Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 2, 1-12
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,
in the days of King Herod,
behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,
“Where is the newborn king of the Jews?
We saw his star at its rising
and have come to do him homage.”
When King Herod heard this,
he was greatly troubled,
and all Jerusalem with him.
Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people,
He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea,
for thus it has been written through the prophet:
And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
since from you shall come a ruler,
who is to shepherd my people Israel.”
Then Herod called the magi secretly
and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance.
He sent them to Bethlehem and said,
“Go and search diligently for the child.
When you have found him, bring me word,
that I too may go and do him homage.”
After their audience with the king they set out.
And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them,
until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
They were overjoyed at seeing the star,
and on entering the house
they saw the child with Mary his mother.
They prostrated themselves and did him homage.
Then they opened their treasures
and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod,
they departed for their country by another way.
Epiphany
1) The star. We find the star in this passage; it leads us to find Jesus, it illuminates the way, and it guides and accompanies us. Today, that star in your life has to have a face. Surely there is a star in your life, a person, a face, a name and a surname. While you are reading this reflection, think of the person who is the star in your life today. The term “Christian star” refers to that Christian who leads his brothers and sisters to Jesus, that person who might not have all the answers to your questions but accompanies you and is by your side. Be a ‘Christian star,’ someone who accompanies others even in moments of darkness, and not a ‘sparkly Christian’ because the ‘sparkly Christian’ ends up consuming himself and breaking relationships. A ‘sparkly Christian’ is that person who wants to save himself, fulfills his norms, goes to mass every Sunday and even every day but is unable to see someone next to him who needs help. The Christian star shines in the darkness of those who seek Jesus and helps them find Jesus. You have to illuminate your brothers and sisters in those moments when they cannot see anything, do not let them get lost in the darkness of life.
2) Herod. He represents those who seek God for their own interest, they want to use God for their business and not to worship him. How many ‘Herods’ there are around us! Or could it be that we are one of those that use Jesus for business and for our goals. Lord, I come to see you because I need this, and this, and this. We also plan to eliminate him because once we achieve the objective, we get rid of God, we don’t even remember him, we don’t even approach him to thank him. We get rid of him. We address God in utilitarian terms: I use you and then I throw you away.
3) The wise men. We see in them how God calls people who are quite different, who come from different places, but that is the unity of Catholicism. That is the meaning of Catholicism, being universal. One of our problems is that we need to respect the charisma of others. The three wise men were united by a star to find Jesus. Today, let’s ask Jesus to allow us to see that star so that we can find unity and overcome division, so that we can be united as Catholics and that we can respect one another, respect those who evangelize in a different way, those who come from a different church group, those who have a different charisma – that is where the richness is, in the differences. We are all on our way to see Jesus, we should be able to work together not exactly in the same way, because we are all different, but for the same reason: coming to Jesus. Lord, today we offer you our journey. Let us always see the star.
God bless you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Remember Heaven is our goal.
