Bible
Study: Isaiah 60, 1 to 6. Ephesians 3, 2 to 6 and Matthew 2, 1 to 12.
If you
still recall, our Gospel passage on Christmas day morning was taken from the
Gospel of John. And there is a line in that Gospel passage that stated: “He
came to his own home, and his own people received him not. But to all who
received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God.”
Today, we celebrate how the Three Wise Men who were neither Jews, nor Israelites
came all the way from the East to worship the baby Jesus.
While his own
people refused to receive him, strangers to the faith led by a special star
came to Jesus. What does this tell us? That Jesus did not come to save only the
Israelite nation. This tells us that even though Jesus was born a white man, he
came as God not only for the whites but for the blacks, the browns, the reds
and even the yellows. Jesus is King of all Nations, Priest for all Nations and his
death was for all Nations.
I was
heard somebody say that we Africans and blacks in particular dropped our gods
(our idols of wood, stone and bronze), to adopt the white man’s God. But today’s
feast shows us that this is not true. Jesus is not a white man’s God. He is God
for all. Even our Responsorial psalm today says it all that: “All the ends of
the earth have seen the salvation of our God.” All the ends of the earth
includes you and I, Africans, it also includes these Wise Men from the East who
previously knew nothing about the promised Messiah. If the white missionaries
had not brought the Gospel to us Africans, there would still have been a way
for us to hear the Good News.
The word
“Epiphany” simply means revelation, manifestation, the unveiling so to say, the
coming to light or announcement to the whole world that the little baby who was
born in Bethlehem of the household of David by the Virgin Mary was no ordinary
child. In the Epiphany, we celebrate the fact that Jesus was born not just for
the household of Joseph the Carpenter, not just for the Jewish nation, not just
for the so-called chosen people, but for EVERYONE, regardless of tribe,
religion or nationality.
John 3, 16
states: “For God so loved the world that He Gave His Only Son…” Take note, the
Bible never said, “for God so loved Israel or Palestine or Egypt” rather it
states that God loved the world. By this visit of the Wise Men, we get an understanding,
a revelation so to say that Jesus did not come for a few people but for the
entire humankind. Jesus is not just a national hero but a world saviour. He is
the light that has come into the entire world shining to all nations. This is
what the Prophet Isaiah speaks about when he declares: “… The LORD will arise
upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your
light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” Isaiah 60, 2 to 3.
One question
I often ask myself is: “What on earth led the Wise Men to the palace of Herod?”
Having followed the star from a very long distance, they took their eyes off it
and started working with reason. They reasoned it out that since they were
looking for a King and kings were born in palaces, this king would be found there.
For this costly mistake of theirs, Herod who felt his throne was under threat
would later on decide to kill all the male children born around that time in
Bethlehem.
Too often,
like the Wise Men, we stop looking at the star; we stop allowing our Faith
guide us and we make the mistake of allowing reason dictate to us. We push God
aside, we forget his promises, we forget his commandments and we start to figure
things out with our brains. No wonder the Bible says that the righteous shall
live by Faith. Hab.2:4.
Dear
friends, as this New Year begins, let us keep our eyes fixed on the star. If we
take eyes off it, we only end up in Herod’s palace, a place of glamour, yet
full of deception and lies. A lot of Christians today are searching for answers
in the wrong places. But guess what, right there in the Palace when they did
not find a newly born king, Herod had to consult the chief priests and scribes
of the people who in turn went to check the Scriptures for answers about the
promised Messiah. In an age where the Bible is no longer read and understood but
simply quoted, an age where church has become big-time business and only
selected portions of the Bible are emphasised; we need to go back to the
Scriptures for answers.
Honestly, Christianity
today is stuck in the Palace, we are searching for God in material prosperity
and we believe if we don’t see abundance and wealth, God is not there. We have
turned God into an ATM machine and we insist God must prove himself by blessing
us with abundance of wealth, power and prosperity. So we change church like
women changing clothes looking for miracles, for signs and wonders whereas the
God we are looking for is right there in a stable in Bethlehem in the midst of the
smelly sheep and goats, in the midst of poverty, lack and emptiness.
Finally, the
wise men did not embark on their quest empty handed. They went with gifts. Even
in the very gifts themselves, we see an Epiphany of Jesus. Gold manifests or
reveals to us that Jesus is King, the ruler of heaven and earth, the one who
will come to judge the living and the dead. Incense manifests his Priesthood,
hence all our prayers end with “In Jesus Name” or “Through Christ our Lord.”
And then, Myrrh manifests his role as Saviour, the one who would shed his blood
on the cross for our Salvation. As I come to worship Jesus today, what gift am I
coming with?
Let us pray:
Lord Jesus, you are the star, may I never take my eyes away from you. Amen.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith.
It is well with you. God bless you. Happy Sunday.
Fr. Abu.
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