With these wonderful, joyful and hope-filled words of the prophet Isaiah, we proceed into 2018 celebrating the Epiphany, the manifestation of Jesus as our Messiah and Lord. The season grows brighter as the days begin to lengthen. Saint Irenaeus, one of the great Fathers of Christian antiquity, tells us in one of his sermons that the Magi from Matthew's Gospel were eventually given the names: Casper, Melkior and Balthasar. Upon finding Jesus, Mary and Joseph in a cave near Bethlehem, they brought with them the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh: gold fit for a King; frankincense offered to God and myrrh used to prepare a body for burial. These were the perfect gifts for the Divine King whose life and ministry changed so many lives over the centuries. Biblical scholars refer to the story of the Wise Men as a 'HAGGADAH' comprising bits and pieces of Biblical oral tradition that points to a more profound truth for the community. So how can these gifts be translated for us?
Gold - The gift of our loving hearts, giving beyond ourselves, our fears and our excuses.
Frankincense - Remain faithful to prayer and to worship. We are called to grow, to give of ourselves, to be grace and light to the world.
Myrrh - Preparing ourselves for the final encounter with God who is continually drawing us on deeper into areas where we are uneasy, uncertain and lack confidence. What a challenge!
Epiphany means we can choose to be light and life-bearers like the Magi or we can reject that life and light like Herod. We trust that Jesus, for us Christians and those who believe in him, would be our shining and guiding star in 2018!
Happy New Year from Ronaldo and Daniel, your brothers.
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