The Revelation of the Incarnation is the theme in the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today.
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| Following the Spirit |
In the passage from the Prophet Isaiah the ingathering of the dispersed exiles led by God is proclaimed.
* [60:1–9] The light the prophet proclaims to Zion symbolizes the blessing to come to her: the glory of the Lord, the return of her children, the wealth of nations who themselves will walk by her light. The passage is famous from its use in the Latin liturgy for the feast of Epiphany.1
Psalm 72 is a prayer for Guidance and Support for the King.
* [Psalm 72] A royal Psalm in which the Israelite king, as the representative of God, is the instrument of divine justice (Ps 72:1–4, 12–14) and blessing (Ps 72:5–7, 15–17) for the whole world. The king is human, giving only what he has received from God. Hence intercession must be made for him. The extravagant language is typical of oriental royal courts.2
The reading from the Letter to the Ephesians describes Paul’s commission to preach God’s Plan to include Gentiles as sharers in the promise.
* [3:1–13] Paul reflects on his mission to the Gentiles. He alludes to his call and appointment to the apostolic office (Eph 3:2–3) and how his insight through revelation, as well as that of the other apostles and charismatic prophets in the church (Eph 3:4–5), has deepened understanding of God’s plan of salvation in Christ. Paul is the special herald (Eph 3:7) of a new promise to the Gentiles (Eph 3:6): that the divine plan includes them in the spiritual benefits promised to Israel. Not only is this unique apostolic role his; Paul also has been given the task of explaining to all the divine plan of salvation (Eph 3:8–9), once hidden.3
The Gospel of Matthew describes the visit of the Wise Men following the star.
* [2:1–12] The future rejection of Jesus by Israel and his acceptance by the Gentiles are retrojected into this scene of the narrative.4
Rev. Richard Gabuzda shares the conversion of St. Augustine of Hippo as he asks do we feel the power of the scripture that today proclaims, “They prostrated themselves and did him homage.” To be prostrate is to be flat on the floor, face down, disarmed, immobile, vulnerable.
Much more than a nod of the head, or a quick genuflection, this gesture expresses the heart’s conviction of being in the Presence of “One mightier than I.” These “foreigners” express through their bodies, the inner stance of deep humility, the only true response in the presence of God in the flesh in Jesus.St. Augustine, reflecting back on his long, tortuous journey to faith, acknowledged that the ultimate block to his final conversion came in the form of pride. It was what he learned through grasping the truth of the Incarnation that provided the way forward: “In this lower world, he built for himself a lowly habitation of our clay . . . so that [people] might go on no further in self-confidence but rather consent to become weak, seeing the Deity before their feet, made weak by taking on our mortality; and wearied, might cast themselves down on him, so that rising again, he might lift them up.” St. Augustine learned through the infant Jesus to surrender to the power of God and to let himself be lifted up.5
Don Schwager quotes “The glory of Christ's divinity is revealed,” by Chromatius (died 406 AD).
"Let us now observe how glorious was the dignity that attended the King after his birth, after the magi in their journey remained obedient to the star. For immediately the magi fell to their knees and adored the one born as Lord. There in his very cradle they venerated him with offerings of gifts, though Jesus was merely a whimpering infant. They perceived one thing with the eyes of their bodies but another with the eyes of the mind. The lowliness of the body he assumed was discerned, but the glory of his divinity is now made manifest. A boy he is, but it is God who is adored. How inexpressible is the mystery of his divine honor! The invisible and eternal nature did not hesitate to take on the weaknesses of the flesh on our behalf. The Son of God, who is God of the universe, is born a human being in the flesh. He permits himself to be placed in a manger, and the heavens are within the manger. He is kept in a cradle, a cradle that the world cannot hold. He is heard in the voice of a crying infant. This is the same one for whose voice the whole world would tremble in the hour of his passion. Thus he is the One, the God of glory and the Lord of majesty, whom as a tiny infant the magi recognize. It is he who while a child was truly God and King eternal. To him Isaiah pointed, saying, 'For a boy has been born to you; a son has been given to you, a son whose empire has been forged on his shoulders (Isaiah 9:6).'" (excerpt from TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 5:1)6
The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 2:1-12 notes that today we celebrate the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy that God would shine his light on all the nations, not just Israel. That’s certainly what happened to the Magi as they followed a star to the home of the newborn King of the Jews. But it seems that God’s light led them somewhere they didn’t expect. And that’s often what light does.
That’s how it works for us too. Think back to a time when you experienced some insight from God. Maybe some confusing aspect of your faith started to make some sense. Or you found clarity about a new phase of life you had entered into. That one “light” didn’t necessarily answer all your questions. It set you on a path, but it didn’t give you the entire road map. So you had to do your best to follow it, and as you did, you sorted out the next step. Each step forward, each choice to be flexible, each response of trust made subtle or not-so-subtle changes in you. Light built on light, and slowly but surely, like the Magi, you started doing things differently. You started to see things as God does, in his light. And that’s what Epiphany is all about. It’s a revelation that changes our hearts.7
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that we need both compassionate action and contemplative practice for the spiritual journey. Without action, our spirituality becomes lifeless and bears no authentic fruit. Without contemplation, all our doing comes from ego, even if it looks selfless, and it can cause more harm than good. External behavior must be connected to and supported by spiritual guidance.
Jesus does not hesitate to dualistically name good and evil and to show that evil is a serious matter. However, he does not stop there. He often speaks in dualistic images, especially in regard to issues of wealth and power: “You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). He draws a stark line between the sheep and the goats, the compassionate and the indifferent (Matthew 25:31-46). Yet Jesus goes on to overcome these dualisms by the contemplative, nondual mind. We can and should be honest about evil, even at the risk of making some people uncomfortable; but we must not become hateful nor do we need to punish the “goats” in our life. We keep going deeper until we can also love them and seek their healing and transformation.8
The guidance of the Spirit is often more intimate through the practice of contemplation and action.
References
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