January 2025
Homily January 5, 2025, Epiphany (Year C)
Homilist: Deacon Doug Farwell
Things Revealed
Today we honor the “mystery of the manifestation of Our Lord, Jesus Christ to all peoples.” This feast day began in the East in the 3rd century. Today’s celebration embraces the visit of the Magi, Jesus’ baptism, and His first miracle at Cana. Together they represent God’s appearance to mankind. Today’s Epiphany presents us with Jesus’ divinity, and we come to understand that His saving work is available to all.
The Epiphany season lasts from January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany, to the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. The length of the season can vary from 4-9 weeks, depending on the date of Easter. This year, the season will be almost nine weeks as Ash Wednesday falls on March 5th.
The Epiphany season is a time to reflect on the events demonstrating Jesus’ divinity. Epiphany can be referred to as the “Theophany” from the Greek theophaneia, which means “appearance of a deity.”
Today’s reading from Isaiah is upbeat and brims with radiance and glory. It’s written about the time of the Israelites’ release from exile and their return to Jerusalem. Divine promises are fulfilled. The prophets foresee the recreation of the covenant people, the city of Zion, and God’s presence among them, or in Hebrew “shekina,” meaning the unveiled, glorious presence of Yahweh. This shekina glory is also revealed in St. John’s prophecies in the Book of Revelations.
This glory revealed would be for all nations, and we also hear the wealth of all nations (in this case: Midian, Ephah, and Sheba) “shall be brought to you.” God’s restoration of Israel will be seen by all nations as the salvation of the Lord, the one true God.
This further foreshadows what will happen with the coming of the Christ.
God’s Plan of Salvation All Along: Jesus.
Today’s Psalm is called, “A prayer for the King.” It’s a hymn composed for the Davidic monarchy but also speaks of the future messiah. A king represents God as an instrument of divine justice. Thus, all nations bearing gifts recognize God’s salvific work, and the Messiah/King would bring God’s justice, liberation, and help for the oppressed and needy.
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians strongly emphasizes that God’s plan of salvation can only reach completion through the united Body of Jesus Christ. At the time of Paul, it was through hand-picked Apostles and prophets who spread the word. But today, we’ve become the instruments God uses since we, through our baptism, have become coheirs–members of the same body of Christ–as priests, prophets, and kings.
Our gospel reading today is as familiar to us as Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol. We look upon this Christmas story not only as a historical event, but also as the manifestation (i.e., a sign that something exists) of Our Lord. Christ is the manifestation of God’s glory. However, we need to dissect this to understand the significance of this gospel that was first revealed in the Old Testament .
We’re told of these Magi coming from the East, indicating they’re Gentiles. In Matthew’s Gospel, they are the first to pay homage to the infant “King of the Jews.” As astrologers, they understood the great star’s appearance to proclaim the birth of a ruler. They also knew from scripture about Balaam’s oracle found in Numbers, Chapter 24:17, that “a star shall advance from Jacob.” There is an irony here as it’s the scribes and Pharisees, quoting scriptures, who direct these Gentile Magi to Bethlehem, the birthplace of the coming Messiah. (The scripture Pharisees and scribes quoted came from the Old Testament prophet Micah from whom we heard on the 4th Sunday of Advent.)
Micah references the one who is to “shepherd Israel,” possibly alluding to the shepherd-king David and the ancestral lineage of which Jesus hails. Another reference to the Messiah comes from Ezekiel, Chapter 34:15, from which God promises in the age of salvation, “I myself will pasture my sheep.” Finally, the Magi’s gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh proffered as gifts to the baby Jesus symbolize Christ’s kingship, his divinity, and his suffering as we heard today from our first reading from Isaiah.
Saving Us from Ourselves
Christ became incarnate in our world, manifesting God’s presence and plan to save the world from itself. Sin could only be conquered through the life, death, and resurrection of the One who would reveal God’s glory to all nations. This gospel proclaims the “shekina” glory of God through Christ.
Through scripture, such as we have heard today, we hear of Christ’s manifestation. But today. our shekina glory is present in the Eucharist, where God’s salvation come to us in the real presence of the Body and Blood.
Our Lord doesn’t need gifts of gold, frankincense or myrrh. What He wants from us is the gift of ourselves.
Finally, we heard today that, having been warned in a dream about Herod’s plot to kill the infant Jesus, the Magi returned to their countries by another route.
As Bishop Fulton Sheen remarked so magnificently: “Of course they [the Magi] did; for no one comes to Christ and goes back the same way he came!”