EPIPHANY SUNDAY: REFLECTION BY FR JULIAN EKEH

THEME: BE WISE, FOLLOW YOUR STAR

(Matthew 2:1-12)

Today is the solemnity of Epiphany of the Lord. We celebrate the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles. The Gentiles are represented by the Wise Men; three of them from the East, standing for the generality of the people Christ has come to save. We celebrate the inclusive love of God against the exclusive mentality of the Jews who thought salvation was only for them and of Herod who thought the kingdom is his. We celebrate the covenant-keeping God, God who remembered His promise to Abraham that He will make his sons as numerous as the stars of heaven. At the appointed time, by the aid of a star He led his people from far and wide and gathered them in faith.

We reflect on how best to follow the star that leads us to our quest and goal.

Steps to follow your star:

DISCOVERY: The star could represent anything that helps one to locate his destiny. The wise men saw it rising, followed it and got their satisfaction.

AVOID THE PALACE: The Palace and Herod are the things along the way that look attractive but are actually distractive. The Wise Men may have been presented with nice delicacies and gifts in the palace. These are distractions.

BE SPIRIT-GUIDED: The Angel spoke and the Wise Men obeyed. Yes they entered into conversation with the evil one but they realised themselves and came back to their senses.

YOU'VE GOT SOMETHING TO OFFER: To get to your goal, to experience the manifestation of the Lord in your life, your academics, your marriage, your business etc. You've got to sacrifice your laziness, sleep, give in your best and use well your precious time.

TREASURE THE GIFTS YOU'VE GOT

In your gifts lie the manifestation of your mission. In the gifts presented to Jesus we saw a manifestation of His mission. In the Gold His Kingship came to light; In the frankincense His Priesthood shone while in the myrrh his Suffering, DEATH and RESURRECTION was shown.

We pray as we celebrate this great solemnity that God may arise in our lives and manifest His power. May Your opportunities and potentials to attain greatness be numerous like the stars.

May Your star never go out of your sight. May the darkness and powers that have made your star not to shine be destroyed.

May no Herod stop you from seeing the greatness, glory and divinity of God in your life through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Happy Epiphany, Christmas & New Year.

Rev Fr Julian O Ekeh

 SOLEMNITY OF EPIPHANY OF THE LORD: Homily by Fr Isaac Chima

Theme: A Call to Be Reflectors of Christ’s Light to the World

Readings: Is. 60:1–6; Eph. 3:2–3a,5–6; Mt. 2:1–12

Dear friends, the solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord Jesus Christ is a great celebration for all of us. The word Epiphany comes from Greek and means “manifestation” or “revelation.” In this solemnity, we celebrate the revelation of Christ to the whole world—to the Gentiles, to all of us who, in the understanding of the Jews of that time, belonged to the Gentile world. We see this in the manifestation of Christ’s star to the Magi, the three Gentile kings who came from the East to visit the newborn Jesus.

The solemnity of Epiphany is a celebration of divine inclusiveness. In this feast, God reveals Himself beyond the borders of Israel. It is a celebration of divine outreach, reminding us that all humanity belongs to God and that every person—regardless of race, tribe, colour, or tradition—is invited to share in the joy of the Incarnation, the birth of Christ. It is a universal celebration, proclaiming that God has come to show His love to the whole world, for “He so loved the world that He gave His only Son for its redemption.” Epiphany celebrates the expansive nature of God’s salvation and the truth that His reign reaches beyond every boundary.

Today’s Gospel offers us important lessons for the new year.

Dear friends, the Lord has been revealed to us in this Christmas season, and His light has shone upon us, as this feast proclaims. Christ wants His light to shine in the world through us. In today’s Gospel, the Magi became the first point of contact between Christ and their nations; they carried His light back to their people. One of the challenges of our world today is that many Christians are shy or afraid to share Christ’s light. Anti-life policies spread in governments because many Christians in leadership fail to reflect Christ’s teaching. Some remain silent out of fear of criticism; others choose the darkness for the sake of money or fame. Dear brothers and sisters, Christ calls us to be the prism that reflects the light of His teaching into the world’s policies and decisions.

Many of our friends do not come to church because those of us who do often fail to reflect Christ’s light to them. Put simply, our lives do not always communicate Christ’s teachings, and our actions do not draw others toward Him or His Church.

Perhaps you have noticed that many Christians hesitate to speak about Christ to their friends. They prefer silence rather than risk losing friendships or causing offense, even when those friends promote ideas contrary to the Christian faith. Dear friends, Epiphany challenges us to be a point of contact between Christ and those who do not come to church. Let our vocation this year be to bring Christ’s light to our friends, illuminating their hearts and lives with the Christian message. Let us be the “Bible” our non‑churchgoing friends can read.

The second lesson is that the Gospel shows us the best way to encounter Jesus. The Magi approached Him with the finest gifts of their culture—gold, frankincense, and myrrh—symbolic offerings for the newborn King. Dear friends, God has blessed us with many talents and gifts, and He wants us to come to Him each day with the best of what He has given us. Our voices for reading and singing, our musical skills, our intelligence for teaching, and our ability to lead—these are all beautiful gifts from God. He wants us to use them to build up the Christian community, our families, and society. Sadly, many people use their talents to create division and confusion. Today, the Church invites us to use our gifts to promote peace, love, and unity in the Church, in our families, and in the wider society.

Peace be with you. Happy Solemnity of Epiphany.

Fr. Isaac Chinemerem Chima

 SOLEMNITY OF EPIPHANY OF THE LORD: Homily by Fr Isaac Chima

Theme: A Call to be reflectors of Christ’s light to the world.

Readings: Is. 60:1–6; Eph. 3:2–3a,5–6; Mt. 2:1–12

Dear friends, the solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord Jesus Christ is a great celebration for all of us.  The word ‘Epiphany’ has a Greek origin and means manifestation or revelation. Thus, in this solemnity, we celebrate the revelation of Christ to the whole world, to the gentiles, to all of us who were in the gentile world according to the understanding of the Jews of that time. We saw this in the manifestation of the star of Christ to the Magi - the three gentile kings who visited the newborn Jesus from the east.

The solemnity of epiphany is a celebration of divine inclusiveness. In this feast, God manifested Himself outside the kingdom of Israel. It is a celebration of divine involvement, a celebration that tells us that all humanity belongs to God and that every one of us, no matter the race, tribe, colour or tradition, is invited to share in the joy of the Incarnation of the Word of God, that is, the birth of Christ. It is a universal celebration, a feast that tells us that God has come to show His love to the whole world, for ‘He so loved the world that He gave His only Son for the redemption of the world.’ The Epiphany celebrates the outreaching nature of God’s salvation. It celebrates the fact that the reign of God reaches beyond earth’s bounds.

Today’s gospel episode has some important lessons for us this new year.

Dear friends, the Lord has been revealed to us this season of Christmas, and his light has shined upon us too, as this feast of epiphany tells us. Through us, Christ wants His light to reflect in the world. In the gospel of today, the Magi became the first point of contact of Christ with their respective countries; they took the light of Christ to their people. One of the problems of our world today is that many Christians are either shy or afraid of spreading the light of Christ to other people. There are anti-life policies everywhere in the government because many Christians in government do not want to reflect the light of Christ. While some Christians in government prefer to be silent out of the fear of being criticized, others outrightly decide to follow the power of darkness for love of money and fame. Dear brothers and sisters, Christ wants us to be the prism that will reflect the light of his teaching in the policies of the world.

Many of our friends do not come to church because many of us who come to church do not reflect the light of Christ to them. Let us put it this way: many of us who come to church do not reflect the teachings of Christ to our friends who don’t come to church, and the actions of many of us do not attract their friends to Christ and the church.

I don’t know if you have noticed that many Christians are afraid to talk to their friends about Christ; they would rather prefer to keep quiet in order not to lose their friends or offend them, even when those friends are doing or suggesting things that are against the Christian faith. Dear friends, Epiphany challenges us to be a point of contact of Christ with our friends who do not come to church. Let our vocation this year be to take the light of Christ to our friends so that we will illumine their hearts and lives with the Christian message. Let us be that Bible which our friends who don’t come to church can read.

The second lesson is that the gospel tells us the best way to encounter Jesus. To encounter Jesus in the gospel of today, the Magi took the best gifts from their culture. They went with Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh, symbolic gifts to adore the newborn king. Dear friends, God has blessed us with numerous talents and gifts, and so He wants us to come to Him every day – to worship Him every day – with the best of the gifts He has given us. For example, our beautiful voices to read and to sing in the church, our skills on musical instruments, our intelligence to teach others, and our ability to lead others in small and large groups are all beautiful gifts from God. He wants us to use these gifts to build up the Christian community, which is the body of Christ, our families, and the civil society. It is unfortunate that many people rather use their talents to create confusion and problems in the society. Dear friends, today, the Church challenges us to use our talents to work for peace, love, and unity in the church, in the family, and in the larger society.

Peace be with you. Happy Epiphany

Fr. Isaac Chinemerem Chima

 EPIPHANY OF THE LORD: REFLECTION BY FR. JULIAN EKEH

THEME: BE WISE, FOLLOW YOUR STAR

(Matthew 2:1-12)

Today is the solemnity of Epiphany of the Lord. We celebrate the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles. The Gentiles are represented by the Wise Men; three of them from the East, standing for the generality of the people Christ has come to save. We celebrate the inclusive love of God against the exclusive mentality of the Jews who thought salvation was only for them and of Herod who thought the kingdom is his. We celebrate the covenant-keeping God, God who remembered His promise to Abraham that He will make his sons as numerous as the stars of heaven. At the appointed time, by the aid of a star, He led his people from far and wide and gathered them in faith.

We reflect on how best to follow the star that leads us to our quest and goal.

Steps to follow your star:

DISCOVERY: The star could represent anything that helps one to locate his destiny. The wise men saw it rising, followed it, and got their satisfaction.

AVOID THE PALACE: The Palace and Herod are the things along the way that look attractive but are actually distractive. The Wise Men may have been presented with nice delicacies and gifts in the palace. These are distractions.

 

BE SPIRIT-GUIDED:

The Angel spoke, and the Wise Men obeyed. Yes, they entered into conversation with the evil one, but they realized themselves and came back to their senses.

YOU'VE GOT SOMETHING TO OFFER: To get to your goal, to experience the manifestation of the Lord in your life, your academics, your marriage, your business, etc. You've got to sacrifice your laziness, sleep, give in your best, and use well your precious time.

 

TREASURE THE GIFTS YOU'VE GOT

In your gifts lie the manifestation of your mission. In the gifts presented to Jesus, we saw a manifestation of His mission. In the Gold, His Kingship came to light; in the frankincense, His Priesthood shone while in the myrrh his Suffering, DEATH and RESURRECTION was shown

We pray as we celebrate this great solemnity that God may arise in our lives and manifest His power. May Your opportunities and potentials to attain greatness be numerous like the stars.

May your star never go out of your sight. May the darkness and powers that have made your star not shine be destroyed.

May no Herod stop you from seeing the greatness, glory, and divinity of God in your life through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Happy Epiphany, Christmas & New Year.

Rev Fr Julian O Ekeh