The Mass readings for Epiphany Sunday can be found here.
The Nativity of Christ celebrated at Christmas does excellent work reminding us of Jesus’s humanity. He is born of a woman in Bethlehem, the city of David, where his parents went for the Roman census. His parents are human and bound by the circumstances of their time. So much of those scenes convey Christ’s humanity as humility; the birth in a stable among animals and the fact of shepherds being the first to honor him. Here is truly one like us, except in sin. He begins his life on earth in a familiar way, birthed of a woman.
Of course, what makes the humility of his humanity pronounced is that this is God. Yes, Jesus is born fully human in humble circumstances. But he is also born fully divine. Our Feast of Epiphany today fits naturally with the Christmas season, and yet it draws our attention to the divine. We may say Christmas is about God made MAN, living among us as a man. We may say Epiphany is about GOD made man; God living among us in Jesus.
Herod is informed that there is a new king of the Jews; this is concerning information for him given that Herod is king of the Jews. But what we see in our readings today reveals Jesus’s kingship goes far beyond the Jews. He is a king for all; every nation will adore him. The magi are not Jews, but rather they come from the east.
As a human, Jesus may seem relatable to us. He is someone we can talk to as a friend, sharing struggles. We know the suffering and death he endured and can unite our own sufferings to his cross by offering our times of difficulty. Today, however, we might reflect on Jesus as God, deserving of our honor and respect, able to give us the grace and strength we need in our attempts to grow in virtue.
What threatens Herod is the idea that Jesus might somehow have greater authority than him or necessitate a change in his way of life. We all have this Herodian tendency. We want control of our situation, assuming that our God-given free will somehow means we are meant to be in complete charge of our daily lives.
When we honor Jesus as God, it will change our lives. We see the magi with their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These gifts show Jesus is King; Jesus is God; Jesus will die and be buried before he rises again. Epiphany reminds us that God among us is God here to challenge us, and the challenge is to recognize our dependence, to relate to Jesus as one of us…but with full realization that he is the only one among us who can save us.
At times, we fall into complacency in the Christian life. We try to live a good life, and we go to Mass on Sundays, and we believe we are covering our bases. Epiphany – like Christmas – has the potential to startle us. This Jesus born among us is worthy of all adoration and love, of every sacrifice we can imagine. Simply put, we cannot live this Christian life without God. We need the grace of the sacraments; we rely on the sustenance of the body and blood, soul and divinity given us in the Eucharist, the forgiveness given us in the sacrament of Confession, and the graces of other sacraments as well.
As we continue to celebrate this Christmas season, we can truly revel in the Epiphany. GOD came among us as man, in his great love for us, and we respond with the adoration deserving of our divine king.
