BIBLE STUDY #71
THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD
January 8, 2012

READING 1
IS 60:1-6

Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come,
the glory of the Lord shines upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth,
and thick clouds cover the peoples;
but upon you the LORD shines,
and over you appears his glory.
Nations shall walk by your light,
and kings by your shining radiance.
Raise your eyes and look about;
they all gather and come to you:
your sons come from afar,
and your daughters in the arms of their nurses.

Then you shall be radiant at what you see,
your heart shall throb and overflow,
for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you,
the wealth of nations shall be brought to you.
Caravans of camels shall fill you,
dromedaries from Midian and Ephah;
all from Sheba shall come
bearing gold and frankincense,
and proclaiming the praises of the LORD.

The Word of the Lord

READING 2
EPH 3:2-3A, 5-6

Brothers and sisters:
You have heard of the stewardship of God's grace
that was given to me for your benefit,
namely, that the mystery was made known to me by revelation.
It was not made known to people in other generations
as it has now been revealed
to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit:
that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body,
and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

The Word of the Lord

GOSPEL
MT 2:1-12

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,
in the days of King Herod,
behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,
"Where is the newborn king of the Jews?
We saw his star at its rising
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."
Then Herod called the magi 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 departed for their country by another way.

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

The word “Epiphany” is a Greek word meaning “manifestation.” Originally, it was a feast to celebrate the Baptism of the Lord (which it still does in Eastern Orthodoxy) but since the 4th century, it has been linked with Jesus’ manifestation of himself to the Magi.

There is a lot of manifestation in the first 2 chapters of Matthew, who tells us the essence of the Good News of Jesus, Son of God, Messiah and Savior. Matthew tells us: 1) salvation is open to all people; 2) the divine origin of Jesus and his identity as the Messiah (the Christ) and, 3) the world wide mission of the church. This alone would earn Matthew the title of evangelist.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the city of David, the city of birth of the Messiah, hence his title as Son of David, and was born during the reign of King Herod the Great who ruled from 37 B.C. to 4 A.D. Herod was a master politician who played off the Jewish and Roman authorities against each other to keep his power. He was also a master builder who built many edifices and fortresses, the most famous being Masada.

The term Magi originally referred to a priestly caste from Persia who had special powers to interpret dreams. In our text, they are astrologers/astronomers who look to the stars to interpret major events. If you look in the texts, they are not named, nor are they numbered. It is our tradition that says there are three (because there are 3 gifts) and gives them names.

There is an interesting tradition arising from the Magi: take a piece of chalk and write the following right above the outside of your front door: 20+C+M+B+12. The 2012 is obviously for the year, and the letters are the three traditional names of the Magi: Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar. You are proclaiming to all who come to your door that you pay homage to the new born king of the Jews and follow his light.

In ancient times, it was believed that a new star heralded the birth of a new king. The Magi recognized a new star, and came looking for the newborn king of the Jews. They sought help from Herod, whom would have seen this newborn king as a rival. Herod was already suspect in the eyes of the Jews since he hailed from Idumea, and the Idumeans were forcibly converted to Judaism under John Hyrcanus (134 B.C. to 104 B.C.). The very title the Magi used for Jesus was the inscription on his cross.

What actually was this star? The 17th century astronomer Johannes Kepler thought it was a super nova or a new star; some thought it was a comet; and some thought it was the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. We’ll never know what it really was, but that doesn’t matter. It is the theological meaning of the star that is important.

The Magi wouldn’t have been familiar with the prophecies of the Messiah, so they went to King Herod for his help. They want to “do homage” to this new king, proclaiming Jesus divinity, since we only give homage to God. We see here that salvation is open to all.

Herod summons the chief priests and scribes of the people (this seems to indicate that he called present and former priests and members of the priestly family); they would have knowledge of the scriptures and would be able to tall the Magi where the Messiah is to be born (notice that now they are referring to him as the messiah, not only a king. This must have really tweaked Herod’s paranoia). This indicates the mission of the church to the Gentiles, and the irony that many Jews, like Herod, would reject their own messiah.

The Magi are told that the Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem of Judea, the commonly accepted place of the messiah’s birth (see John 7:42), and is also the city where David was anointed king. The chief priests and scribes quote 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." This quotation is a combination of Micah 5:1 and 2 Samuel 5:2, and is portraying Jesus as the messiah in the line of David.

Herod was ruthless in eliminating his enemies; he finds out the time of the star’s appearance, and sends the Magi to Bethlehem. He asks them to return to him so he can go and do homage. Herod does not want to do homage, but to eliminate a potential rival.

After leaving Herod, they followed the star: “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.” It seems that the movement of the star was more precise at this point, since they needed Herod’s help previously.

The word “overjoyed” is used to give a heightened sense of the great amount of joy they had upon seeing Jesus. They ‘prostrated’ themselves in homage. Prostrate means, “Lying face down, as in submission or adoration.” They did more than kneel; they laid face down on the ground in adoration.

Gifts were always brought to the birth of a new king; the Magi prostrating themselves and bringing extravagant gifts indicates the importance of Jesus and attests to his divinity.

What’s interesting here is that Matthew seems to indicate that Jesus was born in a house, not a stable. This house was probably had a room in it used by animals and also used by guests in an emergency. Luke’s Gospel talks about Jesus being born and lying in a manger; he never said that the manger was in a cave or a stable. The manger could also have been in a house.

Ancient people believed in dreams; scripture is full of examples, a few we have seen in recent Gospels. They believed in divine communication through dreams, so dreams were taken very seriously. The Magi believed in their dreams, and so avoided Herod on their way home.

In today’s first reading from Isaiah, we are in the post-exilic period (after 538 B.C. when they were freed from slavery in Babylon). The exiles returned to their land and found it quite desolate. As they were facing the reconstruction of their land, Isaiah offers a vision of what Jerusalem could again become: the glory of the Lord will shine upon them; nations will walk by their light; they will rise up in splendor; and the wealth of the nations will be brought to them: a very bright future, indeed.

Early Christians began to see this prophecy fulfilled in Jesus. The light has come in Jesus, he is the Lord who shines upon believers, many come to him, and he is God’s glory revealed to us. Our mission as church is to share that light with others.

I would like to point out that it probably wasn’t Isaiah who wrote these words, but someone in the tradition of Isaiah. This book of Isaiah can be spilt into three sections: chapters 1-39, 40-55, and 56-66. The first section is actually Isaiah, who lived in the period right before the exile to Babylon; the second section is during the exile and is called Deutero (or second) Isaiah, and the third section is after the exile and is called Trito (or third) Isaiah. The whole book spans about 150 years, so there had to be more than one author. Scholars say that someone writing in the style of Isaiah wrote Deutero-Isaiah, and a third person, writing in the style of Isaiah, wrote Trito-Isaiah.

In the second reading from Ephesians, Paul speaks against the age old division between Gentiles and Jews. He calls gentiles “coheirs, members of the same body, and co partners in the promise in Christ Jesus.” There is no distinction among people: all are welcome in God’s kingdom and in his church.



Fr. Phil