Rise up
in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come,
the
glory of the Lord shines upon you.
See,
darkness covers the earth,
and
thick clouds cover the peoples;
but
upon you the LORD shines,
and
over you appears his glory.
Nations
shall walk by your light,
and
kings by your shining radiance.
Raise
your eyes and look about;
they
all gather and come to you:
your
sons come from afar,
and
your daughters in the arms of their nurses.
Then
you shall be radiant at what you see,
your
heart shall throb and overflow,
for the
riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you,
the
wealth of nations shall be brought to you.
Caravans of camels shall fill you,
dromedaries from Midian and Ephah;
all
from Sheba shall come
bearing
gold and frankincense,
and
proclaiming the praises of the LORD.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps
72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13.
(cf. 11) Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
O God,
with your judgment endow the king,
and
with your justice, the king’s son;
He
shall govern your people with justice
and
your afflicted ones with judgment.
Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
Justice
shall flower in his days,
and
profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he
rule from sea to sea,
and
from the River to the ends of the earth.
Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
The
kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts;
the
kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute.
All
kings shall pay him homage,
all
nations shall serve him.
Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
For he
shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the
afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He
shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the
lives of the poor he shall save.
Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
Reading
II
Eph
3:2-3a, 5-6
Brothers and sisters:
You
have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace
that
was given to me for your benefit,
namely,
that the mystery was made known to me by revelation.
It was
not made known to people in other generations
as it
has now been revealed
to his
holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit:
that
the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body,
and
copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the
gospel.
Gospel
Mt 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.
Obviously it must have been dark when those wise men saw
that star. I suppose it’s possible to see a star by
daylight, but then you have to follow all kinds of gadgets.
To me it makes sense that it was in the dark of the night
that they saw the light. It was in the dark of their night,
for certain, that they saw that star at its rising, just as
it was when they had that dream to leave by another route.
Especially, considering King Herod was up to some on good as
the story says.
I
suppose that for many of us, it is only in the darkest
moments of our lives that we are able to see the light or a
star at its rising. Doesn’t really matter is the story
about those wise men is factual or not, but I really don’t
think it matters because I believe that the story should say
something about how we live our lives. Notwithstanding all
of their difficulties, notwithstanding the unbelievable
trouble of their days, they had sufficient faith in God and
humanity to pack up immediately and follow that star.
Perhaps it was not the star itself that caused them to
follow it. Perhaps it was not its beckoning tail – come,
come, come – that made them follow it.
Not too
long ago I asked a young woman, who was down on her luck, so
she said, but I would rather say just down on life, “What
does faith mean to you.?” She answered: “It means that I
believe that the Kingdom of God is possible. It means that
I am confident that this world can be changed in the
direction of that Kingdom. (Sure do have a long way to go
here in this country, now don’t we?) It means that I am
convinced that it is not a dream, an illusion or a figment
of an overexcited religious or ethical mind. You know what
my friends, that lady was right, but even more so. That
belief, or that faith should be so firm and so strong that
we are willing to work in order to help it grown, that we
are ready to cooperate in its growth, and that we don’t sit
on our rump waiting for God to clear the situation, despite
the kind of luck we are having. And that is not so easy to
do. It is that kind of faith that must have been the moving
force when those wise people packed their luggage, kissed
their wives and children good-bye, and facing the unbelief
and ridicule of thief friends, set off on a journey with a
destination both known and unknown at the same time.
Even
for us so many years later, regardless of our belief, faith,
and hope, that destination remains unknown. And yet we do
know. There are hints where it all will lead us. There are
indications, signals, and signs. And there are people who
God sends into our lives that are willing to show us the
way, and if we get lost (and many times we do get lost) they
will lead us back to the right path.
In the
letter that Paul wrote, he give us such a hint when he
writes about a mystery, a secret he was given knowledge of.
A mystery, a secret he writes, unknown and hidden to anyone
in generations past. The mystery is that all human beings
share in the same inheritance. The secret is that we all
live under the same promise. The mystery is that in Jesus
Christ, we are all parts of the same being, the same body.
We are one. We belong together. We are created in him.
Perhaps we should strive toward that realization and a
further awareness of that fact. Perhaps that was the reason
those wise men packed up and traveled toward him, and
ultimately toward themselves! Are we packed and ready to
travel? Am I? Are you?
I pray
that this message was meaningful to you, and certainly not
confusing. And I pray that God will bless you this coming
week in all of your needs, knowing that they are many. So
remember dear ones, how powerful pray is. Later. Yours in
Christ –
