A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 9, n. 6)
Epiphany of the Lord, Year A – January 2, 2011 *
“The Mystery Revealed”
BIBLE READINGS
Is 60:1-6 // Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6 // Mt 2:1-12
(N.B. Series 9 of BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy of Year A from the perspective of the Second Reading. For reflections on the Sunday liturgy of Year C based on the Gospel reading, please scroll up to the “ARCHIVES” above and open Series 3. For reflections based on the Old Testament reading, open Series 6.)
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS
“Epiphany”, a word of Greek origin, means manifestation, revelation or disclosure. The feast of Epiphany is a celebration of God made manifest in and through his Son Jesus Christ. Today’s liturgy gently guides us to consider the saving Lord revealed to the nations. Through Christ, God revealed himself as fullness of love, reaching out to all in benevolence and compassion. In Christ, the Father’s saving plan is radically revealed and fulfilled. The spiritual journey of the magi in this Sunday’s Gospel reading (Mt 2:1-12) is a story of God’s epiphany to the nations and the remarkable response of the Gentiles or non-Jews to divine manifestation.
Today’s Second Reading (Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6) delineates the special “epiphany” experienced by Saint Paul, the “prisoner of Christ Jesus” for the sake of the Gentiles. By divine grace, he was set apart to proclaim the Good News to non-Jews. A privileged recipient of divine “epiphany”, Saint Paul became a herald of God’s “secret plan”, that is, by means of the gospel the Gentiles have a part with the Jews in divine blessings. All are called to be members of the same body and share in the promise that God made through Jesus Christ. Paul’s experience of “epiphany” made him in turn an instrument of God’s continuing revelation of life and love to the nations.
Indeed, the Second Reading gets to the heart of the Epiphany celebration. The biblical scholar Eugene Maly remarks: “The reading speaks of God’s secret plan now revealed, a plan, we learn elsewhere, that God had intended from the beginning. It was a plan that the prophets of the Old Testament had hinted at, but whose full meaning even they did not know. Only with Jesus Christ was it fully revealed. Epiphany, God manifest in Jesus Christ, is the whole message of the Scriptures … The Christian Epiphany took place not as an act of divine self-satisfaction, but for us. God hoped that we would be amazed at it all, that we would react like the magi and give him ourselves as gifts, that we would be awestruck by this supreme act of love and begin to love him in return. Will he be disappointed?”
On this feast of Epiphany, we thank God for Love’s pure love revealed. We are also grateful to him for the ongoing “epiphany” of his saving love in today’s world. The history of the world and that of the Church is that of a developing “epiphany”. It is a mystery of love that is revealed each day. Like Saint Paul, we have a part in the unfolding of that revelation. As Christian disciples in the “here and now”, we are called to manifest God’s love to all by proclaiming and witnessing to the Good News of salvation.
The feast of Epiphany is marked by “gift-giving”. The following Christmas story gives us a glimpse into the ongoing “epiphany” of God’s all-embracing love that is unfolding in today’s world and it also teaches us what “gift-giving” means (cf. Claudia Girsham, “A West Texas Christmas” in COUNTRY , December/January 2010, p. 26-27). May the spirit of Christmas and the Lord’s Epiphany fill our hearts and guide us through the days of the New Year 2011 and the forthcoming years.
The winter whistled across the west Texas plains. Tumbleweeds drifted into our barbed-wire fence, and laundry froze stiff on the line. Christmas 1944 was just days away, and I hoped a deep snow would come with it. One morning, my brother, Bobby, and I stepped outside and watched a battered truck pull up beside the rundown house at the end of the road. Kids piled out and scattered across the yard, moving too fast to count.
After lunch, I heard someone in the backyard. It was one of the new kids, and he was on my red scooter. I tried to be nice, because I knew Mother was watching me, but I didn’t want him on that scooter. The boy’s name was Herbert, and he wanted to know if we had anything else to play with. Bobby picked up a baseball and asked if he wanted to play catch. Herbert threw down my scooter, and I quickly escaped down the road with it, where I had a not-so-nice discussion about the new kids with our neighbors Patsy and Jane Palmer.
On top of that, we still didn’t have a Christmas tree and Mother had just told us we weren’t going to my grandparents this year. My father had only one day off, and we didn’t have enough time or money for the trip. No family at Christmas! No grandmother to hug me and fix my favorite food. No granddaddy to dance his jig and make us laugh. No aunts, uncles or cousins. It would be the first Christmas I could remember without family. I didn’t say much, but I wanted to cry. The howling wind just made it worse.
The next day, Herbert and two of his brothers were in our yard again. Mother made sugar cookies and handed them out the kitchen door to us. Those boys gobbled them down as if they’d never eaten cookies before. While we sat on the doorstep, I mentioned that Santa Claus was coming on Saturday. Herbert munched his cookie and matter-of-factly told us Santa had never been to his house. I felt so terrible I didn’t know what to say. At supper, I told Mother what Herbert had said. She looked at my dad, and I saw the sadness in her eyes. My father told us that Santa might have trouble finding Herbert’s family because they probably moved a lot.
The next morning, Mother rushed off to see Mrs. Phillips and Mrs. Palmer. They were planning something. When Daddy got home, Mother told us we were going to do something to help Herbert’s family. It had to be a secret; we couldn’t talk about it at all, not even with our friends. We had no money to buy gifts, so Mother asked us to make or find something to give the children. The Phillips and Palmer families would do the same. We didn’t have many store-bought toys. Bobby had a slingshot, but the rubber band was broken. I had an old rubber Betsy Wetsy. I hated that doll, and I didn’t think the neighbors would like her any better than I did. I wanted to give something special that they’d really love.
That night, my mind churned as I tried to think of the perfect gift. When I came up with an idea, I really wished I hadn’t. I liked the scooter better than anything I had. It wasn’t new when I got it, but I thought it was the best scooter in the world because Aunt Winnie had given it to me. I tossed and turned, trying to make up my mind. The next morning, I told my parents I wanted to give Herbert my scooter. They looked surprised. “Are you sure?” my father asked. I was. Daddy suggested I paint it a different color so Herbert wouldn’t recognize it. That night, Daddy brought home a paper sack with a small can of pretty blue paint and a little bell for the handlebars. Mother put newspapers on the kitchen floor, and Bobby and I painted the scooter.
Then Bobby got his baseball from his bedroom and wrote “Babe Ruth” on it in black crayon so Herbert wouldn’t know it had been his. It must have been hard for him to give up that beat-up ball as it was for me to give away my scooter. He and J.C. Phillips played a lot of catch. The lump in my throat was so big I could hardly swallow. I wanted to hug Bobby, which is what Mother did, but I figured he’d kick me in the shin.
On Christmas Eve, Daddy brought home our tree, a blue spruce from the nursery where he worked. After supper, we walked down to the Palmers’ with our gifts for Herbert’s family. The Phillips family was already there. It was like a grand, happy party. Mrs. Palmer made punch, and Mother and Mrs. Phillips brought fudge and cookies.
As we walked home, a million stars twinkled in the clear black sky. The Christmas star seemed to shine right down on us. It didn’t look like we’d be getting any snow tonight. We walked quietly, holding hands. I felt like my heart would explode with love and happiness. I started singing O Holy Night, and the family joined in. We sang the rest of the way home.
Daddy was reading the Christmas story from the Bible when we heard a car pull up. Who could be visiting us this late on Christmas Eve? We couldn’t believe our eyes: Aunt Frances, Uncle Raney and their children, Judy and little Raney, had driven from California to surprise us. Mother fried the hen she’d planned for Christmas dinner. We decorated the tree, sang carols and hung up our socks. Overnight, we got about a foot of snow. Big flakes were still fluttering down when I went out to help Daddy feed the dogs. I could hear kids talking.
Daddy and I sneaked over to where we could see Herbert’s porch without him seeing us. Herbert was yelling, “He came! He came!” I blinked back tears. Daddy took my hand, and we walked back to our very full little house.
I’ve often wondered if Herbert and his family weren’t really angels sent down to help us understand the joy of giving and the spirit of Christmas. Our gifts were small, but the Lord poured out his blessings in a way I will never forget.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART
Do we allow ourselves to be inspired by Isaiah’s prophetic vision of the glory of God gathering all peoples and the wealth of the nations? Do we cling to visions of hope and unity when everything seems to go awry and painfully divisive?
Do we let ourselves be inspired by the magi in their response to the divine “epiphany” of the Christ Child? Like the magi, do we endeavor to follow the heavenly guiding light in order to give homage to Christ Savior and offer him our precious “gifts”?
How do we treasure Paul’s experience of “epiphany” and his contribution to the divine plan of salvation? Are we willing to give our level best to proclaim and witness to the Good News that we all are called to be co-heirs, co-members and co-partners in the divine promise fulfilled in Christ Jesus?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD
Leader: Loving God,
we thank you for your greatest act of “epiphany”:
you manifested yourself as Love absolute
through the incarnation of your only begotten Son Jesus Christ
and by the paschal mystery of his passion, death and resurrection.
The crib of Jesus and the cross on Mount Calvary
are two aspects of your divine manifestation.
You love us beyond telling
– with a love that is all-inclusive and without bounds.
You manifested the Christ Child to the magi
and we thank you for their positive response to the guiding star,
which led them to adore and offer gifts to the Savior.
You revealed your universal saving plan to Saint Paul,
herald of redemptive “mystery”,
and to other apostles and prophets
through the power of the Holy Spirit.
We thank you
because we too are called to be magi in today’s world.
Our vocation is to adore
and give our very selves as gift to Jesus Savior.
We thank you, because like the magi and Saint Paul,
we too are recipients of your ongoing “epiphany” of love,
in time and space.
Help us to be instruments
of your benevolent presence
and life-giving manifestation of love to all.
Make us living “epiphanies” of your caring love and saving plan
until the day of your ultimate “Epiphany” at the end time.
Lord, we proclaim with joy:
“Let every nation on earth adore you!”
Assembly: “Let every nation on earth adore you!”
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“The Gentiles are co-heirs, members of the same body, and co-partners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” (cf. Eph 3:6)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION
ACTION PLAN: Pray that God’s ongoing “epiphany” of saving love may be perceived fully and welcomed openly by people in today’s world. By your acts of charity and true self-giving, be a herald of God’s saving mystery revealed and an instrument of the divine, life-giving “epiphany” in the here and now.
ACTION PLAN: That we may experience deeply the blessings of divine “epiphany”, make an effort to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the PDDM WEB site (www.pddm.us) for the EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR: A Weekly Pastoral Tool (Year A, vol. 7, # 6).
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US