EPIPHANY: THE INVITATION TO COME CLOSER TO CHRIST
(Matthew 2:1:12)
Today is the epiphany of the Lord
Jesus Christ. It is a solemnity. That word 'Epiphany' has a Greek origin and
means manifestation or revelation. Thus, in this solemnity we celebrate the
revelation of Christ to the gentiles which we saw in his manifestation of
himself to the magi; the three kings who visited from the east. The names of
these kings as given by extra biblical sources are: Melchior, Casper and
Balthazar.
Our celebration today is a
celebration of divine inclusiveness. Here, God manifests Himself outside
Israel. It is a celebration of divine involvement. God gets each and every one
of us no matter the race, tribe, colour or tradition involved in coming to
partake in the joys of the incarnation and salvation. It is a universal
celebration. God has come to show His love to the world, for He so loved the
world that He gave His only Son.
This celebration celebrates the
outreaching nature of God. It celebrates the fact that the reign of God reaches
beyond earth bounds. We see the frustration of rejecting and playing God. We
see also the joy of worshipping and adoring God, the joyful reverence of the
wise men showed us this, while the foolishness of Herod teaches us the lesson
not to try deceiving God.
INSIGHT FROM THE GOSPEL
ASK THE RIGHT PERSONS FOR
REVELATION
Where is he who has been born
king of the Jews? Was the question of the wise men. This question is a good
one. This is an enquiry of a genuine soul, a soul searching to know, a soul in
quest of revelation, a soul longing to be enlightened, one seeking to
understand.
But unfortunately, the question
was asked to the wrong person, Herod. Who do you run to when faced with doubts
and confusions concerning your faith, your life, your marriage, your vocation,
etc?
If you stumble upon the wrong
persons you will receive heresy, lies, confusions, emptiness and total failure.
You may play yourself into the hand of one who wants your doom. That was what
happened to Eve when she discussed with the serpent. Beware of who directs you.
Spiritual direction matters a lot
in the journey to God, in the desire to know God, in the effort to come closer
to God. The devil does not want you to worship Christ whose light continually
invites you. But don't give in to his deception.
The enemies of your salvation go to
the extent of knowing the plan of God for you, so as to pull you down. Yes, as
you inquire to know God, a lot of forces inquire on how to come up with
temptations and even persecutions to weigh you down. Herod did all these.
BEWARE OF FALSE WORSHIPPERS
Our world today is filled with
false worshippers here and there. They present themselves as good people of God
but in reality, they are not. They parade themselves as those who have
something good to offer but in truth, they have nothing to offer. They speak
tenderly to you and you feel they are for real, but they are like the
Pharisees. The false worshippers call
Lord, but their hearts are far from God. The false worshippers pretend to help
people see God and take people to God, but they in actual sense take people
away from God and put a pillar of darkness preventing the people from seeing
God. They come to Church, but it is for evil purposes. They come to kidnap,
they come to steal, they come to seduce, they come to womanize, they come to
make a show, they come to distract themselves and others. They use 'fake
godliness' to cover a multitude of evils. Beware of them! They like Herod come
to you promising to worship as well, but otu awughi ezi (it is all
false).
FOLLOW THE STAR
Continue along the way of transparency
and holiness. Sustain the initial spark of divine light in you. Be inclined
unto the noble, towards the ultimate good. Shun the drive that makes you forget
where you're coming from and where you're going to in your prayer life, in your
sacramental life, in your vocation, in your marriage, education, business etc.
Keep on walking in the light of faith (lumen fidei) which in itself is the
light of the nations( lumen gentium) that shines from Christ, revealing Him to
the world of sin and darkness. The wise men saw this light and followed it. Let
us follow the direction of light always.
OFFER GOD WHAT YOU HAVE
In great joy the wise men opened
their treasures and offered what they had to the new born king they saw. They
gave significant gifts, symbolic indeed. They gave gold, frankincense and
myrrh.
Coming to worship the Lord, coming
to see the manifestations of God, one must sacrifice that which he treasures
most. Enter into a romantic exchange with the Lord. Give him your gold (your
authority, your pride, your talents, your powers) Give him your frankincense (your
prayers, your services, your worship, your praise and your joys) Give him your myrrh (your sorrows, your pains, your tears, your fears, your
frustrations, your family problems, the sicknesses and the deaths).
REFUSE TO SERVE THE AGENTS OF
THE DARKNESS
When the wise man completed their
offerings, they followed another way home according to the instructions of the
angel of God.
Know when you're serving the
interest of the agents of darkness. They come to steal your joy, to put away
your light, to frustrate your ambitions, to make you spiritually restless. Take
the joy of the Lord home. Carry the blessings of living in the presence of God
to wherever you're. The light of Christ shines in you. Let it shine in your
families, in your life, in your endeavours and bring you to salvation.
LET US PRAY
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for
bringing us into the light of faith. Let this light shine steadily in our world
that tries like Herod to destroy your reign.
Take absolute control of the whole universe and help us to find our joy
in you through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Happy Epiphany Sunday.
Rev Fr Julian O Ekeh
#Epiphany #SolemnityOfEpiphany #FrJulianEke #FrIsaacChima #CatholicChurch
No comments:
Post a Comment