|  | Epiphany |
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| | refers to the divinity of Jesus “shining upon” theearth, in other words, the manifestation of his divine nature |
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| | God addresses the city ofJerusalem as a woman—the “you |
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| | Jerusalem as “the daughter of Zion” (Isa 62:11) or even “the virgindaughter of Zion |
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| | Zion, ofcourse, was the ridge on which David built the royal palace, and was thus theheart of the city, which in turn was the heart of Judah, which was the heart ofIsrael. |
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| | Zion” or “Jerusalem” oftenrepresent the entire chosen people of God. |
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| | As Christians, we understand “Jerusalem” and “Zion” to refernow to the Church, which is the “heavenly Jerusalem |
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| | Maryis “the virgin daughter of Zion” in a unique way. |
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| | Mary was this virgin daughter of the royalline, a descendant of David. |
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| | Maryappears as the daughter of Zion in person. The Zion prophecies are fulfilled in her in an unexpected way |
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| | presence of God within his people willdraw not only the traditional people of God (Israel), but even distant nationswith very different cultures, like Sheba (either southern Arabia or Ethiopia |
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| | Solomon’sreign was a high point of the history of the people of Israe |
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| | Solomonruled over a multi-national empire (1 Kings 4:21), an empire that foreshadowedthe multi-national spiritual empirethat is the Catholic Church. |
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| | the last time that caravans arrivedin Jerusalem bearing gold and frankincense from Sheba (mentioned in the FirstReading) was during Solomon’s reign |
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| | Jesusoutdoes Solomon, because even as a toddler, the wise men of the East arealready coming to him to acknowledge his greatness and show him honor. Jesus is a better, wiser Son of David thaneven Solomon himself. |
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| | a “mystery” of God thathas only now been revealed to the world, namely, that the Gentiles(non-Israelite nations) are “coheirs, members of the same body, and copartnersin the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel. |
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| | We so take it for granted that “all people are God’schildren” that it’s hard to re-create the sensation of novelty that St. Pauland other early Jewish Christians felt at the concept that the pagan nationswere being invited by God into his covenant people. Certainly most Jews in antiquity did notforesee this: the Essenes at Qumran, who gave us the Dead Sea Scrolls, thoughtthe future of the Gentiles was only destruction or servile subjugation under aworld-wide Israelite empire. |
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| | Essenes did not reasoncorrectly from the Scriptures, because there are a wealth of direct andindirect Old Testament prophecies of the Gentiles sharing the glory of God withIsrael in the end times, including Isaiah 60 |
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| | Gentile Magi from the East, coming to worship Jesus, area foretaste and anticipation of age of the Church, when the doors to salvationwill be thrown wide open to all thenations of the earth. |
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| | annual“state of the world” address given by the Pope traditionally concludes with theHoly Father offering greetings and blessing to the gathered pilgrims in sixtysome world languages. It is a movingsight to witness this, and here the cheers of each language group gathered inthe plaza at the feet of the successor of Peter as he speaks to them in theirown tongue. It is a visible sign of thefulfillment of the word of the ancient prophets of Israel, that one day theLORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would be worshiped in all the nations ofthe earth. |
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| | Magi were learned men, the academics or scientists oftheir day. |
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| | According to the Jewish historian Josephus,Herod was a brutal tyrant, perhaps partly insane, who executed large numbers ofpolitical opponents as well as members of his own family, including several ofhis wives and sons. |
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| | If Herod became disturbed, people would die. |
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| | Frankincense and myrrh” areonly mentioned together in the Old Testament in the Song of Solomon, where theyare nuptial perfumes employed by Solomon and his bride to prepare for theirmarriage. |
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| | God communicated to them using a languagethey understood: the language of the stars. |
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| | Magi, however, are notwise guys but Wise Men, who demonstrate a true wisdom. |
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| | True wisdom recognizeswisdom’s limits. |
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| | There is somethinghigher than wisdom, and that is love |
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| | Love is the ultimate wisdom. |
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| | These intellectuals get down on their kneesand bow before something greater than themselves: the Love of God |
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| | Far from detracting from their wisdom, theirhumility in the face of Love enhances it. |
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