FEAST OF THE THREE KINGS OR “ EPIPHANY OF THE LORD ”

The Christmas season officially ends on the feast of the so called Three Kings. But did you know that what used to be called “Feast of the Three Kings” in our calendars is now the feast of the “EPIPHANY”? Year after year we have been told about pious legends and stories surrounding the Christmas event. Unfortunately, many of these have no biblical foundation, but fictitious embellishment which have continued to misguide Christians for generations.

Matthew, the only evangelist who recounts the episode of these personages, “When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea...behold Magi came from the East to Jerusalem and asked: ‘Where is the baby born to be the King of the Jews? (Mt. 2, 2) Note that the evangelist calls these strange visitors “MAGI” not kings. And who were the Magi? The Magi were engaged in the study of astrology, necromancy and divination. They were also called “wise men” due to their "zealous observance of justice and virtue.”

What is now the authentic message of the “MAGI” and how does it fit into the Christmas Story? The evangelist is teaching the UNIVERSALITY of Christ’s salvation. Meaning, the Messiah was accepted not only by the Jews, the chosen people but also by pagan visitors. Precisely, because of this, the Christian calendar calls the “Epiphany” (from the Greek term “epiphanein”) which means “manifestation” – the manifestation of the Messiah to the pagan nations. Moreover, Epiphany, like Christmas, is not a celebration of a past historical “event” which happened 2016 years ago. Rather it should remind us that Christ must ever be revealed to men and his message constantly unfolded to all.

There’s a true story about a young man who worked in a shoe factory. His fellow workers were not Catholics. On Fridays he brought eggs, fish and sandwiches to lunch; they called him a fish-eater and taunted him by displaying their meat sandwiches. Of course, it was all good natured joking, but there was one man whose bitter remarks were serious. Years later, the shoe maker met that old acquaintance leaving a Catholic Church and dressed as a Catholic priest. The two recognized each other and began to talk over old times. Finally, the priest said, “It was your example that aroused my interest in Catholicism. I thought if a man can take the taunts of a crowd and still remain proud of his faith, there must be something wonderful about that faith. That led me to inquire about the Church. Today, I celebrate my first Mass. That is the challenge for us all. EPIPHANY means that we have to manifest Christ to people, to evangelize by our good example and live the Christian values even to a hostile environment.

The Disciples’ Vocation: John the Baptist is standing with two of his disciples – Andrew and, according to tradition, the future evangelist John – when Jesus passed by, “Behold,” John the Baptist exclaims, “the Lamb of God!” Wondering at these words, his companions followed Christ.“ What are you looking for? ”Jesus asks them. “Rabbi,” they say, “Where are you staying?” “Come and you will see.” They spend the day with Him, enthralled by his words and by the power of his personality.

This Sunday begins the National Migration Week. Let us include in our prayer intentions the safety of all our immigrants in this country regardless of their status. On the 10th, we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. On Tuesday, we begin the First Week in Ordinary Time and use the Year I of the Weekday Lectionary for Mass. We start again using our Green Vestments and other liturgical items colored green for our ordinary messes. This is all for now, watch for the next bulletin.

God Bless!

Your Priest – Servant and Parochial Administrator,

Fr. Reggie