The Feast of Epiphany

Today we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany, a feast that reveals to the world the divine presence, divine presence in the humanity, visible and palpable, so that the world may worship Him in truth and in spirit. The Incarnation was not a gift to a single community, but a precious gift to humanity. In the Incarnation God gives Himself, He gives Himself in a little child, so that man, whatever his state of life, may associate himself with His birth and appropriate the joy offered by this divine intervention.  God wanted to make us happy by an act of liberation, a Lamb who will immolate himself by shedding his blood. By this act, he will take away the sin of the world, illuminating the hearts of men with his own Light. We are called to hold this light and be the light of the world.

The feast of the Epiphany is a feast of Light, which will remove all kinds of darkness. This feast helps us to purify our thoughts conditioned by the world and to liberate us from our ignorance about this God who loves us. A child is born to us, a Saviour is given to us.  As we heard in the first reading, "All the people of Sheba shall come, bringing gold and incense; they shall declare the deeds of the Lord. "We need others, sometime strangers, even an enemy  that we may recognize the wonders done by our Lord. Before the world saw this child, the Magi took the road, each in his own way, his own pilgrimage, towards Jerusalem, the holy city, of course, accompanied by the star in the sky. The prophets will guide them towards the good direction, towards Bethlehem.

God reveals to us through this event His mystery, a great mystery of salvation. From now on, we all become one people, the people of God. There will be no more division, neither race, nor people, nor worship, nor culture. We are one body, sharing the same promise and the same inheritance, moving forward together, in prayer, in contemplation of the Word of God, putting this Word into action, at the service of the people, so that the world may be saved. 

The road is long, tiring and sometimes fraught with obstacles. There are moments when everything seems to tip over, nothing works as it should. It is then that the starlight disappears and doubt wins us over. Displaced, we no longer know where we are and in which direction to go. In these moments let us trust in God and let us get back on our feet, our faith will guide us. God will find a solution for us, we must remain faithful and sincere, without losing hope.  If we remain faithful, God will point us in the right direction and we will see the star again, with it our happiness and the light of life.

The Magi have seen, as it was foretold. They were happy and joyful, to kneel down before this Holy Child and adore Him. Among men, they were the first who adored this child, as it should be, recognizing already from his birth the Lamb who is going to be slain. God will make us discover His mysteries, in due time.

The story of this gospel ends with a warning: "Do not return to Herod. Our fidelity demands radical obedience to the divine will, total trust in the project that God proposes to us, open at all times to the new or to the unknown or unforeseen adventure.  The star that led the Magi will also lead us to the Crib and will guide us towards the true search for God, a God who dwells in the midst of our daily lives. Amen.