Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord Mt 2,1-12

Today, on the Feast of the Epiphany, the great light that shines from the cave of Bethlehem through the Magi of the East floods humanity. The first reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah and an excerpt from the Gospel of Matthew, which we have just heard, juxtapose the promise and its fulfillment. A particular tension emerges when we read excerpts from the Old and New Testaments in sequence. Behold, the marvelous vision of the prophet Isaiah appears before us, who, after the humiliations suffered by the people of Israel at the hands of the powerful of this world, sees the moment when the marvelous light of God, who, seemingly helpless and unable to protect his people, will rise above the whole earth, so the kings of the nations will kneel before him. They will come from the ends of the world and lay their most precious treasures at his feet. And the hearts of the people will tremble with joy.

Compared to the vision above, the one presented by the evangelist Matthew seems poor and small: it seems impossible for us to recognize the fulfillment of the words of the prophet Isaiah in it. Namely, it is not the rulers and kings of the earth who come to Bethlehem, but the wise men, strangers who were probably viewed with suspicion. In any case, they were not worthy of any special attention. The people of Jerusalem were informed of what had happened, but did not consider it necessary to take any action. Nor did anyone in Bethlehem seem to be paying any attention to the birth of this child, whom the wise men called the King of the Jews, or to these men who had come from the east to visit him. Shortly afterward, when King Herod shows who is practically in power, he forces the Holy Family to flee to Egypt, offering proof of his cruelty through the bloodshed of the innocents (cf. Mt 2:13-18). The event with the Magi seems to have been erased and forgotten. It is therefore understandable that the heart and soul of the faithful of all centuries are more attracted by the vision of the prophet than by the moderate account of the evangelist. This is also confirmed by the depictions of this visit in our nativity scenes. In them, we find camels, dromedaries, and mighty kings of this world kneeling before the child and laying their gifts in precious cabinets at his feet. But we must pay more attention to what both texts want to tell us.

What did Isaiah see with his prophetic eye? In a single moment, a reality revealed itself to him that would shape the whole of history. But even the event that Matthew tells us about is not a negligible episode that ends with the sudden return of the wise men to their own country. On the contrary, it is a beginning. These figures from the East are not the last, but the first in a long procession of those who, throughout history, can recognize the message of the star and follow the paths indicated in the Holy Scriptures. And so they can find the one who appears weak, but who has the power to give the greatest and deepest joy to a person’s heart. Because it manifests the wonderful reality that God knows us and is close to us, that his greatness and strength are not expressed in the logic of the world, but in the logic of the defenseless child, of the one whose strength lies only in the love that is entrusted to us. Throughout history, there are always people who are illuminated by the light of the star, who find their way and come to it. Each person experiences, in their way, the experience of the Magi themselves.

They brought gold, frankincense,, and myrrh. These are certainly not gifts that meet basic or everyday needs. At that moment, the Holy Family would surely need something other than incense or myrrh, and even gold it could not immediately serve. However, these gifts have their deeper meaning. They are an act of right. In fact, according to the oriental mentality of the time, they represented the recognition of a man as God and King. They are therefore a sign that shows submission. They express that from that moment on, those who bring gifts belong to the ruler and recognize his authority. The consequence is immediate.

The Magi can no longer continue their journey, they can no longer return to Herod, and they can no longer be allies of this powerful and cruel ruler. They have been permanently placed on the path of the child. On this path, which will teach them to disregard the great and powerful of this world and to lead them to Him who awaits us among the poor. On the path of love, which alone can change the world. The wise men did not just go on a journey, but something new began with their act. A new path was laid out, a new light came into the world that would not go out. The vision of the prophet is being realized: this light can no longer be unknown in the world. People will turn to the child and be irradiated by the joy that only he can give. The light of Bethlehem continues to shine throughout the world. And for those who have received it, St. Augustine reminds us: ‘Even we, when we recognized Christ as our King and priest who died for us, honored him in the same way as if we had given gold, incense,, and myrrh. All we need do is bear witness to him by choosing a different path from the one we have found (Sermon 202, In Epiphany Domini, 3,4).

So, if we read Isaiah’s promise and its fulfillment in the Gospel of Matthew together against the great backdrop of all history, it seems obvious that what we are told here and what we are trying to imitate with the manager, is not a dream and an empty game of sensations and emotions that have no strength and are unrealistic. But that it is the truth that shines in the world, even when Herod still seems to be stronger, and it seems that the child can be pushed away among them, are insignificant, or can be trampled on directly. But it is only in this child that God’s power manifests itself, gathering people of all centuries to walk the path of love that transforms the world under his rule. Yet, even though the few who were in Bethlehem became many, there still seem to be few believers in Jesus Christ. Many have seen the star, but few have understood its message. Scribes of the time of Jesus knew God’s word perfectly. They could easily list everything that could be found in the Holy Scripture about the place where the Messiah would be born, but as St. Augustine says, ‘it turned out with them as stone milestones – while they provided information to travelers, they remained idle and motionless’ (Sermon 199. In Epiphany Domini, 1,2).

We can ask: What is the reason some see and find and others do not? What opens eyes and hearts? What is missing in those who remain indifferent, those who point the way but remain motionless? We can answer: Their excessive self-confidence, their claim to perfect knowledge of reality, and their belief that they have already expressed a final judgment on things – this makes their hearts closed and insensitive to God’s newness. They are sure that they have a complete overview of the world and are no longer inwardly shaken by the courageous action of such a God who wants to encounter them. They put their trust in themselves more than in him and do not consider it possible that God would be so great that he could become small – that he could come closer to us. What is missing here is the authentic humility that can submit to the greater, but also the authentic courage that allows the truly great to be believed, even though it is manifested in a defenseless child. What is missing here is the evangelical ability to be a child at heart, the ability to be amazed and to come out of ourselves and to follow the path shown by the star, on God’s path. However, the Lord has the power to see us, and he has the power to save us. So let us ask him to give us a wise and innocent heart that allows us to see the star of his mercy and embark on his journey, so that we may find him and be flooded with that great light and true joy that he has brought into this world. Today, on the Feast of the Epiphany, the great light that shines from the cave of Bethlehem through the Magi of the East floods all of humanity. The first reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah and an excerpt from the Gospel of Matthew, which we have just heard, juxtapose the promise and its fulfillment. There is a particular tension that emerges when we read excerpts from the Old and New Testaments in sequence. Behold, the marvelous vision of the prophet Isaiah appears before us, who, after the humiliations suffered by the people of Israel at the hands of the powerful of this world, sees the moment when the great light of God, who, seemingly helpless and unable to protect his people, will rise above the whole earth, so the kings of the nations will kneel before him. They will come from the ends of the earth and lay their most precious treasures at his feet. And the hearts of the people will tremble with joy.