The Epiphany of the Lord 2021 Epiphany: The revelation of Christ to the nations, beginning with us Readings: Isaiah 60: 1-6 / Psalm 72 / Ephesians 3: 2-3a, 5-6 / Mathew 2: 1-12
One of the most fruitful spiritual exercises is prayerfully acknowledging and recognizing your blessings - the manifold ways God blesses us - and giving thanks to him for those wonderful gifts.
Two key purposes of this form of spiritual exercise come to mind:
To recognize we are blessed and how so
To understand better that God loves us and how
Are you thankful? Why? For whom? For what? The more you answer those questions, the more personal you get. The more you answer, the more you will experience God’s goodness and love, not in theory, but in reality. The more you answer, the more you begin to recognize the grace of God alive and active in our lives and world. Sometimes, others recognize it better than us; they recognize our goodness and gifts in us better than we do ourselves.
Perceiving and recognizing are the first step. Saying, “thank you” is a good start, but is not enough. The task of a fuller Christian life is to understand the purpose of such graces and blessings and the courage to express and share them. In other words, there are reasons behind the behind the blessings and purposes ahead of them. They are expressions of God’s love for us and invitations to bear fruit and be generous with all he has given us.
The three readings from Sacred Scripture we have for the celebration of Epiphany speak of the graces that God bestows on us and their significance and how open minds and hearts are needed to recognize such gifts. In addition, such blessedness creates obligations.
In the first reading, Isaiah cries out to his people, "Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you... Nations shall walk by your light, and kings by your shining radiance..."
The prophet reminds the people of Israel that they have a special grace from God, a unique blessing among the nations. At the same time, the grace is an obligation. It was not enough, nor was it God’s plan for them just to enjoy a privileged status or giftedness. What God gave and gives is not only for the good of the recipients, but for all nations, so that all humanity might share in the same grace.
The second reading, from the letter to the Ephesians, provides helpful example as St. Paul speaks with confidence in the divine mandate he has been given to preach and demonstrates humble recognition of the weight of such a mission: "You have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for your benefit...."
The Apostle recognizes the special grace God gave him and that he was its steward, not for his own benefit or enrichment, but for others. Paul recognized the blessing as God’s grace and so put himself at the service of so generous and efficacious a gift.
In the Gospel reading it becomes tragically clear that some reject how God chooses to reach out to and give his people and, indeed, all of humanity the greatest blessing: Salvation, liberation from their sins. The news of the newborn king of the Jews was meant to lift up an oppressed people and fallen humanity, but for King Herod and all Jerusalem, such a revelation was “troubling.”
It can be tempting to condemn them, but one of the more unfortunate realities in our lives and Church is the failure to recognize how God has blessed us and the danger of complacency with such blessings, especially in the face of pressing needs that he calls us to respond to. In the least, we can take God for granted; at worst, we can reject him and our neighbor whom he calls us to love.
One of the more insightful spiritual figures of our time, Fr. Ignacio Larrañaga writes, “The death of wonder is called ‘routine.’”¹ The sacred can become so familiar and routine that we no longer recognize the possibility of God’s closeness to us. It’s not that the blessings of the Lord lose value but that those who profess belief in him begin to ignore his gifts.
The Magi are not to be romanticized, but they were gentiles who recognized God's grace to the people of Israel better than the people did themselves. Through the beauty and brightness of a star, God beckoned them from afar to discover him near.
The Magi longed for God’s revelation and the giving of his graces. At the same time, their minds and hearts were open. They let God surprise them and interrupt their routine. That made it possible for them to recognize Christ when he came and not let preconceived ideas dissuade or distract them.
God’s grace is characterized by constancy and newness. It’s all about his gifts; it’s all about his love for us. He reveals himself in Christ. The challenge is whether we recognize and appreciate such a loving revelation. May we always be consoled by God’s faithful love and may we always be joyfully surprised by how he loves us and all people.
Peace be with you! Fr. Charles Johnson, O.P.
Notes:
¹ Ignacio Larrañaga, Del Sufrimiento a la Paz (Bogotá: San Pablo, 2004), 68.