THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD
By our Pastor, Fr. Carmelo Jiménez
Celebrating the Epiphany of the Lord is the same as saying that it is a Theophany, which we could translate as a self-revelation of the Lord. I could affirm that it is the strength of the mystery of the incarnation: the humanity of our God who wants to communicate his divinity to all of us through his Son Jesus Christ. I love to remember the prayer that priests say secretly when they mix a little bit of water in the wine during the preparation of the gifts. “By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity.”
In our time we take our cell phones everywhere we go because we want to stay connected. On Facebook you can read all kinds of stories, many use it as a confessional, others post every single moment of their lives, losing all privacy. Well God the Father communicates to humanity through his Son who took on flesh, and he reveals himself to the entire world as the Savior. Out of love, God loses his privacy, in order to make himself known to us. This manifestation happens in two moments: the visit of the magi who represent the presence of humanity before Him and the moment of Jesus’ baptism when God the Father reveals the divine identity of his Son: “This is my beloved Son.” (Mt 3:17)
“Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you.” (Is 60:1) The prophet Isaiah invites Jerusalem to rise up. Pope Francis is constantly repeating to us: to leave our enclosures, to get out of ourselves. He wants us to recognize the splendor of the light that illumines our lives and then go out and bring this light to many others – a church which goes forth. We need this light that comes from above to respond in a coherent way to the vocation we have received. To announce Christ’s Gospel is not one option among many possibilities, nor is it a profession, it is our vocation as a church. The world needs the light of Christ.
“Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” (Mt 2:2) Right now I am traveling in the Holy Land and I had the opportunity to preside the Holy Mass in the Basilica of the Nativity. The Holy Child that belongs to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem is still there and will be returned on January 6th. The magi from the east are searching and ask people over and over until they arrive where Jesus is. The star guided them and despite their wisdom they also knew how to let themselves be guided. Today we need the humility to look for Christ as our only salvation, no matter what knowledge or possessions we have. Like St. Gerome affirmed, we need the humility to draw near to the source of salvation: Jesus.
“And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.” (Mt 2:12) In the Church of the Visitation there are 3 paintings, one of them tells the story of how Saint John the Baptist was saved from the slaughter of the children. He was hidden in caves and protected by an angel. Otherwise, he would have died. The magi understand each sign that God gives them and they align their lives to God’s will. To adore the Christ child is to align all of our lives to his will.
May we be grateful to God for taking on our human condition in order to honor it. May we adore Christ, fulfilling his will, acting according to how he would act. May our church be strengthened in love and service to Christ in the most vulnerable. Amen.