Saturday, January 05, 2013

 

THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD - C

JANUARY 6, 2013
THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD - C

Is 60:1-6 / Ps 72: 1-2. 7-8. 10-11. 12-13 / Eph 3:2-3,5-6 / Mt 2:1-12

ISAIAH 60:1-6
Arise, shine, for your light has come. The Glory of Yahweh rises upon you. Night still covers the earth and gloomy clouds veil the peoples, but Yahweh now rises and over you his glory appears. Nations will come to your light and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Lift up your eyes round about and see: they are all gathered and come to you, your sons from afar, your daughters tenderly carried. This sight will make your face radiant, your heart throbbing and full; the riches of the sea will be turned to you, the wealth of the nations will come to you. A flood of camels will cover you, caravans from Midian and Ephah. Those from Sheba will come, bringing with them gold and incense, all singing in praise of Yahweh.

EPHESIANS 3:2-3, 5-6
You may have heard of the graces God bestowed on me for your sake. By a revelation he gave me the knowledge of his mysterious design, as I have explained in a few words. This mystery was not made known to past generations but only now, through revelations given to holy apostles and prophets. Now the non-Jewish people share the Inheritance; in Christ Jesus the non-Jews are incorporated and are to enjoy the Promise. This is the Good News

MATTHEW 2:1-12
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in Judea, during the days of king Herod, wise men from the East arrived in Jerusalem. They asked, "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw the rising of his star in the East and have come to honor him." When Herod heard this he was greatly disturbed, and with him all Jerusalem. He immediately called a meeting of all high-ranking priests and scribes, and asked them where the Messiah was to be born. "In the town of Bethlehem in Judea," they told him, "for this is what the prophet wrote: And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, you are by no means the least among the clans of Judah, for from you will come a leader, the one who is to shepherd my people Israel." Then Herod secretly called the wise men and asked them the precise time the star appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem with the instruction, "Go and get accurate information about the child. As soon as you have found him, report to me, so that I too may go and honor him." After the meeting with the king, they set out. The star that they had seen in the East went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. The wise men were overjoyed on seeing the star again. They went into the house, and when they saw the child with Mary his mother, they knelt and worshiped him. They opened their bags and offered him their gifts of gold, incense and myrrh. In a dream they were warned not to go back to Herod, so they returned to their home country by another way.

REFLECTION
A word that has been fairly recently added to our common usage is the word "globalization." The reality of today is that what happens in one part of the world may have effects in other parts of the world, and indeed throughout the whole world. There are the effects of globalization in economics, in political influences, in technological advancement, and so on. What happens in the economic life of Europe has its effect in countries all over the world. Hunger and starvation in Africa is of concern to nations and people far beyond the borders of any single African nation. It is obvious that the inescapable reality of globalization carries with it positive benefits, but there are also threatening dangers.

Today's celebration of the Lord's Epiphany, the celebration of the manifestation of Jesus (the word "epiphany" means "manifestation") is, in a certain sense, a celebration of a centuries' old process of divine globalization! When Moses had the experience of meeting God who spoke to him through the burning bush, God gave Moses the mission of leading the Israelites out of their slavery in Egypt. The understanding then was that God's chosen people were the sons and daughters of Abraham. "My people"- God called them. But as the centuries of human history unfolded, the moment eventually came when the time was ripe for God to show that "His people" were not just men and women who belonged to one race or nation. That moment came with the sending of God's Son into our world to be one with us.

A week ago the world celebrated that moment, the moment of Christmas. What the Feast of the Epiphany celebrates is the revelation that the Child born on Christmas is the king of all nations and all peoples. The wise men who come to worship Jesus are representatives of men and women of all nations. The realization that Jesus is the king of all nations will take many years to develop, but as the wise men "from afar" kneel before the Child, the process of divine globalization begins.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Netta
- Osang Palma
- Baby Unson
- Celine Empalmado
- Elvie Zuniga
- Glo Zuniga
- Chief Samrose Anyaugo; for protection and personal intentions of Dr Ugo Anyaugo, Oge Anyaugo,Barr (Mrs) adaugo Barbara Okoronkwo,Engr. Ifeanyi Matt Anyaugo, Chuba Anyaugo and Ezinne Cordelia Anyaugo
… for the personal intentions of
- Veronica Yap
- Cherie Torres
… for the eternal repose of the souls of
- Fr. James Reuter, S.J.
- Melba San Buenaventura-Ramos
Eternal rest grant unto them and may perpetual light shine upon them. May they and all the dearly departed rest in peace.
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Thanksgiving: Mr. & Mrs. James Posadas
- In Memoriam (+): Dionisio C. So
… for families who are in need of healing
… for world peace and reconciliation.

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.

Have a good day!

**************************************************

These reflections are distributed free and are for personal use only. Feel free to send the Daily Prayer reflections to your friends, colleagues and relatives; however, if you do, please include the following:

+================================================+
| The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the
| priests, laity and friends of Mary the Queen Parish
| http://www.marythequeen.org
| Distributed free and for personal use only.
+================================================+

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GoogleGroup Address: http://groups.google.com/group/daily_homily
To subscribe from this free mailing service, send email to: dailyhomily@earthlink.net
To unsubscribe: daily_homily-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
 
© 2013 Daily-Homily
 
 

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?