Epiphany Launches Our Missionary Journey

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I always feel a little sad at the Epiphany of the Lord Mass. It is never suggested, but it feels like the end.  “Hey everyone, put away the lights and the Christmas decorations, the party is over! The Christmas season is done,” Most people who have taken care of a newborn realize that birth is a beginning, not an end. The readings this week help us uncover the new beginning of our faith journey. In other words, the party isn’t over, it’s just begun. 

Epiphany means manifestation or an appearance of deity. We are no longer singing “O come O come Emmanuel,” Emmanuel is now with us. God’s grand plan to bring us closer to Him is progressing. The Magi came traveling afar, meaning they were on a purposeful journey. They planned and were traveling worthy of a cause. These were Kings, not road warriors. 

Equally important, they were not of Jewish background. At his birth, Jesus came for all people and for all to know Him. The Magi were known as wise men, meaning well studied and would have known of the significance of the Messiah. They knew astrology and when they saw the Bethlehem star, they knew something special was happening. A star guided them to the Star, “the glory of the Lord,” and found “the child with Mary his mother” and “did him homage.”  

What may be most remembered is not the visits of the three kings, but the gifts they brought. They gave the Holy Family: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These three gifts confirm that they recognize Jesus as the King of Kings and comprehended the full meaning of the Messiah. For the gift of gold recognizes Jesus as royalty. Frankincense is a burnt offering representing Christ’s divinity, but myrrh was to prepare for Jesus’s burial. So, even at the Epiphany, the Magi sensed Christ’s destiny and universal appeal. Finally, by disobeying Herod, they too put their lives in danger, 

The Magi understood the mission of the Messiah. They recognized the baby would grow to change the world, but eventually suffer. They knew Christ would be a King to lay down His life The witness of the Magi asks us if we are seeking Christ every day, do we put him first, bowing before him, and make him the center of our life? Do we bring to Jesus our gifts for his mission? The Magi were on a journey of faith. Are we willing to continue, start, or start again our faith journey in this new year? 

It is clear from their response to Jesus, the Magi had no regrets when they left the Holy Family. Just like many missioners have no regrets. The missionary journey calls for sacrifice, and I know every missionary has sacrificed - some a lot - but all I have met agree that the journey is worth it. They tasted the joy of salvation. 

So, let us come and worship the Lord! May we too come and adore him. Come, in and through the sacraments, and get to know the King of Kings as Lord, brother, and friend in our journey through life. That is a Merry Christmas and a blessing for the New Year. 

Notes on the Sunday Readings

First Reading
The Prophet Isaiah reminds us that even when “darkness covers the earth,” the Lord shines “upon you” and “over you appears his glory.” 

Psalm 
We pray simply for God’s mercy, his salvation, for us and for “all the ends of the earth.”

Second Reading
St. Paul shares the great mystery revealed by the Holy Spirit to the apostles and prophets – we are all members of the same body, partners “in the promise of Christ Jesus.”

Gospel
The Feast of the Epiphany celebrates the revelation that Jesus, the Christ, fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah, when kings “from the east,” following “his star at its rising,” do him homage. Jesus, the glory of Israel, is not just for one people or one nation but for all people and all nations. In Jesus, the Davidic kingship is restored after five hundred years, and the rule of all kings set in right order. And yet, just as the king of kings is revealed to the world, Herod is troubled, his position threatened, and he devises ways to keep his power. 

Notes and Commentary by Dr. Benjamin OuYang, PhD., 
Go Forth… coordinator and podcast host.

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