The Sánchez Archives EPIPHANY

By
Patricia Datchuck Sánchez

A Gift For Everyone

ISAIAH 60:1-6
EPHESIANS 3:2-3, 5-6
MATTHEW 2:1-12

In Italy and Spain, the gifts traditionally associated with the Christmas season are exchanged today, on the feast of the Epiphany. Among Italians, it is believed that the gifts are brought by the old woman, Befana (from Epiphany), whereas Spanish custom attributes the gifts to the kings or magi. Although for most of us, the elaborate process of giving and receiving took place at Christmas, the liturgical readings for today call us once again to focus on the notion of the gift and its importance in our lives.

In response to the gift of God’s light and glory made manifest in Jerusalem, Isaiah (first reading) envisioned great caravans of nations streaming to the city, bearing gifts which expressed their praise and gratitude. The author of Ephesians (second reading) referred to God’s saving gift in Jesus as a mystery, which has been revealed to and bestowed upon all the earth’s peoples. In the gospel pericope for today, Matthew has detailed a variety of reactions to the gracious gifts of God. Whereas some were unreceptive to his manifestations of salvation, others were disturbed and threatened by them (Herod). Still others went out of their way to seek out and to appropriate God’s saving gift in Jesus.

Obviously, the Elemental Gift and Gift-Giver of this season is God, who in great compassion and altruistic love came to live among us in Jesus. Each day of our lives we are called to appropriate the gift which is offered to us in him. Salvation did not drop from the sky like a blanket (or deus ex machina) on an unsuspecting world, covering all with its warmth and security. Salvation, rather came in the form of a gift which must be accepted and “unwrapped” in order to be fully appropriated. Salvation came in human form as a person who must be welcomed, loved, heeded and followed.

Given that focus then, all subsequent gift giving and receiving should be understood as a reflection of and a response to the ultimate GIFT. In his reflection on this particular feast, Charles A. Curran has remarked that the practice of gift giving is truly redemptive. “A gift says I care about you. Because of such gifts we come to sense our own special worth to other people. We are honored and dignified by them and we are, in a very literal way, redeemed. Receiving a gift impresses us with a deep sense of our own meaning and so helps us to see ourselves in a more noble and respectful light.” (The Word Becomes Flesh, A Psychodynamic Approach to Homiletics and Catechesis and Meditations, Loyola University Press, Chicago: 1974).

Through the gift of Jesus, celebrated once again on this feast of Epiphany as universal savior, God had revealed to us our special worth. Because of Jesus, we are honored, dignified, and redeemed.   Today, as we appropriate anew the saving power of God in Christ, we are thereby challenged to offer similar gifts to one another, viz. gifts which honor, dignify and redeem.

ISAIAH 60:1-6

From the time it was first erected, during the night of August 12-13, 1961, the Berlin Wall bore silent, ominous witness to tyranny and the separation of peoples.   Initially, the “wall” was simply a barbed-wire barricade which was soon replaced by a six foot concrete wall. In 1970, the barrier was raised to a height of ten feet and by 1981, the structure had become a network of walls, electrified fences and fortifications which extended 28 miles through Berlin and 75 miles around West Berlin to completely divide east from west.

When the wall was taken down at the end of 1989, it sounded the death knell of an ideology whose time had passed. As happy Germans chinked away at the symbol of their oppression, their efforts seemed to provide the impetus for an avalanche of change which toppled comparable walls throughout central and eastern Europe. In today’s first reading the prophet known as Trito or Third Isaiah shares with his readers a vision of similar happiness.

Writing near the end of the Babylonian exile (ca 583 B.C.E.) the prophet’s words recalled the promises of homecoming made by Deutero-Isaiah (40:1-11, 43:1-10) and signaled that those promises were now being fulfilled. God had seen fit to gift his people with freedom; their time of exile in Babylon was at an end. No longer confined by the walls of oppression and separation from their own land, they were free to return to Judah.

Using metaphors drawn from nature, the prophet gave graphic expression to his people’s joy.   Like the rising sun whose appearance puts an end to the night, the glory of the Lord will shine on his people.   Darkness and thick clouds were symbols of Israel’s shame and disgrace due to its infidelity to the covenant; these were now being dispersed by the saving power of divine forgiveness.   And like the toppling of the Berlin Wall which had a domino effect on similar regimes throughout Europe, Israel’s experience of liberation and restoration was to have repercussions on the rest of humankind.

Trito-Isaiah’s vision looked beyond his own people to see a universal caravan of nations traveling to Jerusalem to pay homage to the Lord. As prophesied by his predecessor Deutero-Isaiah (49:18, 22) and, as promised to Abraham, his father in the faith (Genesis 12:3), Trito-Isaiah’s vision proclaimed that all the peoples of the earth would be summoned together by God to witness his glory and to receive from him the gift of salvation.

As is evident in the Matthean narrative concerning the magi (today’s gospel), the early church understood that the journey’s end for every seeker of salvation is to be found in none other than Jesus Christ. In him the same gift and glory of God has been fully and finally made manifest for all.

EPHESIANS 3:2-3, 5-6

At last count, and according to the statistics compiled by the Encyclopedia Britannica Book of the Year, 1995, planet earth is currently comprised of 216 countries and dependent states. Each of these brings to the global scene a different and unique facet, shaped by the history, traditions and evolving culture of a particular people. Today’s feast of the Epiphany, underscores the fact that the light of God’s glory and his saving intent are meant to encompass each and every person in the world, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity or creed.   This same point has been made quite emphatically in the excerpted selection from Ephesians.

Traditionally attributed to Paul, but now numbered among the disputed Pauline works, Ephesians is a composite of prayerful wishes (1:3-3:22) and paranetic or persuasive preaching (4:1-6:20), geared toward eliciting a moral response from its readers, most of whom were second and third generation believers. Aware that Jesus’ first epiphany or appearance in their world had already graced them with the gift of salvation, the early Christians longed for his second and final epiphany and for the fulfillment it would bring. To maintain the hope and fervor of his readers while they waited for Jesus’ return, the author of Ephesians kept before their eyes his understanding of God’s purpose for humankind. Referring to this purpose as a secret plan (vs. 3) which had previously been unknown, the Ephesians author pointed out that this plan or mystery was being revealed by the Spirit, through the apostles and prophets.   In other words, through the ministry of the church, the mystery of universal solidarity in Christ Jesus is revealed and perpetuated.

Gentiles, i.e. all the nations of the earth, and Jews have become one in him.   Walls of oppression, barriers of tyranny and hatred, all such separations must yield. Indeed, all the earth’s peoples are heirs of the same promises and gifts. By repeated use of the prefix syn (Greek for with or same), the author of Ephesians described Jews and Gentiles as joint-heirs (sygkleronoma) of the promise, joint-members (sysoma) of the same body and joint-sharers (symmetocha) of all of God’s gifts. As Paul Wrightman (Paul’s Later Letters: From Promise To Fulfillment, Alba House, New York: 1984) has pointed out, it is difficult for us, living nearly two thousand years after the disclosure of this mystery to grasp the truly radical nature of it. “The ancient world clung to the correctness of its divisions with a vengeance.   The Jews considered themselves to be the Chosen; everyone else, the ‘Greeks’, were deemed the ‘unchosen’ and ‘untouchable.’ The Greeks considered themselves to be the sole possessors of civilization; everyone else was a ‘barbarian.’”

Even today, there is ample evidence that God’s secret plan or mystery has yet to be fully grasped. Ethnic cleansing, societal castes, age and gender discrimination, racial bias and prejudice continue to confront believers with the disparity of a faith which is professed, but not yet fully lived, and with a gift which has been received, but not yet fully appreciated. Today’s feast with its universal emphasis begs for a resolution to these discrepancies.

MATTHEW 2:1-12

What Isaiah put before his contemporaries in a vision (first reading) and the Ephesians were called to realize as part of their commitment to Christ (second reading), Matthew (gospel) has detailed in narrative form, viz. that God’s love is universal and that his saving gifts are intended for the benefit of all of humankind.   Part of the infancy narrative which prefaces the gospel and offers a preview of its major theological and christological themes, this pericope serves two functions. Besides offering another example of the evangelist’s concern to give scriptural support for Jesus’ messianic origins (formula citations) this text sets forth the universal scope of Jesus ministry and provides the basis for the subsequent universal mission of the Church.

In the past, there has been an inclination to dismiss the infancy narratives because of their midrashic character. Midrash (from the Hebrew verb darash, to search), is actually a reflective interpretation of scripture. Divided into two categories or styles, midrash may offer halakah or a rule of conduct and a guide for living, or haggadah, i.e. stories which detail the significance of certain heroes or historic events.   While it seems obvious that Matthew engaged in a midrashic style, interpreting the person and purpose of Jesus for his community by referencing some important people and moments of their history, the infancy narratives are nonetheless an authentic vehicle of the good news, deserving of serious attention and commanding a sincere response in faith.

Among the people and events referenced in this pericope are:

(1) Moses; legend has it that when his birth was foretold, Pharaoh was filled with dread and consulted his sages to determine a course of action. Compare this to the reaction of Herod; disturbed by the birth of Jesus he summoned the chief priests and scribes for advice.

(2) Abraham; a star was said to have appeared when he was born striking fear into the heart of king Nimrud because of its message that Abraham’s descendants would one day rule the earth.

(3) the story of Balak and Balaam (Numbers 22-24);   fearing the Israelites, who were approaching his land in such great numbers. Balak, king of Moab, summoned Balaam, a seer (called magos by Philo in his Vita Moyses) to curse Israel. Instead, the seer (magos) was led by God to bless Israel and to prophesy that “a star shall rise from Jacob and a scepter shall rise from Israel” (Numbers 24:17).

(4) David; Intent upon portraying Jesus as the messiah, born of Davidic lineage, Matthew told of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem and supported his narrative with a formula citation drawn from Micah 5:1 and 2 Samuel 5:2 9vs. 6. Recall the fact that David was from Bethlehem and that it was to his dynasty that the messiah was promised (1 Samuel 16:12, 2 Samuel 7:14).

By referencing these important people and events, Matthew effectively presented Jesus as the long awaited Davidic ruler, whose birth was attested by the witness of scripture and the witness of nature (star). In addition, Matthew’s narrative posits Jesus as a New Moses who will lead his people out of slavery (to sin) to enjoy a new freedom in God (salvation).

By contrasting the official Jewish reaction to Jesus’ birth (Herod, chief priests, scribes) with that of the gentiles (represented by the astrologers from the east), Matthew gave a preview of the reception the adult Jesus would receive during his ministry and of the reception the Church would receive after Jesus’ death and resurrection. On all three levels of development, the gospel indicated that many of those who had the advantage of centuries of prophecy and preparation for the messiah (Jews) failed to receive Jesus. On the other hand, those (Gentiles) who had only the lesser witness of nature (star) were eager to seek out and to believe in Jesus.

Finally, the gifts brought by the astrologers underscored Jesus’ royal lineage and divine origins; gold and frankincense were usually offered to kings or to God (Isaiah 60:6, Jeremiah 6:20, Psalm 72:10-11). Myrrh, an aromatic gum used for embalming, pointed ahead to the cross (Matthew 26:12). Matthew’s narrative left no doubt that from the outset of his life, Jesus was to be the epiphany or manifestation of the Father’s universal, saving love.   Through the gift of Jesus, the Father has honored, dignified and redeemed us. Through Jesus, we can hear the Father say to each of us, ’I care about you; you have special worth in my eyes.’ In his capacity as GIFT, we celebrate him today, as leader and Lord, as dying and rising savior and especially as the eucharistic living bread for all.

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