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A Reflection on the Gospel for January 6th, 2019:
The Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord

Matthew 2:1-12

1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, 2 "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him." 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the prophet: 6 `And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will govern my people Israel.'" 7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared; 8 and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him bring me word, that I too may come and worship him." 9 When they had heard the king they went their way; and lo, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; 11 and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

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“For so it has been written by the prophet…”

How many times have we been inspired by the written Word of God?  I have often marvelled at how the Three Wise Men, with all of their collective intelligence, were led to listen and to follow what the prophet had written.  

I imagine that they discussed the prophet’s words among themselves. They connected the appearance of the star in the sky to the words that the prophet had written. They may have plotted the location of the star using their ancient maps and decided how best to go about following it. What is clear is that they saw the star, they realized that they were to follow it, and connected its appearance with what had been written: “…for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.” They had great faith. They used their gifts of intelligence, and they acted on this faith. Upon arriving in Jerusalem, they were open to receiving input, and went to Herod to learn more about the star that they had seen. Then, in a dream, they were told to take a different route home. They again listened to, and followed, what was told to them in the dream.

As we start the year 2019, let us follow the example of the Wise Men. How do we “listen” to God’s words through scripture? I suggest that we first of all find a quiet place, be comfortable, and then read the passage several times. Let us listen with our ears; we may hear God’s words guiding us. Let us listen with our eyes. Some words from the passage will catch our attention, so let us pause to ponder it. Let us listen with our emotions and feelings: the passage may evoke emotions from similar situations we have experienced in the past, and might even make clear things we once did not understand. Finally, let us listen with our thoughts. Most of the time, ideas will come about that will cause us to wonder where they came from. These ideas may have been inspired by God and influenced by the passage we just read.

If we are able to do this, we may find our Bible reading more enriched. We will start feeling a certain closeness to Jesus, and for those of us who do not ‘converse’ with Jesus, we may find ourselves beginning a conversation with Him.  ​

Liz Venezuela

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