The World Youth Day celebrated in 1995 in Manila was, in a sense, an “epiphany”.  Thousands of youth and other delegates from all over the world, together with millions of Filipino Christians, gathered at the Rizal National Park to celebrate the Eucharist with our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II. The presence of vibrant and energetic youth delegates from all nations in their beautiful and colorful costumes and the participation of a great throng of Filipino believers from all walks of life contributed to make the event, using the words of the Pope, “a phenomenal experience”. Indeed, it was an “epiphany”, a revelation of the powerful presence of God… a manifestation of Christ proclaimed among the nations. It was a fulfillment of the prophetic declaration: “Lord, every nation on earth will adore you!” (cf. refrain of the Responsorial Psalm of the Feast of Epiphany). 

The feast of Epiphany is a feast that celebrates God’s unlimited glory, shedding radiance on all the peoples of the earth and his beloved creation. In his letter to the Ephesians, St. Paul writes of God’s secret plan which was revealed in Christ. Until Christ came, we did not know God’s plan and did not grasp how inclusive and universal it was. But the salvific plan had been revealed through the Spirit to his holy apostles, particularly to Paul, a servant of the mystery. The mystery of Christ of which the apostle Paul was special proclaimer to the Gentiles is this: “the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (Eph 3:6). The English translation of verse 6, however, is attenuated. The original Greek text emphasizes more powerfully the equal participation and unity of Jews and Gentiles in the Church with the use of the prefix “syn” attached to the three nouns referring to the Gentile converts. According to Paul, they are “co-heirs, co-members, co-sharers” in the body of Christ, the Church. The International Biblical Commentary remarks: “At a great distance from the events that led to the birth of the Church, it may seem difficult to appreciate the deep religious significance that early Christians attached to the unity of Jews Gentiles in one body, but Eph 3:6 can nevertheless speak to any context; it recalls that the breaking down of barriers and the coming together of peoples is at the very heart of Christianity’s purpose in the world."

The Lord’s “epiphany” or manifestation to the nation, resulting in the faith journey of the peoples of the earth, is prefigured in the Trito-Isaiah text read in today’s liturgy (cf. Is 60:1-6). The prophet sees a restoration of Jerusalem, gathered from far away (Is 60:4), receiving the wealth of the nations (vv 5-6) and the homage of foreign kings. The great gathering will make Jerusalem a focal point and “a light to the nation” for the glory of the Lord fills it. In an exuberant mood, the prophet exclaims: “Nations shall walk by your light and kings by your shining radiance” (v.3). The prophetic vision is universalistic and centripetal. It foresees people from the Arabian peninsula (cf. Midian, Ephah and Sheba), associated with Abraham and the earliest ancestral days, participating in their ancient patrimony. The evangelist Matthew (Cf. Mt 2:1-12) would weave this universal theme into the infancy narrative which is used by the church liturgy for the feast of Epiphany.

Matthew’s story of the visit of the magi or “wise men” intends to demonstrate that Christ is the fulfillment of every prophecy. The adoration of the magi fulfills the messianic prophecies of the homage paid by the nations to the God of Israel (cf. Is 60:5 ff.). In a later Christian tradition, the “wise men” became kings under the influence of Ps 72:10; Is 49:7; Is 60: 10 and their numbers settled at three, as deduced from the three gifts. Eventually they were named Caspar, Balthasar and Melchior. Caspar, furthermore, came to be depicted as a black person. The Jerome Biblical Commentary remarks: “They were understood as representatives of the Gentile world in all its racial diversity who come to Christ. With regard to the gifts brought by the wise men, in later tradition gold came to signify the kingship of Christ, incense his divinity, myrrh his redemptive suffering, prayer and virtue. The “star” that guided the wise men to Jesus is probably a midrashic element derived from Num 24:17, in which Balaam prophesied about “a star from Jacob” taking leadership. Moreover, the mention of the “rising star” evokes the divine promise to Abraham that his descendants would be as the stars of heaven (cf. Gen 15:5; 22:17). One of Abraham’s descendants would be the Messiah, the “star that shall come out of Jacob”, the object of the adoration of the wise men. 

The power of the messianic “star” is undiminished and shines through the ages. According to St. Leo the Great: “Whenever a shaft of light newly pierces darkened heart, its source is the radiance of the same star, which impresses the soul it touches by the miracle of its appearance and leads them forward to worship God.” The famed liturgist Adrian Nocent continues this reflection: “The Christian must let the divine light within him shine through to others. He has sought the light and has been guided by it; now, because of the light that is in him, the world must in turn go in quest of the light… It remains the duty of Christians to point to the star.”

 II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART

 III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD 

The following sacred text is a living word to nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it. 

“We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” (Mt 2: 2)

V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION