Journeying With Hope

   

The Epiphany of the Lord

05 January 2025

 

First Reading: Is 60:1-6

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

Second Reading: Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6

Gospel: Mt 2:1-12

 

Reflection

By: Anton B. Ocampo

 

The Sunday after the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God is dedicated to the very special celebration of the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord (although some places like Rome still celebrate it on its traditional date, January 6, regardless of what day the said date falls). This solemn celebration highlights the very long journey of the Wise Men, also known as the Magi, in search of the one true King who is none other than our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Wise Men followed the Christmas Star, the Star of Bethlehem, as they journeyed in search of the Lord Jesus. 

The Wise Men did not need to make the lengthy journey from their place of origin in the East. When they arrived in Jerusalem, they went to ask Herod about the whereabouts of the newborn King, only to find out that he knew nothing about the Divine Child's whereabouts. In fact, Herod needed the chief priests and scribes to learn about it. At that point, the Wise Men could have just given up and returned to their country of origin. Everything was just a waste of time and effort for them. 

However, the reason why the Wise Men continued was because of hope. If we could ask them why they decided to continue on their journey, they would have probably said that they were still clinging to the remaining hope that they had in their hearts, even though it was little and fading at that point, for the Star of Bethlehem to appear once again to guide them to wish to the Child Jesus. If another group were in their place, they would have just given up, even if the Star of Bethlehem would show up once again to guide them. But not the Wise Men. The Wise Men were heavily motivated by the little hope that they had left.

Hoping in the Lord God is the theme of the readings for today's Solemnity. The promise of the Lord God to Israel featured in the First Reading are words of hope. The light of the Lord will shine through Israel, letting everyone know that He is the one true God who everyone must hope in and worship. Saint Paul the Apostle in the Second Reading stressed that God has fulfilled His promise in the Old Testament through Christ Jesus. By sending Christ Jesus as the fulfillment of the promise He made in the Old Testament, God has given hope to everyone. The Responsorial Psalm stresses our response to God should be - adoration and worship. By doing so, we strongly proclaim that God is our only hope, enabling us to completely trust Him.

Like the Wise Men, let us continue journeying our lives with hope. Let us allow the hope the Lord brings to fill our hearts to live according to God's will and calling - a life of holiness. 

Prayer

O Most Divine Child Jesus, we thank You for willingly filling our hearts with hope, even though we do not deserve it. Help us to accept this gift that You freely give us wholeheartedly. Amen.

A fragile gift

Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) 

- December 25

First Reading: Isaiah 52:7-10

How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him who brings glad tidings,
announcing peace, bearing good news,
announcing salvation, and saying to Zion,
“Your God is King!”

Hark! Your sentinels raise a cry,
together they shout for joy,
for they see directly, before their eyes,
the LORD restoring Zion.
Break out together in song,
O ruins of Jerusalem!
For the LORD comforts his people,
he redeems Jerusalem.
The LORD has bared his holy arm
in the sight of all the nations;
all the ends of the earth will behold
the salvation of our God.

Psalm: Psalm 98:1, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6

Second Reading: Hebrew 1:1-6

Brothers and sisters:
In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways 
to our ancestors through the prophets; 
in these last days, he has spoken to us through the Son, 
whom he made heir of all things 
and through whom he created the universe,
who is the refulgence of his glory,
the very imprint of his being,
and who sustains all things by his mighty word.
When he had accomplished purification from sins,
he took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
as far superior to the angels
as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

For to which of the angels did God ever say:
You are my son; this day I have begotten you?
Or again:
I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me?
And again, when he leads the firstborn into the world, he says:
Let all the angels of God worship him..

Gospel: John 1:1-5, 9-14

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God. 
All things came to be through him,
and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world,
and the world came to be through him,
but the world did not know him.
He came to what was his own,
but his own people did not accept him.

But to those who did accept him
he gave power to become children of God, 
to those who believe in his name, 
who were born not by natural generation 
nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision 
but of God.
And the Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory as of the Father’s only Son,
full of grace and truth.

Reflection

By  Bernard M. Borja

In a very cold night, when hearts were captivated by misery, a helpless, vulnerable, fragile infant was born. The angel of the Lord proclaimed, “I am here with Good News for you, which will bring great joy to all the people.”

The birth of a little child, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger, was the sign that salvation has come upon us. But how can a helpless, dependent infant can bring salvation to us? If we already know the context of how this child came to be the Messiah and sacrifice Himself for us when He grows up, it will be easy to believe that we are already saved from our sins. But during times of misery and despair, if someone tells us that one fragile infant will turn our misery into great joy; would we be more afraid knowing that this child cannot do anything yet? Or if we do believe, we are also left with a great responsibility to take care of the child and wait for Him to save us.

The helplessness, vulnerability, and frailty of the newborn child are a sign for us to recognize that God is with us, and that He became the Son of Man. During the old times (Old Testament), God revealed Himself to the people as a powerful judge who smite the oppressors with His wonders in order for His people to recognize Him. But this time, He has become one of us. He has “changed His course” to become human, which is vulnerable to temptation, misery, and despair.

We rarely look at things, or people, beyond their appearance, status, and ability. This hinders us to appreciate the Good News expressed by the birth of our saviour, which is to know that we no longer live in fear or believing that His wrath will be brought down upon us and the sinners, but to show His great love for us. We are created in the image and likeness of God, which also means that a man’s dignity is not defined by appearance, status, ability, or influence.

Have we ever thought about how the poor, the needy, the unfortunate, or the people with hearts captivated in despair, celebrate Christmas? Are the people whose hearts have been filled with wickedness in the past would still be worthy to celebrate the Good News? Christmas also reminds us that our frailty and brokenness are one of the reasons why God has sent His only Son. He loves us so much that He wanted to “personally” turn our life around from misery and despair. We may feel that we have nothing to offer Him or unworthy of His sacrifice, but a brokenness offered to Jesus, as a fragile gift, by a sincere heart is accepted by Him and will use it to prepare us for a greater purpose of bringing the Good News of great joy to the people.

Today, we celebrate the opening of our hearts to receive the Good News and proclaim God’s great love for us. May we see Jesus in each other and be grateful that He came to bring us healing, wholeness, and holiness, so that the hymn of praise “Glory to God in the highest and peace to His people of good will”, will  no longer be on our lips only, but also in our hearts.

Prayer

Lord, we celebrate today Your presence as we receive the Good News of great joy that You have promised us. May we see beyond the hearts of the people we meet so that we may be able to realize that your coming is for us all, saints and sinners alike. Grant us compassion that we may reach out to the people who are desperate to receive Your love. May we be able to offer You our brokenness wholeheartedly and accept the healing that You alone can give.
All these we ask in the name of Jesus Christ,
AMEN.