"They fell down and worshiped Jesus"
The Epiphany of the Lord
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.
Responsorial Psalm PS 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13.
R. (cf. 11) Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king’s son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
The kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts;
the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute.
All kings shall pay him homage,
all nations shall serve him.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
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.
Alleluia MT 2:2
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
We saw his star at its rising
and have come to do him homage.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
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.
MEDITATION1 : BRO DON SCHWAGER
If Jesus truly is who he claims to be, the eternal Son of God and Savior of the world, then why is he not recognized by everyone who hears his word and sees his works? John the Evangelist states that when Jesus came into the world the world knew him not and his own people received him not (John 1:10-11). Jesus was born in obscurity. Only the lowly shepherds recognized him at his birth. Some wise men also found their way to Bethlehem to pay homage to the newborn King of Israel. These men were not Israelites, but foreigners. They likely had read and discussed the Messianic prophecies and were anxious to see when this Messianic King would appear. God led them by means of an extraordinary star across the desert to the little town of Bethlehem where Jesus was born.
John Chrysostom (347-407), in his homily on this passage from Matthew 2, explains the significance of the star of Bethlehem:
"Note how fitting was the order of events: the wise men saw the star, were received by the Jews and their king; they heard prophecy to explain what had appeared; the angel instructed them; and then they journeyed from Jerusalem to Bethlehem by the guidance of the star. From all this we learn that this was not an ordinary star, for no other star has this capacity to guide, not merely to move but to beckon, to “go before them,” drawing and guiding them along their way. The star remained after bringing them to the place, in order that the child might also be seen. For there is nothing conspicuous about the place. The inn was ordinary. The mother was not celebrated or notable. The star was needed to manifest and illumine the lowly place, until they had reached their destination at the manger." [The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 7:3]
In their thirst for knowledge of God, the wise men from the East willingly left everything, their home and country, in pursuit of that quest. In their diligent search they were led to the source of true knowledge - to Jesus Christ, the Light and Wisdom of God. When they found the newborn King they humbly worshiped him and gave him gifts fitting for a king.
The Lord of the universe who revealed the star of Bethlehem to the Gentiles of the East so they could come and worship Jesus, the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) and King of Kings (Revelations 19:16), gives each one of us the same light of revelation to recognize and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Faith is an entirely free gift that God makes to us. It is through the help of the Holy Spirit, who moves the heart and opens the eyes of the mind, that we are able to understand, accept, and believe the truth which God has revealed to us through his Son, Jesus Christ. In faith, the human will and intellect cooperate with grace. "Believing is an act of the intellect assenting to the divine truth by command of the will moved by God through grace" (Thomas Aquinas).
To know and to encounter Jesus Christ is to know God personally. In the encounter of the wise men with Jesus we see the plan of God to give his only Son as King and Savior, not just for the Jewish people but for all the nations as well. The Lord Jesus came that both Jew and Gentile might find true and lasting peace with God. Let us pray today that Jew and Gentile alike will find the Lord and Savior on their journey of life. Do you bring the light of Jesus Christ to those you meet through the witness of your life and testimony?
"Lord Jesus Christ, we thank you for bringing salvation to all the nations. May the gospel of salvation be proclaimed to every nation today and to every person on the face of the earth. Help me to be a good witness of the joy of the gospel to all I meet."
MEDITATION 2: FR ALFONSE
Mt 2:1-12 Follow The Leader
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?” When Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
When I was a child, I had a hard time believing what many adults would tell me. For example, they would tell me that we were all the same or that we were all special. But when I received my report card and I compared my grades with my classmates, I knew we were not all the same. I never believed them and for good reason: they were lying.
There is no use denying it. The grass is greener on the other side. Some people are better off than I am. Some people are more successful than others. Mathematically speaking, only one person wins first place; the rest are losers. Winning is the only thing that matters. If you are not Apple Inc., then you are in decline. Another way of saying second place is “first losers.” It is true, we all have problems. But imagine for a moment a neighbor coming up to you and saying, “I can no longer afford to buy a car for my son's 18th birthday”, and you politely say to them, “I know what you mean. I’m actually having a hard time selecting between a Ferrari and a Lamborghini for my son's birthday.” Or, imagine someone at work saying to you, “Could you please pray for my daughter. Tomorrow she has brain surgery” and you shake your head and say to them, “Please pray for us too, my daughter needs to have braces.” Or a friend comes up to you and says, "My father died today" and you say, "Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that, my cat passed away today too."
Why deny it? Why hide it? Why is it so hard to admit that some people have worse problems than others or that some people are better off than others? If not, then you will live your life thinking that there is something wrong with you. No wonder why so many of us turn and run to the therapist and tell them, “I think there is something wrong with me. I mean, I’m not as happy as I should be. I don’t feel as loved as I should. I don't feel comfortable here.” Let me tell you something right now. The world is not perfect. It is fallen, and we have fallen with it. We should feel uncomfortable in this twisted, distorted and topsy-turvy world of ours. If not, then there is something seriously wrong with us.
Herod lived in a palace. Jesus lived in a stable. How more twisted can you get? Herod was surrounded in wealth. Jesus was surrounded in hay. How upside down is that? Herod commanded an army. Jesus commanded a cow, a goat and some sheep. Herod could march around. Jesus had to be carried by his mother and father. Does that sound fair to you? Does that sound like a perfect world? And yet, the Lord chose it, lived and died in it and sanctified it. And when Herod and all of Jerusalem wanted to kill him, the Lord knew better. He did not ask, "Why me?" or "What's wrong with me?" He knew why. He knew that in a fallen world, there's no place for God.
Whatever Jesus did, he sanctified. When Jesus was born of a woman, he sanctified forever child birth. Giving birth to a child is not only natural; it is sacred. We think we have made progress. But in reality we haven’t. Sure, we take ten steps forward, but we also take one giant leap backwards. We make child bearing so much easier. But we make abortion even easier. Health care helps us live longer. But there is pressure on the elderly to end their lives earlier.
When Jesus entered into the world, he came between a man and a woman, a husband and a wife. Getting married is very natural. But the Lord sanctified marriage by being a part of it. And so, marriage is not only natural, it is holy. The same goes for family. The Lord chose to be a part of a family, and by doing so he sanctified that which is natural.
What gifts does the Lord want from us? He wants our love and our fidelity. In fact, that's what our spouse and our children want too. What God has joined together (fixed and repaired), no man must ever separate!
There are two types of people in the world that we all have a hard time dealing with: the very rich and the very poor. We have a very hard time with the very rich because we feel inferior to them; the very poor because we are embarrassed or scared of them. In Bethlehem, in the stable, we find poor shepherds and rich Kings, together. The Lord knows how to bring His people together. He knows how to reconcile the world to Himself. He knows how to turn things right-side up!
Today, the wise men teach us an amazing lesson in this amazing true story. There is a light that shines in the darkness and I must follow it. They followed the Light that led to the Lord regardless of the difficulties they endured, the challenges they faced, the unfairness of life, the pain and suffering they endured, the dangers of life, the evil men that surrounded them. They followed a star that led them home, to the Son of God.
This is a beautiful lesson for all of us who live in an imperfect world. Follow the Lord. Follow the Leader. Follow God and He will bring you home.
The Epiphany of the Lord
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.
Responsorial Psalm PS 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13.
R. (cf. 11) Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king’s son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
The kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts;
the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute.
All kings shall pay him homage,
all nations shall serve him.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
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.
Alleluia MT 2:2
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
We saw his star at its rising
and have come to do him homage.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
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.
MEDITATION1 : BRO DON SCHWAGER
If Jesus truly is who he claims to be, the eternal Son of God and Savior of the world, then why is he not recognized by everyone who hears his word and sees his works? John the Evangelist states that when Jesus came into the world the world knew him not and his own people received him not (John 1:10-11). Jesus was born in obscurity. Only the lowly shepherds recognized him at his birth. Some wise men also found their way to Bethlehem to pay homage to the newborn King of Israel. These men were not Israelites, but foreigners. They likely had read and discussed the Messianic prophecies and were anxious to see when this Messianic King would appear. God led them by means of an extraordinary star across the desert to the little town of Bethlehem where Jesus was born.
John Chrysostom (347-407), in his homily on this passage from Matthew 2, explains the significance of the star of Bethlehem:
"Note how fitting was the order of events: the wise men saw the star, were received by the Jews and their king; they heard prophecy to explain what had appeared; the angel instructed them; and then they journeyed from Jerusalem to Bethlehem by the guidance of the star. From all this we learn that this was not an ordinary star, for no other star has this capacity to guide, not merely to move but to beckon, to “go before them,” drawing and guiding them along their way. The star remained after bringing them to the place, in order that the child might also be seen. For there is nothing conspicuous about the place. The inn was ordinary. The mother was not celebrated or notable. The star was needed to manifest and illumine the lowly place, until they had reached their destination at the manger." [The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 7:3]
In their thirst for knowledge of God, the wise men from the East willingly left everything, their home and country, in pursuit of that quest. In their diligent search they were led to the source of true knowledge - to Jesus Christ, the Light and Wisdom of God. When they found the newborn King they humbly worshiped him and gave him gifts fitting for a king.
The Lord of the universe who revealed the star of Bethlehem to the Gentiles of the East so they could come and worship Jesus, the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) and King of Kings (Revelations 19:16), gives each one of us the same light of revelation to recognize and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Faith is an entirely free gift that God makes to us. It is through the help of the Holy Spirit, who moves the heart and opens the eyes of the mind, that we are able to understand, accept, and believe the truth which God has revealed to us through his Son, Jesus Christ. In faith, the human will and intellect cooperate with grace. "Believing is an act of the intellect assenting to the divine truth by command of the will moved by God through grace" (Thomas Aquinas).
To know and to encounter Jesus Christ is to know God personally. In the encounter of the wise men with Jesus we see the plan of God to give his only Son as King and Savior, not just for the Jewish people but for all the nations as well. The Lord Jesus came that both Jew and Gentile might find true and lasting peace with God. Let us pray today that Jew and Gentile alike will find the Lord and Savior on their journey of life. Do you bring the light of Jesus Christ to those you meet through the witness of your life and testimony?
"Lord Jesus Christ, we thank you for bringing salvation to all the nations. May the gospel of salvation be proclaimed to every nation today and to every person on the face of the earth. Help me to be a good witness of the joy of the gospel to all I meet."
MEDITATION 2: FR ALFONSE
Mt 2:1-12 Follow The Leader
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?” When Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
When I was a child, I had a hard time believing what many adults would tell me. For example, they would tell me that we were all the same or that we were all special. But when I received my report card and I compared my grades with my classmates, I knew we were not all the same. I never believed them and for good reason: they were lying.
There is no use denying it. The grass is greener on the other side. Some people are better off than I am. Some people are more successful than others. Mathematically speaking, only one person wins first place; the rest are losers. Winning is the only thing that matters. If you are not Apple Inc., then you are in decline. Another way of saying second place is “first losers.” It is true, we all have problems. But imagine for a moment a neighbor coming up to you and saying, “I can no longer afford to buy a car for my son's 18th birthday”, and you politely say to them, “I know what you mean. I’m actually having a hard time selecting between a Ferrari and a Lamborghini for my son's birthday.” Or, imagine someone at work saying to you, “Could you please pray for my daughter. Tomorrow she has brain surgery” and you shake your head and say to them, “Please pray for us too, my daughter needs to have braces.” Or a friend comes up to you and says, "My father died today" and you say, "Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that, my cat passed away today too."
Why deny it? Why hide it? Why is it so hard to admit that some people have worse problems than others or that some people are better off than others? If not, then you will live your life thinking that there is something wrong with you. No wonder why so many of us turn and run to the therapist and tell them, “I think there is something wrong with me. I mean, I’m not as happy as I should be. I don’t feel as loved as I should. I don't feel comfortable here.” Let me tell you something right now. The world is not perfect. It is fallen, and we have fallen with it. We should feel uncomfortable in this twisted, distorted and topsy-turvy world of ours. If not, then there is something seriously wrong with us.
Herod lived in a palace. Jesus lived in a stable. How more twisted can you get? Herod was surrounded in wealth. Jesus was surrounded in hay. How upside down is that? Herod commanded an army. Jesus commanded a cow, a goat and some sheep. Herod could march around. Jesus had to be carried by his mother and father. Does that sound fair to you? Does that sound like a perfect world? And yet, the Lord chose it, lived and died in it and sanctified it. And when Herod and all of Jerusalem wanted to kill him, the Lord knew better. He did not ask, "Why me?" or "What's wrong with me?" He knew why. He knew that in a fallen world, there's no place for God.
Whatever Jesus did, he sanctified. When Jesus was born of a woman, he sanctified forever child birth. Giving birth to a child is not only natural; it is sacred. We think we have made progress. But in reality we haven’t. Sure, we take ten steps forward, but we also take one giant leap backwards. We make child bearing so much easier. But we make abortion even easier. Health care helps us live longer. But there is pressure on the elderly to end their lives earlier.
When Jesus entered into the world, he came between a man and a woman, a husband and a wife. Getting married is very natural. But the Lord sanctified marriage by being a part of it. And so, marriage is not only natural, it is holy. The same goes for family. The Lord chose to be a part of a family, and by doing so he sanctified that which is natural.
What gifts does the Lord want from us? He wants our love and our fidelity. In fact, that's what our spouse and our children want too. What God has joined together (fixed and repaired), no man must ever separate!
There are two types of people in the world that we all have a hard time dealing with: the very rich and the very poor. We have a very hard time with the very rich because we feel inferior to them; the very poor because we are embarrassed or scared of them. In Bethlehem, in the stable, we find poor shepherds and rich Kings, together. The Lord knows how to bring His people together. He knows how to reconcile the world to Himself. He knows how to turn things right-side up!
Today, the wise men teach us an amazing lesson in this amazing true story. There is a light that shines in the darkness and I must follow it. They followed the Light that led to the Lord regardless of the difficulties they endured, the challenges they faced, the unfairness of life, the pain and suffering they endured, the dangers of life, the evil men that surrounded them. They followed a star that led them home, to the Son of God.
This is a beautiful lesson for all of us who live in an imperfect world. Follow the Lord. Follow the Leader. Follow God and He will bring you home.