"When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in Judea,

during the days of king Herod,'

wise men from the East arrived in Jerusalem."

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊ 

Isaiah 60:1-6

 Arise, Jerusalem shine,

For your light has come. The Glory of Yahweh rises upon you.   Night still covers the earth and gloomy clouds veil the peoples, but Yahweh now rises and over you his glory appears.   Nations will come to your light and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

  Lift up your eyes round about and see: They are all gathered and come to you, your sons from afar, your daughters tenderly carried.   This sight will make your face radiant, your heart throbbing and full; the riches of the sea will be turned to you, the wealth of the nations will come to you.

  A flood of camels will cover you, aravans from Midian and Ephah. Those from Sheba will come, bringing with them gold and incense, all singing in praise of Yahweh.

 

Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13

Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

 

＊＊＊ 2nd Reading ＊＊＊

Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6

You may have heard of the graces God bestowed on me for your sake.   By a revelation he gave me the knowledge of his mysterious design,  This mystery was not made known to past generations but only now, through revelations given to holy apostles and prophets.

By the Spirit. Now the non-Jews share  the Inheritance; in Christ Jesus the non-Jews are incorporated and are to enjoy the Promise.this is the Good News.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊     

Matthew 2:1-12

 When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in Judea, during the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem.   They asked, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw the rising of his star in the east and have come to honor him.”

When Herod heard this he was great­ly disturbed and with him all Jerusalem.  He immediately called a meeting of all high-ranking priests and the scribes, and asked them where the Messiah was to be born.

 “In the town of Beth­­lehem in Judea,” they told him, “for this is what the proph­et wrote:   And you, Beth­lehem, in the land of Judah, you are by no means the least among the clans of Judah, for from you will come a leader, the one who is to shepherd my people Israel.”

 Then Herod secretly called the wise men and asked them the precise time the star appeared.   Then he sent them to Bethlehem with the instruction, “Go and get precise information about the child. As soon as you have found him, report to me, so that I too may go and honor him.”

After the meeting with the king, they set out. The star that they had seen in the East went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was.  The wise men were overjoyed on seeing the star again.

 They went into the house and when they saw the child with Mary his mother, they knelt and worshiped him. They opened their bags and offered him their gifts of gold, incense and myrrh.  In a dream they were warned not to go back to Herod, so they returned to their home country by another way.

 

 

Art of choice

Read:

Isaiah prophesies the coming of the one who is the light of the nations. Paul delights in the Good News being revealed to all peoples, Jews and Gentiles. Matthew narrates the visit of the Magi to the child Jesus.

Reflect:

What was promised in the ‘priestly blessing’(yesterday’s first reading) is realized in flesh now: The Light shines upon us; the glory of the Lord rises upon us a blessing-made-flesh! Such light is not with held from anybody – just as the sun shines on everyone and the rain does not discriminate (Mt 5:45).

This is the Epiphany: The blessing-made–flesh has arrived for everyone. However, just as we can hide ourselves from the light, we can choose to reject this Epiphany. The ‘wise men’ from the East chose the light and walked all the way to its source and turned wiser so as to return by another way.

Priests and teachers of the Law knew the source, but chose to reject it and became dead men walking. King Herod chose to kill the blessing-made-flesh, though he would fail miserable. It all boils down to our choices, while the Light continues to shine and bless.

Pray:

“Lord, help me make my life choices guided by Your Light.”

Act:

Share with someone as to who Christ is for you.