Priest Gonzalo Martín shares with Exaudi readers this article about the feast of the Epiphany, “The star that shows us the light,” celebrated every January 6.
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The feast of the Epiphany celebrates the collapse of the wall that separated men, making all of them one people (Eph 2:14), because “the Gentiles are also joint heirs, members of the same body and partakers of the Promise in Jesus Christ, for the Gospel” (Eph 3:6).
The God who is born in Bethlehem is not the God of a people, but the God of man. The light that is born in Bethlehem cannot be imprisoned, that is why it rises, in the form of a star, to the firmament, to ignite the hope of all nations and illuminate their steps in the search for Truth and illuminate all our realities.
The Gospel story provides lessons of great depth because it presents us with the Magi as theologically significant and transformative figures for the Christian life.
From a situation of search, open to the Truth, at the slightest hint they abandon their securities and set out on their way. And, they become pilgrims of truth and faith, they ask, they investigate and, finally, they prostrate themselves and worship the Truth, which enlightens them to return by another path to their personal realities after offering their gifts. A search that manifests itself in the poverty of a child, which does not disappoint them, but, on the contrary, strengthens them in their path.
Attitudes of the Magi, which differ from that of Herod, who feels threatened, or that of the High Priests and lawyers of Jerusalem, who, knowing the prophecies of Scripture, did not take a step to seek and discover the Light of humanity.
The Bible does not tell us the characteristics of these Magi, but based on found manuscripts, we can discover that Melchior is known as an old man with a white beard who offers that gold for the kingship of Christ. It is said about Gaspar that he would be from the Asian area carrying incense because that Child is Divine. While Balthasar would be black, giving The Savior myrrh, a substance that was used to strengthen the wounds of the collapsed and sick and embalm the corpses, symbolizing the humanity of Jesus.
Given all this, and relying on Saint Augustine, who tells us in his sermons on the Epiphany, that the Magi arrived on the 13th day after the birth of the Lord, we deduce that the festival, for this reason, is celebrated, according to our calendar, on January 6th.
In Matthew, in chapter II, it is mentioned: “When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? Because we have seen his star, and we have come to worship him…”
The liturgy of this day invites us to celebrate the solemnity of the Epiphany, the manifestation of the Lord as light and savior of humanity, who was born in a hidden grotto in Bethlehem, on a cold and dark night, which was illuminated by the Star.
May that Light shine on each one of us today, through that Incarnate Word of God that illuminates and guides each of our steps, if we are willing like the Magi, to travel the path, to go out in search and to have the capacity to kneel and worship the small, the simple, the humble that we contemplate in the Child God of Bethlehem.
And when we have that capacity, like the Magi, we will always be able to return to our lives with an illuminated heart, transformed and capable of returning to our lives along a different path. Because the Manifestation of the Savior of Men, held in Bethlehem, is not a nice theory, but rather a personal encounter with the Son of God, who illuminates our entire existence from faith.
Today, we have the opportunity to become seekers again, to set out on the path, to let, on the one hand, the Star of Faith lead us again to the personal Bethlehem of our particular history, and at the same time we are illuminated by who It is the Light, to be stars and light on the path of life for others.
Don’t stop searching, don’t stop in your walk. The Star that guided the Magi, wants to guide you too, so that you return to your life along a new and illuminated path, capable of surprising us and allowing us to be surprised by the great Mystery of the Child God born in Bethlehem, to be the light of the world, and the savior of men.
The Illusion of gifts does not go out. God gave himself to us in the Magi of the East. Will we be able to gift ourselves in the form of gold, frankincense and myrrh to others? Will we allow ourselves to continue to be illuminated by Faith and be luminous “stars” for others? Will we have the ability to prostrate ourselves before our brothers, to live in continuous adoration of our God?
Let us return along another path, not to give reasons to the “herods” of today, but to meet and walk hand in hand with our brothers, and make the Light of Love incarnated in our days shine.
May the Star illuminate us and make us see from the true Light: Jesus.
Happy and holy day of Epiphany.
