To Places Unknown: The Epiphany, 2024

To Places Unknown:

The Epiphany, 2024 

January 7, 2024

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Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72; Ephesians 3:2-6; Mathew 2:1-12

 

 

Epiphany is a crucial moment in Israel’s history because it is the time in which the spiritual searching of the Gentiles meets the faith of Israel. The God of Israel makes the divine presence known to the wider world. Israel remains the center through which salvation is known but it cannot solely possess its claim on God. The God of Israel moves beyond the land of the patriarchs and prophets. It is a faith that is continually expanding. From the time of Isaiah, the faith was to evolve and to become known to every nation. 

 

The liturgical Christmas season ends when the wise travelers bow down before the child and offer their gifts. They have seen the mystery below the star, and they are satisfied that they have met the truth of the prophecy. They protect the child by returning to their homes through a different route and thus avoiding the hatred of Herod. They proved their wisdom by letting the child live.

 

Epiphany must be a model of our current church life because it is always expanding and always inviting others in to meet God, but to do this, we must be able to manage change well, and most people do not like change. The faith of the Jews had to change when Jesus was born and it had to change again when it assented to the inclusion of the Gentiles at Epiphany and then again at the first Jerusalem Council. Change is constant and is inevitable, and the great challenge is how one is to manage change well so that the people are led in trust.

 

For instance, the church of today is changing rapidly and dramatically, and it is much in line with the movement of Epiphany. The faith is still moving outwards so that more people can encounter the God of Jesus Christ. While the church for centuries has grown outward in Europe, it is now moving outward into Asia Pacific, Asia proper, and in African countries. Many should be delighted with this movement, and yet, many lament that it is moving away from its European expression. 

 

As the church moves into new geographical regions, it encounters people of different cultures, languages, and practices, and this changes the composition of the church. For some, there is fear and resentment when actuality, it is a time of discovery and celebration. The church is moving forward in its exploration of space, the human body, the physical world around it and it is discovering new depths to its scientific investigations. At the root of these discoveries lies the God of creation, the God to whom all the nations are seeking, the God who is at the core of all things. The search for God takes on new dimensions. The church is always moving forward, and it is always adapting to the faith experiences of the people. The church has a living tradition because it is animated by the living God. 

 

Epiphany is the forward movement of our life with God. This movement continues forward as life evolves. God will manifest the way forward with the light of life, much as that start lit the way forward in Bethlehem. We must go forward in the light, to places unknown and uncertain, much like the first wise travelers did, so that others may see the light of Christ bringing glory to the world.

 

Scripture for Daily Mass

 

Monday: (Isaiah 42) Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations.

 

Tuesday: (1 Samuel 1) In her bitterness she prayed to the LORD, weeping copiously, and she made a vow, promising: “O LORD of hosts, if you look with pity on the misery of your handmaid, if you remember me and do not forget me, if you give your handmaid a male child, I will give him to the LORD for as long as he lives.

 

Wednesday: (1 Samuel 3) Samuel ran to Eli and said, “Here I am.  You called me.” “I did not call you,” Eli said.  “Go back to sleep.” So he went back to sleep. Again the LORD called Samuel, who rose and went to Eli. “Here I am,” he said. “You called me.”

 

Thursday: (1 Samuel 4) Take courage and be manly, Philistines; otherwise you will become slaves to the Hebrews, as they were your slaves. So fight manfully!” The Philistines fought and Israel was defeated.

 

Friday (1 Samuel 8) Samuel was displeased when they asked for a king to judge them. He prayed to the LORD, however, who said in answer: “Grant the people’s every request. It is not you they reject, they are rejecting me as their king.”

 

Saturday (1 Samuel 9) When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the LORD assured him,
“This is the man of whom I told you; he is to govern my people.”

 

Gospel: 

 

Monday: (Mark 1) One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.

 

Tuesday: (Mark 1) In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are–the Holy One of God!” 

 

Wednesday (Mark 1) Simon and those who were with him pursued him and on finding him said, “Everyone is looking for you.” He told them, “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also.

 

Thursday (Mark 1) A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said,
“If you wish, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched the leper, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.”

 

Friday (Mark 2) They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.
Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd, they opened up the roof above him.
After they had broken through, they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying.

 

Saturday (Mark 2) Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed Jesus. While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples.

 

Saints of the Week

 

January 7: Raymond of Penyafort, priest (1175-1275), was trained in philosophy and law and was ordained in 1222 to preach to the Moors and Christians. Though he was appointed bishop of Tarragon, he declined the position. Instead he organized papal decrees into the first form of canon law. He was later elected Master of the Dominican Order. 

 

January 13: The Baptism of the Lord is recounted in Mark’s Gospel where the baptism of water is to be replaced by a baptism of fire. God confirms the person of Jesus when he rises from the water and a dove alights on his head. God is well pleased.

 

This Week in Jesuit History

 

• January 7, 1566: Cardinal Ghislieri was elected pope as Pius V. He was a great friend of the Francis Borgia and appointed Salmeron and Toletus as apostolic preachers at the Vatican. He desired to impose the office of choir on the Society and even ordered it. He was canonized as St. Pius V. 
• January 8, 1601: Balthasar Gracian was born. A Spanish Jesuit, he wrote on courtly matters. He is the author of "The Compleat Gentleman" and "The Art of Worldly Wisdom." 
• January 9, 1574: Fr. Jasper Haywood died at Naples. He was superior of the English mission. As a boy he was one of the pages of honor to the Princess Elizabeth. After a brilliant career at Oxford, he renounced his fellowship and entered the Society in Rome in 1570. An able Hebrew scholar and theologians, he was for two years professor in the Roman College. 
• January 10, 1581: Queen Elizabeth signed the fifth Penal Statute in England inflicting heavy fines and imprisonment on all who harbored Jesuits and Seminary priests. 
• January 10, 1567. Two Jesuits arrived in Havana, Cuba, as a base for evangelization. 
• January 11, 1573. At Milan, St Charles Borromeo founded a college (the Brera) and placed it under the care of the Society. 
• January 12, 1544. Xavier wrote a long letter on his apostolic labors, saying he wished to visit all the universities of Europe in search of laborers for our Lord's vineyard. The letter was widely circulated and very influential. 
• January 13, 1547. At the Council of Trent, Fr. James Laynez, as a papal theologian, defended the Catholic doctrine on the sacraments in a learned three-hour discourse.