Solemnity of the Lord's Epiphany A

Welcome to our Bible
Study
5 January 2014
The Epiphany of the Lord A
In preparation for this Sunday’s Liturgy
As aid in focusing our homilies and sharing
Prepared by Fr. Cielo R. Almazan, OFM

1 reading: Isaiah 60:1-6
st

• 1 Rise up in splendor! Your light has come, the glory of
the Lord shines upon you. 2 See, darkness covers the
earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; But upon you
the LORD shines, and over you appears his glory. 3
Nations shall walk by your light, and kings by your shining
radiance. 4 Raise your eyes and look about; they all
gather and come to you: Your sons come from afar, and
your daughters in the arms of their nurses. 5 Then you
shall be radiant at what you see, your heart shall throb
and overflow, For the riches of the sea shall be emptied
out before you, the wealth of nations shall be brought to
you. 6 Caravans of camels shall fill you, dromedaries
from Midian and Ephah; All from Sheba shall come
bearing gold and frankincense, and proclaiming the
praises of the LORD.
The focus is on the light of the Lord.

1 reading: Isaiah 60:1-6
st

A simple outline!

Light of the Lord
• 1 Rise up in splendor! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord
shines upon you. 2 See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds
cover the peoples; But upon you the LORD shines, and over you
appears his glory.
Response of kings and nations
• 3 Nations shall walk by your light, and kings by your shining radiance.
4 Raise your eyes and look about; they all gather and come to you:
Your sons come from afar, and your daughters in the arms of their
nurses.
Your personal response
• 5 Then you shall be radiant at what you see, your heart shall throb
and overflow, For the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before
you, the wealth of nations shall be brought to you. 6 Caravans of
camels shall fill you, dromedaries from Midian and Ephah; All from
Sheba shall come bearing gold and frankincense, and proclaiming
the praises of the LORD.

1st reading: Isaiah 60:1-6
Light of the Lord
• 1 Rise up in splendor! Your light has
come, the glory of the Lord shines
upon you. 2 See, darkness covers
the earth, and thick clouds cover the
peoples; But upon you the LORD
shines, and over you appears his
glory.
• 3 Nations shall walk by your light,
and kings by your shining radiance.
4 Raise your eyes and look about;
they all gather and come to you:
Your sons come from afar, and your
daughters in the arms of their
nurses.
• 5 Then you shall be radiant at what
you see, your heart shall throb and
overflow, For the riches of the sea
shall be emptied out before you, the
wealth of nations shall be brought to
you. 6 Caravans of camels shall fill
you, dromedaries from Midian and
Ephah; All from Sheba shall come
bearing gold and frankincense, and
proclaiming the praises of the
LORD.

Commentary
•

•
•
•
•
•

•
•

The author is Third Isaiah (chs.56-66)
writing after the Exile in Babylon. Like
Second Isaiah, he imitates the style (of
parallelism) of Isaiah of Jerusalem.
V.1 encourages the Israelites to keep up
their spirits.
Reason: your light has come // the glory of
the Lord shines upon you. (Take note of the
style of parallelism)
They have been in darkness (oblivion), now
finally they will feel the presence of God.
Darkness is the absence of God; light
symbolizes the presence of God.
V.2a presents the status of the earth and
the peoples. They are in darkness (like the
primeval chaos in Gen 1,1-3).

In contrast, in v.2b, the people of
Israel will enjoy the light (glory of God).
It picks up v.1.
Upon you the Lord shines // over you
his glory appears (parallelism)

Light of the Lord
upon you. 2 See, darkness covers the
earth, and thick clouds cover the
glory.
• 3 Nations shall walk by your light, and
kings by your shining radiance. 4
Raise your eyes and look about; they
all gather and come to you: Your sons
come from afar, and your daughters in
the arms of their nurses.
proclaiming the praises of the LORD.

•
•

V.3 foresees nations and kings
walking in the light, in parallel form.
In v.4 again, like v.1, there is an
imperative:
– Raise your eyes and look around
– Reason: There will be in-gathering of
the dispersed sons and daughters.
– It evokes strong emotions. It is a
reunion of long lost loved ones,
separated by war.

•
•
•

In v.5, the addressees of this text will
become radiant themselves // their
hearts throb and overflow.
In parallel style, the coming of the light
has a big impact on the Israelite readers.
V.5b states the reasons:
– Riches of the sea will be emptied out
before you. (rich harvest)
– Wealth of nations will be brought to
you. (tributes)
– Caravans, dromedaries… shall fill you.

Light of the Lord
upon you. 2 See, darkness covers the
earth, and thick clouds cover the
glory.
• 3 Nations shall walk by your light, and
kings by your shining radiance. 4
Raise your eyes and look about; they
all gather and come to you: Your sons
come from afar, and your daughters in
the arms of their nurses.
proclaiming the praises of the LORD.

•

•
•

•
•
•
•

More reasons:
– People of Sheba shall bring gifts (gold
and frankincense). No myrrh.
– They will also proclaim the praises to
God.
This is a big contrast between the
Israelites’ life in Exile and their new life,
which is about to begin.
In Exile, they were emptied of their riches
and scattered all over the place, children
looking for their parents, parents looking
for their children.
The Israelites were nobody in the eyes of
the nations.
There was no light.
Now they will be restored. Other people
will come to them.
The Christian reading interprets v.6 as the
prefiguration of the Magi.

Reflections on the 1 reading
st

• The reading is also addressed to us. It should be
meaningful to us, who are hard up in life.
• Like the ancient Israelites, we, who are humbled
and deprived, will soon see the light, according
to the prophecy.
• The light gives us hope.
• We, too, will shine and receive God’s countless
blessings.
• Jesus, the Messiah, is our light.
• He is coming to save us.
• If we have Jesus, we have everything.

Resp. Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13
•

R. (cf. 11) Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

•

1 O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king’s son;
2 He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.

•

7 Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
8 May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.

•
•

10 The kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts;
the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute.
11 All kings shall pay him homage,
all nations shall serve him.

•

12 For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
13 He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.

Resp. Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13
•

R. (cf. 11) Lord, every nation on earth will
adore you.

•

1 O God, with your judgment endow the
king,
and with your justice, the king’s son;
2 He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.

•

7 Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no
more.
8 May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.

•
•

10 The kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall
offer gifts;
the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring
tribute.
11 All kings shall pay him homage,
all nations shall serve him.

•

12 For he shall rescue the poor when he
cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help
him.
13 He shall have pity for the lowly and the
poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.

Commentary
• In v.1, the psalmist prays for the
king and his son, for good judgment
and justice.
• V.2 gives the reason: that the king
may govern with justice and
judgment (his decisions favor the
poor and the afflicted).
• V.7 expresses optimism during the
rule of this just king. There will be
justice and peace for ever and
everywhere. V.8
• Vv.10-11 indicate all other kings will
appreciate his kingship. They will
offer him a lot of things.
• Vv.12-13 express the sensitivity of
the king to the poor and the needy.

Reflections on the Psalm
• Like the psalmist, we pray that our rulers (kings,
presidents, governors, etc.) may rule with justice and
exercise good judgment (prudence).
• Good rulers promote justice.
• As a result, long lasting peace thrive in their own
localities, constituents and territories.
• Jesus is a good and just ruler par excellence.
• We pray that all of us, including those in authority, may
allow Jesus, our king, to rule our minds that we may
have peace in our hearts.

2nd reading: Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6
• 2 If you have heard of the stewardship of God's
grace that was given to me for your benefit, 3
(namely, that) the mystery was made known to
me by revelation, as I have written briefly earlier,
5 which was not made known to human beings
in other generations as it has now been revealed
to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit, 6
that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the
same body, and copartners in the promise in
Christ Jesus through the gospel.
The focus is on the stewardship of Paul

A simple outline!

The subordinate clause
• 2 If you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace
Parentheses
– that was given to me for your benefit, 3 (namely, that)
– the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have
written briefly earlier,
– 5 which was not made known to human beings in other
generations
– as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by
the Spirit,

The main point: The Gentiles
• 6 that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same
body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus
through the gospel.

The subordinate clause
• 2 If you have heard of the
stewardship of God's grace
Parenthesis
– that was given to me for your
benefit, 3 (namely, that)
– the mystery was made known to
me by revelation, as I have written
briefly earlier,
– 5 which was not made known to
human beings in other
generations
– as it has now been revealed to his
holy apostles and prophets by the
Spirit,

Commentary
• V.2 speaks of Paul’s (not really the
author) stewardship of God’s grace.
• God has entrusted to Paul and to the
apostles and prophets the mystery,
not known before by previous
generations.
• V.6 is the main point of the reading,
which is the Gentiles.
• They are:

The main point: The Gentiles
• 6 that the Gentiles are coheirs,
•
members of the same body, and
copartners in the promise in Christ
Jesus through the gospel.

– Co-heirs
– Members of the church
– Co-partners in the promise in
Christ…

The Gentiles have equal place in
heaven and in the church.

Reflections on the 2nd reading
• Like Paul, we are stewards of God’s graces.
• We, Christians, should learn how to share God’s
gifts to others.
• As stewards, we have to reach out to others who
do not know that God loves them.
• We, humans, are all entitled to live in the
mystery of the divine life and enjoy it.

Gospel reading: Matthew 2:1-12
•

•

•

•

1 When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King
Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, 2 saying,
"Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and
have come to do him homage."
3 When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all
Jerusalem with him. 4 Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of
the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5
They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written
through the prophet: 6 'And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no
means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a
ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.'" .
ing
orn k
ewb
7 Then Herod called the magihsecretly and ascertained from them the
t en
on
time of the star's appearance. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said,
us is
c
he fo
Tdiligently for the child. When you have found him, bring
"Go and search
me word, that I too may go and do him homage." 9 After their audience
with the king they set out.
And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it
came and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 They were
overjoyed at seeing the star, 11 and on entering the house they saw the
child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him
homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold,
frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to
return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.

•

•

•

•

1 When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King
Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, 2 saying,
"Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and
have come to do him homage."
3 When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all
Jerusalem with him. 4 Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of
the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5
They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written
through the prophet: 6 'And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no
means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a
ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.'"
7 Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the
time of the star's appearance. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said,
ar.
"Go and search diligently for the child.sWhen you have found him, bring
the t
to
me word, that I too may goeandndo him homage." 9 After their audience
t ntio
at
P out.
with the king they set ay
And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until
it came and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 They were
overjoyed at seeing the star, 11 and on entering the house they saw the
child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him
homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold,
frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to
return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.

1 When
Jesus was
born in
Bethlehem of
Judea, in the
days of King
Herod,
behold, magi
from the east
arrived in
Jerusalem, 2
saying,
"Where is the
newborn king
of the Jews?
We saw his
star at its
rising and
have come to
do him
homage."

Commentary
• V.1 indicates the place, where Jesus is born (in subordinate
clause)

– Bethlehem

• It also indicates the time, when Jesus is born.
– In the days of King Herod (the last two years of his unwanted
reign)

• Magi (wise men, not kings), who represent the Gentiles,
arrive in Jerusalem (main clause)
• It also indicates where they come from (the East,
Mesopotamia [Parthia], somewhere in Persia?)
• V.2 immediately indicates the purpose of the magi:

– They are looking for the newborn king of the Jews. (Is there
such a thing as a newborn king when Herod is still alive? His
successor should be one of his children. Herod does not know
anything about this newborn king)

– Of all places to inquire, they stumble right at the
headquarters of King Herod, unwittingly exposing the child to
danger.

• They are going to do him homage.
– This adds more danger to Jesus. As the story teller narrates,
the reader is signaled what will soon happen and how wise
could Herod be to contain the perceived threat.

•

3 When King Herod
heard this, he was
greatly troubled, and all
Jerusalem with him. 4
Assembling all the chief
priests and the scribes
of the people, he
inquired of them where
the Messiah was to be
born. 5 They said to
him, "In Bethlehem of
Judea, for thus it has
been written through the
prophet: 6 'And you,
Bethlehem, land of
Judah, are by no means
least among the rulers
of Judah; since from
you shall come a ruler,
who is to shepherd my
people Israel.'"

•
•
•

Now, first, in v.3, King Herod becomes deeply
troubled (puzzled). He and all his followers in
Jerusalem have feelings of insecurity. (sad).
The birth of Jesus is not a welcome idea.
Herod does not ask the magi what kind of king
is the newborn child.
– Automatically, he thinks the newborn child is a
competitor.

•
•
•
•

Instead, in v.4, he consults all the chief priests
(Sadducees) and the scribes (experts of the
OT), where the newborn king is to be born.
Here, Herod rightly identifies the newborn king
as Messiah. (Did he know his catechism?)
The answer of the experts is correct: the place
is Bethlehem, some kilometers away from
Jerusalem. Vv.5-6.
The author wants to associate Jesus with the
place, where King David comes from, and with
David himself because he was once a great
ruler and shepherd of Israel.

•

7 Then Herod
called the magi
secretly and
ascertained
from them the
time of the
star's
appearance. 8
He sent them to
Bethlehem and
said, "Go and
search diligently
for the child.
When you have
found him, bring
me word, that I
too may go and
do him
homage." 9
After their
audience with
the king they
set out.

•
•
•

Now, Herod asks the magi about the time of the
star’s appearance. V.7
It is implied that Herod gets the information he
wants from the magi.
It is also implied that Herod has informed them
where the Messiah is born, because he sends
them to Bethlehem, not somewhere else.
– What an exchange of top secrets, but with different
motives!

•
•
•
•
•
•
•

In v.8, as Herod sends them, he appeals to them to
come back to tell him the exact whereabouts of the
child.
His motive: to do him homage also.
But we know his hidden motive because of the
previous information (he was troubled).
The birth of Jesus does not sit well with him.
Herod is just sugarcoating his evil intent,
pretending as if he is one with the magi as sincere
adorers of the child.
V.9 sets the magi again in motion. They don’t read
the mind of Herod. They don’t seem to be wise at all.
The story teller is wiser. He knows how to make us
interested in his short story. He dictates what
happens in the story.

•

And behold, the star
that they had seen at its
rising preceded them,
until it came and
stopped over the place
where the child was. 10
They were overjoyed at
seeing the star, 11 and
on entering the house
they saw the child with
Mary his mother. They
prostrated themselves
and did him homage.
Then they opened their
treasures and offered
him gifts of gold,
frankincense, and
myrrh. 12 And having
been warned in a dream
not to return to Herod,
they departed for their
country by another way.

• In v.9, again the star appears and guides them
to the place of the child. (jackpot)
•

Their searching is over. Their efforts have paid off.

• The sinister Herod has even helped them find
the little child.
• There is no more mention of Bethlehem. It is
understood.
• V.10 describes the feelings of the magi when
they see the star:
– Overjoyed (like finding a treasure)

• The star points to the location of Jesus (like a
spot light).
• In v.11, now they see Jesus in the house with
mother Mary. Joseph is absent.
• Now they adore and pay homage to the child,
opening their treasures and offering him gifts.
(mission accomplished)
• In v.12, God guides the magi not to go back to
Herod. God intervenes through a dream.
• The magi obey.

Reflections on the gospel reading
• A sign that we are really searching for Jesus is when we
are setting aside our treasures, our gifts or giftedness for
Jesus, ready to be given up when we find him.
• If we have not given up anything, we have not found
Jesus yet.
• Generosity is a gesture of welcome and a happy
encounter with Jesus.
• Never should we identify ourselves with Herod, who is by
nature a murderer, sick man (paranoid), who will confiscate
your wealth for his foreign friends and who uses religion
to advance his own cause
– at the expense of the true and deserving spiritual leader,
– at the expense of the people who deserve a better ruler or
shepherd.

Tying the 3 readings and the Psalm
• The first reading tells of the brilliant future of the
Israelites, who were once humbled and put down.
• The psalm is prayer for a ruler that he may be endowed
with justice and prudence.
• The second reading talks about stewardship of God’s
graces.
• The gospel reading shows that Jesus manifests himself
not only to the Jews, but also to the Gentiles (Magi).

How to develop your homily / sharing
• The Feast of the Epiphany (manifestation), popularly
known as Feast of the Three Kings, teaches us that Jesus
is for everyone.
• Not only God’s chosen people are welcome to Jesus, but
also all other peoples.
• Jesus’ salvation is for everyone.
• So what if Jesus is for everyone?
• What is the meaning of this feast of Epiphany?
• What do the readings say about it?

• The gospel reading is an invitation for us to identify with
the magi.
• We also search for Jesus with the help of a guiding star
(light, signposts).
• It is not futile to spend so much time, money and energy
in search for Jesus.
• We pay a high price for it.
• We, too, will find him. We, too, will go home happy.
• We cannot find Jesus just by sitting down, doing nothing,
lazily chatting with one another, collecting money and
increasing our wealth.
• We must exert effort and take courage to ask questions
and for directions. (spiritual direction)

• We will never find Christ, even if we have all the
information about him (theology and catechesis), yet, keep a
dagger in our hands ready to harm people and violate
their rights. (rights of the newly born and unborn)
• Finding Jesus leads us to new paths. We avoid
waltzing, courting and doing business with the
destructive elements, which promote death.
• We avoid associating with people who destroy their
fellow men and women with their slanderous words
(engaged in tsismis) and treacherous (Herodic) friendships
and alliances.
• We join the company of those who have captured the
meaning of Jesus’ manifestation to all. We need to
discern who they are.
• We journey with this kind of people.

• When we find him, we, Christians, must not monopolize
him.
• We cannot privatize his message of joy and hope (keeping
it to ourselves).
• This feast has a missionary dimension. (2nd reading)
• Like St. Paul, the Christian believers are called to proclaim
what God has manifested through Christ.
• Christianity without evangelization is a fake Christianity.
• Christians are God’s instruments in manifesting himself to
other people.
• We, Christians, are called to serve as “lights” (stars) to
guide the people to Christ.

• We must train ourselves to communicate with
zeal and enthusiasm, like our separated
brethren (Protestants), the love and goodness of
God.
• We express our support to those involved in the
tri-media (print, TV and radio) and in the Internet
(to those who are God-fearing only).
– There are some media practitioners who don’t care
about God and the Church’s teachings.

• We ask help from those who have technical
know-how to facilitate the spread of the good
news of salvation.

• In the first reading, epiphany would mean
rejoicing and celebrating our hopes.
• We must believe that there is an end to our
miseries.
• God comes to us to brighten up our lives.
• God will lavish us with his blessings and graces.
• Other people will rejoice with us.
• Spontaneously there will be gift-giving, so no
one will go hungry.

• In the eucharist, Jesus once again manifests
himself to us, feeding us in the form of bread
and wine.
• Like the magi, we come to him in adoration,
bringing him gifts of ourselves.
• In the eucharist, we receive the joy of
encountering Jesus.
• In the eucharist, God asks us to tread on a new
path, the way to evangelize.

Our Context of Sin and Grace
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Parochialism
Ethnocentrism
Exclusivism
Fundamentalism
Ideology
Xenophobia
Genocide
Monopolies
Makes reproductive
organs sterile
• Narrow nationalism

• Universalism
• Hospitality
• Ecumenism
• Inculturation
• Sense of belongingness
• Peace with the family
• Genuine health care
• Generosity (gift-giving)

Suggested Songs
•
•
•
•

O Come All ye Faithful
Ang Pasko ay Sumapit
Light
On the Night when Christ was Born
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NODxkBeXdsg
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPCqP_0iyoo

• Zion Sing by Lucien Deiss

Solemnity of the Lord's Epiphany A

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