The Epiphany of the Lord

This Sunday we mark the end of the Christmas season and the beginning of the season of Epiphany —“the revelation” of God’s presence to unlikely people in unlikely places. We can link this special day with the beginning Church of the Gentiles through the visit and homage of the magi which was foretold in Isaiah 60 ... ‘they all gather and come to you’, the procession of the nations to the God of Israel.

Together with the magi seeking the Christ child we celebrate their arrival at the manger with longing in their hearts and gifts appropriate for the One who would be our King and our Saviour. 

The journey of the magi was a dangerous one that put all the characters in the Christmas story at risk. They discovered, as we must, that the only way to travel through such risky territory is to follow the guidance that is given— whether it comes from a star, an angel, a dream or an inexplicable longing. Joseph, Mary, the shepherds and the magi responded immediately to the guidance they received, and were willing to leave their familiar world, to be open to God’s invitation, even though they didn’t fully understand what it might mean.

What does this story of pilgrimage mean for us?

Full text of Pope Francis homily on Epiphany HERE

Readings

Is 60: 1-6.  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.

Psalm  72:1-2,7-8,10-11,12-1. R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

Eph 3;2-3a, 5-6  The revelation means that pagans now share the same inheritance, that they re parts of the same body.

Alleluia, alleluia.  We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mt 2:1-12   “We have come from the East to worship the king."

Homily Studio podcast

Listen to the Homily Studio for a conversation on the scripture readings for 8 January at this link 

Music

Listen to the Carol of the Magi by John Rutter HERE 

Carol of the Magi                   John Rutter

We rode all night through fields of darkness

Our guiding light the Eastern star;

We came to Bethlehem, we all were weary:

We’d travelled far that night, we’d travelled far.

We heard that here we’d find Messiah,

Foretold by seers from days of old;

We looked for palaces and found a stable:

Could it be here, so bare and cold?

We entered in, and there we saw him;

It seemed we’d known him from long before:

A child like any child, yet somehow different:

The face of every child in him we saw.

We brought him gifts, and now we offered them;

We knelt down low in silent prayer.

With eyes that seemed to know both joy and sadness

The child looked down as we knelt there.

So long ago, yet I remember

That child who lay at Mary’s knee;

How strange that every child seems so much like him:

His is the face I seem to see. 

Prayers of intercession

That the Church may tirelessly reveal the glory of Christ to all nations and peoples who do not yet know him.

E te Ariki R: Whakarongo mai rā ki a mātou

That the Manifestation of the glory of Christ will enable all peoples to also recognize the sanctity of each and every human life

E te Ariki  R: Whakarongo mai rā ki a mātou

That God’s people may more deeply discover the mystery of the Eucharist, and worship the Lord as did the Magi in the gospel story

E te Ariki R: Whakarongo mai rā ki a mātou

That those who have died  (names) may share eternal glory 

E te Ariki R: Whakarongo mai rā ki a mātou

Jesus, brightness of your Father,
shine like the brightest star
in the darkness of this world
and in the darkness of our hearts.
Shepherd us, your people,
and receive our prayer, praise and worship;
you who live and reign, now and forever. 

Amen.

 Image of the Magi by James Tissot.

 Image on main slider. Constellations - Northern Hemisphere winter looking south