Sunday January 5, 2025

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Good News Reflections:
Making scripture meaningful to your daily life
by Terry Modica

No one who humbles himself before Jesus is excluded from the kingdom of God.

Good News Reflection for:

The Epiphany of the Lord
January 5, 2025

Today’s Prayer:

Thank You, Lord Jesus, because You have shown me my heavenly Father’s face, and You guide me towards Him in Your light. Amen.

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Today’s Readings:

Isaiah 60:1-6
Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-13
Ephesians 3:2-3, 5-6
Matthew 2:1-12
bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/010525.cfm
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/daily-mass-reading-podcast-january-5-2025

Celebrating the epiphany of discovery

The Season of Christmas includes the celebration of the arrival of the magi from the East.

The Greek word “magi” meant oriental scientists. Despite sometimes being translated as “astrologers”, their appearance at the manger does not validate astrology. Matthew included the magi in his Gospel account to show that Jesus was born to bring salvation to all: Gentiles as well as Jews.

The Church celebrates Epiphany to tell the world that no one who humbles himself before Jesus, paying homage to his divine-and-human presence, is excluded from the kingdom of God. Christ is the way, the truth and the life. No one can have eternal life without him, but all are welcome.

Contrary to popular legends, the magi were not kings, even though post-biblical writings often referred to them as kings because of the royal gifts they brought. It’s not their kingship that the gifts represent; it’s the Messianic kingship of Jesus. The magi prophetically testified with these gifts that Jesus was a divine king who would die.

Gold honored Jesus as king, incense honored his divinity, and myrrh, which was used in preparing the dead for burial, honored his death. Eventually, the gifts also came to symbolize our Christian response: gold represents our righteousness, incense our prayers, and myrrh our sufferings for Christ.

The word “epiphany” means a moment of discovery, a revelation that changes our lives. Did the magi recognize the baby Jesus as the world’s savior? It was a common belief at the time that all kings were divine — they were gods living among us until they died. Did the magi have an epiphany about the permanent kingship of Jesus?

Surely after this pilgrimage they never forgot about him and they kept their ears open for news from Jerusalem about him. Surely they learned about the King of the Jews who was crucified. We know this, because at some point, they became very saintly Christians; their relics still exist and have been venerated since very early times.

Without a doubt, the magi worshiped Jesus, even if they didn’t fully understand why until later.

Questions for Personal Reflection:
In what ways do you pay homage to Jesus? Reflect on how this assures you of your salvation.

Questions for Faith Sharing:
Describe an epiphany you had during a time of suffering. How did it increase your righteousness? How did it affect your prayer life? These are your royal gifts for Jesus!

For more on this, see the Good News WordByte, “The Christmas Magi: What Do We Know About Them?” at: https://wordbytes.org/faqs/magi/.

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