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Dear Friend, All of us have had or
long for moments of insight, moments of revelation, when we are able to see
things more clearly and understand the meaning of things incomprehensible.
Like blind people we long to have sight. It is said a moment’s insight is
worth a lifetime. Sometimes we are blind to the many good things we are
blessed with. We need God’s help to discover the hand of God and his loving
touch in our lives. Have an insightful weekend! Fr. Jude Botelho |
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Darius, king of Persia had permitted the
Israelites to return to their country. In this first reading from the prophet
Isaiah, Isaiah encourages and cheers the returned exiles with the vision of a
restored city, which will become a beacon of light to all the nations.
Returning from exile the deported Jews have set out on a journey to
Jerusalem, a Jerusalem lit up with the multiple candles of the rebuilt
temple. The prophet sees far beyond this: a city not of this earth, lit by
the glory of the Lord, to which all nations will come. For all believers it
is faith that gives us a vision of hope that helps us on the journey of life
to encounter the Lord in His holy temple. Paul’s advocacy of the
gentiles as equal partners in the faith had led to his imprisonment. In this
passage Paul spells out his mission to the Gentiles. He reminds his readers
of the special mission entrusted to him. This task was not of his own choice
but a command of the Lord Jesus given through the early Church. The mystery,
the good news he brings to the Gentiles is that all men are equal before God,
pagans are not second class citizens of the kingdom of God, they have a
rightful place and a rightful share of the same inheritance; they are part of
the same body, and have the same promise made to them in Jesus Christ. Paul,
the very least of the apostles, because he persecuted the Church, has now
been made the apostle of the Gentiles, to proclaim the mercy of God towards
all peoples. Gentiles are to form an integral part of the Church. It is faith
that reveals God to us and enables us to come boldly into His presence. We live like beggars….. Matthew freely uses the legend of the journey of the wise men that
come to Jerusalem to illustrate the point that Jesus is not the exclusive
property of the Israelites, Jesus has come for all peoples and will be revealed
to all who search and seek him from near and afar. God revealed himself to
the Jews through the Scriptures and to the Gentiles through nature. Hence
Matthew shows the Magi, who were Gentiles, receiving a revelation through
astrology. The story highlights a paradox: the Jews who have the Scriptures
reject Jesus, while the Gentiles come. And with the help of the Scriptures,
find and adore him. The star was only the means by which a great mystery was
revealed- the revelation of Christ as the Saviour of the Gentiles too. The
word Epiphany means manifestation or revelation. Literally, a ‘drawing back
of the veil’. On this day the veil is
drawn back not only for the Jews but also for the Gentiles. It is God’s will
that all people be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. In the Old
Testament the Jews were portrayed as the Chosen People, but this idea does
not mean that others have a second-class status. This feast shows that the
election of God is not a privilege for some but a hope for all. The feast of
the Epiphany is a happy feast, an inclusive feast. We who were outsiders are
now insiders; we who were aliens are now part of God’s family. Though the
Magi were guided by a star they did not know where it would guide them or
what lay ahead. It was a journey of faith and even when they saw the child
Jesus they had to make an act of faith believing that this was the Messiah.
Seeing is not necessarily believing! Faith does not guarantee an easy journey
but a meaningful one. The Magi did not journey as individuals, they had each
other. They formed a community of believers. We too have a community of faith
to support us on our faith journey. May the light of faith never fail us,
until we see our God face to face. The Treasure within In Cracow, a rabbi dreams three times that an angel told him to go to
Livovna. ‘In front of the palace there, near a bridge,’ the angel said, ‘you
will learn where a treasure is hidden.’ The rabbi went to Livovna. When he
arrived at the palace, he found a sentinel near the bridge, so he told him
the dream. The sentinel replied: ‘I, too, have had a dream. The angel told me
to go to a rabbi’s house in Cracow, where a treasure is buried in front of
the fireplace.’ Hearing this, the rabbi returned home and dug in front of the
fireplace. There he found the treasure. Anthony Castle in ‘Quotes and Anecdotes’ "The
Epiphany brings an almost magic atmosphere to the Christmas feast, like a
dark cloud fringed with light. Yet this light is not from the golden legend
from which Matthew has, perhaps, partially borrowed. The light shines out
from a frail child –the Son of the Eternal Father, the Messiah of the Jews,
God for the pagans and King of all peoples.
The wise men symbolize for us the countless multitudes long exiled
from paradise yet retaining some lingering, undefined nostalgia for it. How
many had a presentiment about this King of the Jews born under a lucky star?
Only the Magi undertook the journey and followed it through to the end.
Relying on their human wisdom, the Magi go first to Jerusalem, the centre of
this Jewish mystery. In God’s plan their learning must give way to the
revealed scriptures, so that they might learn where the child was. Their
dawning and already proven faith could then enter the final stage which will
lead them to recognize the king of an invisible kingdom in the new-born child
of Bethlehem….Then they had to return by a different path, the path of a new
life, carrying deep in their hearts for all time the guiding star.” - Glenstal Bible Missal The last part of the gospel tells us that on seeing the
infant King the Magi presented gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh,
symbolizing what they valued and what they stood for. We too are invited to
give what we have and what we value to the Lord, however our best gift is
ourselves. Unfortunately, sometimes we do not know the treasures we have
until we have lost them. After encountering the child Jesus the Magi had to
return to their homes by a different path. Once we have met the Lord our
lives can never be the same again. We have to walk a different path, our
changed lives will speak of the God, who is now the light within us guiding
our every step. We have wealth in abundance, yet we live poor lives. There is a story about a man. One night, before Christmas,
he had a massive quarrel with his wife. His wife started complaining –‘there
is no food in the house, Christmas is approaching and there are no clothes
for our kids, no money for doing up the house…’And the man expressed his
helplessness-‘what am I to do…I don’t waste any money… whatever I earn I give
it to you…’ ‘If you can’t afford to look after us why did you get married and
have children?’ The quarrel went on till midnight. He got up and went out of
the house. As he walked, he reached a mighty river. The river flowed with a
mighty gush. He sat there quietly. He tried to calm himself. All his woes, he
thought to himself, were because of lack of money. If only he had money, his
family would be a happy one. As he sat in the darkness in a melancholy mood,
he found a sack of pebbles next to him. He picked up the stones, and began
playfully throwing them one by one into the mighty river. This went on till
the morning. As the sun was rising, he had mentally calmed down, and he had
almost emptied the sack of pebbles. He had one last pebble in his hand; just
before throwing it into the river, he had one look at it in the bright
morning sun -to his great misery and dismay, he discovered that it was a
precious stone. “What an unfortunate man I am,” he thought to himself, “God
had given me such wealth in my hands. If only I had realized it, all my woes
would have gone.” John Rose in ‘John’s Sunday Homilies’ May everything reveal God’s
wonderful presence in our lives! Fr. Jude
Botelho |
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Other Sunday Homily Websites Daily Reflections Immaculate Heart Retreat Center Gospel Commentary from Ireland Daily Scripture |
Recent
Sunday Reflections Feast of Holy Family 30-Dec. 2007 Fourth Sunday of Advent 23-Dec. 2007 Third
Sunday of Advent 16-Dec. 2007 Second Sunday of Advent 09-Dec. 2007 First Sunday of Advent 02-Dec. 2007
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