Sunday Readings for January 3-4, The Epiphany of the Lord
By Fr. Jack Treloar, SJ | For On Mission
Our celebration this week has a somewhat strange title. It is called “The Epiphany of the Lord.” In general terms, the word “epiphany” means a sudden and deep realization of some kind. In our religious context, the term refers to a sudden and deep realization of the divine.
The Magi had this realization when they saw the unknown star in the heavens, and they began to follow it to its source. They knew that the appearance of the star indicated a new and important happening, and they realized from their study that a new king, worthy of a new star, had been born.
Sometimes, when a divine revelation occurs, we are at a loss for words and fall into familiar patterns of thought to explain that manifestation of God. The Scriptures today talk of this amazing star as “your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you… Nations shall walk by your light, and kings by your shining radiance… Then you shall be radiant at what you see” (Is 60:1-5). Paul, in the reading from Ephesians, tells us that such epiphanies of the Lord are made to us by a revelation.
We must now pay attention to the Magi who saw the star and followed it. They were foreigners. Because of the three gifts they brought, we traditionally assume there were only three of them. We simply do not know if there were more or fewer than three. The important thing was that they were not Jewish.
This brings us to the next significant fact about the Epiphany. The king that the Magi visit is a king for all peoples, not simply the Jews. The reading from Ephesians captures that meaning when Paul tells us, “the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (Eph 3:6).
Finally, we learn that such a revelation from God is often rejected by established worldly power. The Gospel points out that Herod was disturbed, called on his counselors for advice, decided that this new king must be done away with, and lied to the Magi about his desire to worship the new king. The revelation of Jesus as the one who was to come posed a threat to the worldly powers of the time. Although it is not part of the Gospel text for today, we know that Herod tried to kill the new king, and innocent lives were lost because of a threat to his power.
As we celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord, we realize that this is not an extraordinary one-time event but an everlasting presence with humans throughout history. The new king brings light to all people and will eventually identify himself by saying, “I am the light of the world” (Jn 8:12).
The readings for Sunday, January 4, can be found at The Epiphany of the Lord | USCCB.