me this special task of showing God’s favor to you Gentiles,
as I briefly mentioned before in one of my letters. God Himself revealed to me
this secret plan of His, hidden from former generations, that the Gentiles also
are included in the kindness of God. (Eph. 3:1-3)
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.
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 voice from heaven pointed
to Jesus and declared, “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), for whom a
star pointed to 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 three 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 3rd gift of myrrh
(an aromatic gum resin) to
Isaiah’s gold and frankincense, tradition added a 3rd king to carry
the myrrh. (Mt. 2:11) By the middle of the 3rd
century, tradition even gave the kings names: Melchior of Nubia, Caspar of
Tarshish and Baltazar of Chaldea. 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.
A `cute’ little
story?
Before
Vatican II, Epiphany was an `immovable feast,’ that is to say, it was always
celebrated on January 6. Epiphany also enjoyed a `privileged octave;’ 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. Did Epiphany lose its
privileged octave because the liturgical revisionists after Vatican II viewed it
as not much more than a `cute’ little story to tell our kids?
In search of religious meaning
Scripture
says there is a time for everything under God’s sun. (Eccl. 3:1-8) There
is a time to be simple and delighted children as we listen to the story of
Three Kings. But there’s also a time to
be grownups, and to go in search of the religious meaning of Epiphany. The glitzy medieval depiction
of Epiphany, which has three kings bedecked in fine robes, with crowns on their
heads and riding on camels, delights the child in us. But the adult in us goes in
search of the religious meaning of Epiphany. Here
especially we remind ourselves that the gospels are not historical documents. They 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 now, 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 the Jews
of old who thought that they alone belonged to the household of God. Epiphany
summoned 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)
Hiding the Good News of Inclusion
In
the second reading Paul writes to the Ephesians: “God Himself revealed to me
this secret plan of his, hidden from former generations, that the Gentiles also
are included in the kindness of God.”(Eph. 3:1-3) We chuckle at this "secret plan of
God, hidden from former generations.” We wonder who hid this Good News about
Gentiles being included in the kindness of God. Did God hide that Good News
from the Jews of old, or did they hide it from themselves? Why in the world
would God want to hide the Good News about the inclusion of Gentiles in His
kindness?
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?
Women, gays & infidels included in God’s kindness
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 it from society and the Church, or
do these male-driven institutions hide it from themselves? Or we ask who hides
the Good News that gays are included in the kindness of God? Does God hide that
it from the religious right and homophobes, or do they hide it from themselves?
Or we ask who hides the Good News that we Western infidels are included in the
kindness of Allah? Does Allah hide it
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?
Conclusion
Dismissal of the Christmas season
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 exclusivity. All need a feast of
Epiphany to summon their adherents to move over and make room for others. 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.
