Monday After Ephiphany
It may feel to us that Christmas is already over. The pre-Christmas shopping frenzy has been changed into a post-Christmas clearance shopping. Gifts have been exchanged, family gatherings have happened, and now the world moves on to the next holiday. In our Church, however, we continue to celebrate Christmas – that wondrous even that brought our savior to us as a humble babe.
As part of our Christmas celebration, we celebrated the Epiphany yesterday. In our Church on this day we primarily remember the manifestation of Christ, especially to Gentiles in the persons of the Three Kings or Magi. The Kings indicate that Christ did not come only for the Jews. Though he was the Jewish Messiah, we are all Jesus’ people; we all belong to God. This message is reflected in the refrain of our responsorial psalm: “I will give you all the nations for an inheritance” (Ps. 2:8ab). The Epiphany, however, is also associated with Jesus’ first miracle at the wedding at Cana, as well as his baptism in the Jordan by John.
Today’s gospel reading reflects this last sort of Epiphany. The passage from Matthew is taken from Chapter 4, the chapter that follows Jesus’ baptism. Knowing that John is now imprisoned, Jesus begins his real ministry, and he begins it in the land of the Gentiles. In the days leading up to Christmas, and in our celebration of Christmas, the theme of “light” has been constant. Matthew quotes the prophet Isaiah (which we have been reading for the last month or so) as saying that the people in darkness have seen a great light.
In our time of constant electricity, we often take light for granted. When we sit in darkness, it is by our own choice. We have chosen to turn off the lights. In a time and place where darkness was unavoidable, this image had more meaning. Imagine being in constant darkness. Either we would not recognize it as darkness, or we would long for the light... or perhaps both.
And maybe we have even experienced this throughout the holiday season. There are many people who still sit in darkness. They exchanged gifts and ate delicious holiday meals, but what did they celebrate? Some do not even know that they are living in darkness; their eyes have adjusted and become satisfied with what they don’t see. Others, however, seem to have a longing for something more than what they have found in life. They have a longing for the light that they cannot name or describe. They have a longing to belong to God and thus to find themselves.
Today’s beautiful first reading indicates some of this conflict between God and the world (in the negative sense). But it also indicates something else, something indicated by the coming of the Magi and by Jesus’ taking up his ministry in Gentile land. We are all called to belong to God; we long to belong, and we are restless until we do belong to God.
As we continue to celebrate these days of Christ coming to us, entering our world as the infant Jesus, let us not forget the great gift of belonging that has been extended to us by the Incarnation. The Epiphany has revealed Christ’s kingship for all nations. Let us be eager to be the good citizens of that kingdom!
Maria Morrow