Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord
Is 60:1-6
Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13
Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6
Mt 2:1-12
“They were overjoyed at seeing the star”:
Peace and Joy come from following God’s Voice
My Dear People of God, today we celebrate the gift of God’s
Manifestation of his glory and salvation to the world, the gift of God’s self
to us. We celebrate the gift of the Word that has become flesh in Jesus Christ,
who is a light for our path and a lamp for our feet, the gift of peace and joy
in our lives. In our readings today, God reminds us that he has more blessings
in store for us than we can think of. In the first reading, the People of
Israel had returned from exile but they were going through a tough time
rebuilding their country and their lives. Everything seemed to be falling
apart. It was at that time that God sent the prophet Isaiah to tell the people
to rejoice and rise up in splendor because God was going to glorify them in a
way that they could never imagine. Beloved, these words of God are not history.
The promises of God were not only meant for the people of Israel, but they are
also meant of you and me. As we begin this New Year, we also have some problems
we wish to overcome. We have our fears and anxieties about how 2014 is going to
be. We all hope for something new, for a better life and maybe we are already
struggling with how to rebuild our lives. The prophet tells us, the glory of
the Lord will shine upon you and even though we still see some darkness,
because you have problems, God promises to shine over us to remove the darkness
in our lives, and glorify us. Isaiah says God will do this because he wants to
make us a blessing unto others.
St. Paul, in our second reading, talks about how God revealed some
great mystery to him, a mystery that God did not reveal to the past
generations; and he said God revealed his glory to him so that he, Paul, will
become a blessing unto others. Beloved in Christ, God has something great in
store for you and me in 2014. God promises to reveal his glory to us in a way
that past generations did not know. God promises to reveal his glory to us in a
way that we did not know in 2013. You are a means of God blessing to somebody
in your life and because of that God will bless you in 2014.
However, our gospel reading reminds us that we have to play our
part for God’s promises to come true. The story of the three wise men teaches
us that it is only when we follow God’s instructions and obey his words that we
find his glory. Peace, joy, and the fulfillment of our dreams come about when
human beings do not rely solely on their human wisdom but follow God’s word. If
the wise men had relied only on their own wisdom, they would not have seen the
glory of God in their lives. They needed Scripture to tell them where the Savior
was born, where their joy could be found. In addition, it was because they
followed God’s voice that they returned to their country safe, filled with joy.
Beloved in Christ, let’s take some time to reflect on how we followed God’s
instructions last year. As an individual, find some time to sit down and ask
yourself " how did I do in terms of following God's instruction last year?
Can I do a better job this year? Find some time to sit down with your family
and ask yourselves “How did we do, as a family, in following God’s instructions
last year? Can we do a better job in 2014? Find some time to sit down with your
friends and ask yourselves “How did we do, as friends, in following God’s
instructions last year? Can we do a better job in 2014 ?” Beloved, Peace
and Joy comes from following God’s Voice. My prayer for you and me is
"Christ be our light, shine in our hearts; shine through the darkness.
Christ be our light; shine in your Church gathered today!" Let's join the parishioners of Our Mother of Perpetual Help Parish, Dumaguete City- Negros Oriental to sing out this prayer:
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