SOLEMNITY OF THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD - 2021
INTRODUCTION
The readings show us the light and the darkness
clashing, not in the sky we see with our eyes, but in our human heart.
·
Darkness which
prevents us to see and to adore God made a child, light that invites us to
adore Him.
·
Darkness that
prevents us from discovering the presence of our incarnate God in every human
being.
·
Darkness that
prevents us to acknowledge our injustices in the relationship with others.
·
Darkness that
blinds us and prevents us to truly believe that we are all brothers and sisters
created , redeemed and loved equally.
·
Darkness that
prevents us to see the good in us and in every human being.
·
This celebration
is a good opportunity to look into our heart and discover in it our darkness
and also our light, the light of God made a child.
FIRST READING – Is
60:1-6
«
This
passage is taken from the book of the Third Isaiah. It is filled with optimism,
joy and light.
«
The
theme of light dominates the scene; the glory of God is the light that illumines
the city of Jerusalem.
«
The
earth is covered with darkness, but the glory of God shines upon the
earth.
«
This
light is a lighthouse that leads the nations toward Jerusalem.
«
Look
with joy, with overwhelming happiness all the nations come to you, the
foreigners but also your children, those who were once dispersed, now
return.
«
They
will bring to you the wealth of the nations, caravans of camels bringing gold,
incense and myrrh, and proclaiming the praises of God.
«
This
invitation is addressed to each one of us “Risa up, rise up…”
«
Look the light
is all around you in spite of the darkness
«
All
that is human in you, your ability to love and to give yourself for love of
others will come back to you, if you know how to discover in your life the
light of God.
RESPONSORIAL
PSALM Psalm 72
R. 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.
This psalm is a prayer for a king or
for the crowned heir.
The theme of justice is present in
the petitions for the king, so he will be able to govern with equity.
Like in the first reading the psalm
mentions the kings of foreign nations who will come to bring gifts to the
king.
The justice of this King will be to take
care of the poor and marginalized, being like God whose justice is manifested
through his compassion and mercy.
SECOND
READING – LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS
Ø
The
letter to the Ephesians, together with the letters to the Colossians, to the Philippians,
and to Philemon, belongs to the group of the Captivity Letters.
Ø
For
those authors who believe that the letter was written by Paul himself, the date
of the letter has to be before his death, before 67.
Ø
But
for those who think it was written by another person, probably a disciple of
Paul, the date may be around the 80’s.
Ø
This
letter has many themes that we find also in the letter to the Colossians.
Ø
It
is a doctrinal and theological letter.
Ø
The
first part (ch.1-3) is dedicated to the Church, which has been prepared from
eternity by God. There has been a progressive revelation whose culminating
point is the Incarnation of the Word of God.
Ø
In
the second part what has been said in the first about the Church is applied to
the behavior of the individual Christian.
EPHESIANS 3:2-3a; 5-6
Ø
Paul
says that the mystery hidden in God has been revealed to him, and he announces
it to us through his preaching. .
Ø
This
mystery has been revealed to the Apostles by the Spirit.
Ø
The
mystery hidden in God and revealed now is
o
that
through the Good News, the Gospel, the gentiles are coheirs, copartners in
Christ Jesus
o
and
members of the same body.
GOSPEL- Matthew 2:1-12
ü
Chapters
1 and 2 of the Gospel of Matthew and of the Gospel of Luke are called the “The
Infancy Narrative.”
ü
They
are, according to an author, the summary of Jesus’ life and of the evangelist’s
theology.
ü
The
verses we will read on Sunday give us the synthesis of Matthew’s
theology: there is a conflict between two kingships: Herod and Jesus, between
evil and good.
ü
Who
was Herod? He came from Edom from the South of Judea and near the Dead Sea. He was
an ambitious and bloodthirsty man.
ü
We
find at least 5 different scenes or settings in this gospel.
o
The
Magi have followed the star and arrive in Jerusalem where they hope to find
directions to find the New Born King of the Jews.
o
Herod,
the High priests and the scribes know about the prophecy and look in the
Scriptures to find the exact place, which is Bethlehem.
o
Herod
speaks to the Magi and he inquires from them about the exact time they had seen
the star. He tells them that, according to the Scriptures, he has to be born in
Bethlehem. He wants them to come back and tell the exact place so he can go and
adore him too.
o
The
Magi continue their journey and they see again the star which they had lost
when they arrived in Jerusalem.
o
The
Magi arrive to the place where the holy family lives, and find Jesus with his
Mother. Full of joy they offer him gold, frankincense and myrrh. Afterwards
they take another road to go back home as the angel had told them.
ü
There
are many contrasts in these scenes,
o
The
Magi do not know the prophecies of Israel, but they know how to read the stars
and seek with an open heart without ambition or power.
o
Herod
and the priests know the prophecies thus they fear, because they believe that
this new born King is going to take away their power, to change their life
style filled with hate and lies.
o
The
Magi found God without knowing him. The leaders of the Jewish people do not
find or recognize him, in spite of having the information.
One day, our Lord showed me the
beauty of his most Holy Law. He showed me a beautiful scene of a vast and
beautiful meadow full of the most beautiful flowers of all kind; they had the
most varied and exquisite fragrance. I saw that they all had stain, some more
than the others. Some had only a little stain but it disfigured the beauty that
exquisite scenery. Our Lord told me: “do you see my daughter the beauty of the
flowers are breaking of my holy law. I had nobody to observe it, because there
is no one who keeps the precept of charity.
Venerable María Antonia Paris, Foundress of the
Religious of Mary Immaculate, Claretian Missionary Sisters, Autobiography 27-
Besides having
a very good elementary teacher, which, as I have said, is no small gift from
heaven, I also had good parents who cooperated with my teacher in molding my
understanding in truth and nurturing my heart in the practice of religion and
all the virtues. Every day after lunch, which we ate at a quarter past twelve,
my father had me read a spiritual book, and at night we would sit for a while
around the table, where he would always tell us something edifying and
instructive until it was time for us to retire. St. Anthony Mary Claret, Founder of the
Claretian Missionary Sisters, Autobiography 25
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CLARET, St. Anthony Ma. Claret. Autobiography
PARIS, Ma. Antonia. Autobiography
SCHÖKEL,
Luis Alonso, La Biblia de nuestro Pueblo.
SAGRADA
BIBLIA, Versión Oficial de la Conferencia Episcopal Española.
THE CATHOLIC
STUDY BIBLE, Donald Senior and John J. Collins, Editors. Second edition
No comments:
Post a Comment