If we follow the news we will hear
about corruption, injustice, violence and wars, too many of these all the world
over. We hear about people risking their lives, many of them dying in their
effort to cross the Mediterranean in search of a better life. We can then agree
that the past years were dominated by extreme darkness not because of lack of
electricity, but of genuine light in people’s minds and hearts. However, there
is a desire for better days expressed by greetings for a ‘Happy New Year’.
Today the Church invites us to
celebrate the feast of Epiphany and to remember the journey of the Wise Men
coming from the East in the hope of finding the new-born king. Theirs is an
example we should follow, if we want to help bring about a change of lifestyle
that favours love, that brings peace, justice, solidarity and happiness to all
peoples.
We normally centre our attention on
the three Wise Men and we stress the fact that through them Jesus is presented
to the non-Jewish peoples. However, I would like to include other
manifestations of Jesus, starting from His birth, the visit of the shepherds, the
visit of the Wise Men, and including Jesus’ baptism.
My first thoughts go to Joseph and Mary
who were unable to find a decent place where Mary could give birth to her
firstborn son, so she laid him in a manger. Surely they had hoped for a better
place where to welcome their Son, who “will be called Son of God” (Lk 1, 35),
as Gabriel the angel told Mary.
Then I think about the shepherds who
were “keeping watch over their flock by night when an angel of the Lord stood
before them … and they were terrified. “Do not be afraid” the angel told them, “for
see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:” (Lk 2, 8-10).
And then I think of the Magi, wise
men they were, who studied the stars by night and who had some knowledge of Jewish
messianic expectations. When they saw a different star in the sky they knew
that they had to go to Jerusalem, where kings lived.
So there were these three groups to whom
the Saviour’s birth was announced. All of them were somehow surrounded by
darkness: there was no place for Joseph and Mary in the inn, the shepherds were
keeping watch over their flock by night, the Magi studied the skies by night.
In truth there was another group of
people who received the news of a new-born king of the Jews. It was King Herod
who when he received the news, was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him (Mt
2, 8).
What did the first three groups do,
when they received the news of the birth of the Child? Each one of them started
on a journey to meet Him. Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem and they had to search
for a humble place where Mary could give birth to her son. There they welcomed
the Son of God into our human history. The shepherds said to one another, “Let
us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place which the Lord
has made known to us”, and there they spoke about what had been told them about
this Child. Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart, and
the shepherds glorified and praised God for all they had heard and seen. The
Wise Men went to Jerusalem asking King Herod about the Child king of the Jews,
“For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage”. Then
they followed the star that led them to the house where the child was. They saw
the Child with his mother. They knelt down and paid Him homage, and they
offered Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh”.
What did Herod do? He heard the news
about the birth of the Child king and remained in his palace thinking of a way
to get rid of the Child, who, he thought would threaten his power. When Herod
saw that the wise men had returned to their own country by another road, he
was infuriated and he ordered the killing of all the boys in and around
Bethlehem who were two years old or younger.
What does all this teach us?
We know that we are living a dark
night of wars, violence, corruption and egotism. We wished one another a New
Year as it started. This means that we have to do our part and search for a
light that can guide us and answer our questions. Isaiah brings us the words of the
Lord, “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive
it?” (Is 43, 19).
We have to ask ourselves, are we
ready to learn about and accept the new way of life offered us by Jesus, our
Redeemer, like Mary, Joseph, the Shepherds and the Wise Men did, and set out on
our journey to meet Him and love Him, or do we prefer Herod’s ways and somehow support our modern-day Herods? Our answer will
make all the difference if we want to find true newness in our lives and in
that of all those who inhabit our small and troubled world.
Finally I remember Jesus’
manifestation at His baptism, when the voice from heaven said: “This is my Son,
the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased”. Jesus is the Son of God and the Son
of Man. He is the true light, for “in Him was life, and the life was the light
of all people. The light shines in the darkness” (Jn 1, 4-5).
Let us ask Him to teach us how to
love Him. He said: “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will
love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them” (Jn 14, 23). Are
we ready to open our heart and let Him in when He knocks on our door?
A Reading from the gospel of Matthew (7, 15-20) ‘Beware of false prophets, who come to you in
sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by
their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In
the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad
fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good
fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown
into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits. The Word of
the Lord. 
