To Search and Find!

Sunday, January 5, 2025

The Epiphany of the Lord

Is 60:1-6; Eph 3:2-3, 5-6; Mt 2:1-12

The Epiphany of the Lord highlights several important themes around God’s revelation.

The feast is special because it helps us realize that a seeker finds what he/she passionately searches for. 

If we carefully analyze the principal characters involved, we will discover what they each accomplished through their search. 

The Magi: The three wise men who represent the Gentile world are associated with the interpretation of dreams, astrology, and magic. Their ability to interpret the meaning behind the appearance of a star takes them to Jerusalem, though the destination that they intended was Bethlehem. The tradition also acclaims the racial diversity of the wise men who come to meet Christ because, of the three, namely Caspar, Balthasar, and Melchior, Caspar is said to be black. Their diligence is evidenced in the way they prepare to meet with the baby King with symbolic and expensive gifts that explain who Jesus is. The gift of gold symbolizes Jesus’ kingship, incense his divinity, and myrrh his redemptive suffering. And their reverence toward Jesus is seen in the way they prostrate themselves before Jesus to do homage. What we must not overlook is that the wise men from the East came not to verify or ascertain the fact of the Messiah’s birth but to pay homage to him, as the word has been repeated twice. 

Chief Priests and Scribes: We find the mention of the chief priests and the scribes for the first time when Herod assembles them to inquire about where Christ was to be born. The fact is that they seem to have the correct understanding of the Scriptural information regarding the birthplace of the Messiah. However, they fail to apply the information in their lives. They remain indifferent to the fact of the Messiah’s birth. As a result, even the great truth of the Messiah’s birth fails to touch and alter their lives.

Herod: A vassal king under the Roman emperor, Herod had a dominant personality. As a tyrant who brooked no rival even within his own family, Herod proves how hostile he could be toward the birth of his potential successor to the throne in the person of the ‘newborn king of the Jews.’ The history records Herod’s cruelty through the words of the Roman emperor Augustus himself, who was known to have said that ‘It was safer to be Herod’s pig than Herod’s son.’ Herod seems to take a study lesson on the birthplace of the Messiah, but it is of no avail to change his life. Instead, the information only foments hatred in him that in his desperation to get rid of his newborn rival, he orchestrates a bloodbath of innocent infants. 

This is why Archbishop Fulton Sheen comments on the Lord’s epiphany in the following manner: ‘Our blessed Lord has been found only by two classes: those who know and those who do not know, but never by those who think that they know. Divinity is so profound that it can be grasped only by the extremes of simplicity and wisdom.’ The shepherds could find the Lord because they considered themselves as nothing. They were people who thought that they did not know anything, and therefore, they found the Lord. Similarly, the wise men from the East, even with all their diligent education, research, and erudition, humbly understood that they did not know everything. They realized that their knowledge had only an instrumental value and therefore they knelt and prostrated before the divine wisdom. These are the two groups of people who successfully find Jesus and go back joyful and transformed. 

Studying the lives of the principal characters, we draw some principal lessons for our lives from today’s feast. 

The Futility of Knowledge: Our mere knowledge of Jesus that lacks diligent and meticulous application cannot guarantee us salvation. Our knowledge of Jesus must bloom into a lived reality. What is important here is not to get indifferent to the information that we accumulate about Jesus. If we want our knowledge to benefit us, we need to act on it. 

Reward for Seekers: What we search for becomes its own reward. Today’s Gospel helps us realize that each one gets what he/she deserves. The Magi look for Jesus and find him. The chief priests and scribes are content with the knowledge of the Messiah and his birthplace. Herod looks for hatred by planning for Jesus’ death and becomes guilty of spilling the innocent blood. What we search for also searches for us. 

Jesus, the Eternal King: It is important to note that the Magi ask, ‘Where is the newborn king of the Jews?’ It is unusual for a baby to be born a king. Instead, they were princes for a time before they became kings. But Jesus’ kingship is from his birth, and the infant king begins to reign as soon as he is born. Before he mounts the throne, his friends bring him gifts and his enemies plot his fall. But we need to discover the truth of Jesus’ eternal kingship just as the Magi did. 

Let us pray that we may discover Jesus, the eternal King and Messiah so that our Christian lives and discipleship are continually shaped by the great truth. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar