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Sunday 5 January 2025 Epiphany (transferred)

The Mystery Revealed at the Edges – That All Belong

Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:2-3,5-6; Matthew 2:1-12

By John Sargent

Member of the L’Arche community, working in formation; Deacon in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool

Context: Sunday Eucharist in a suburban parish

Aim: to encourage us to show up, to seek signs of hope in unexpected places, and to offer our gifts in service to our world

An Epiphany is the revealing, the making known, of something that has been hidden. Jesus is born in rather a hidden way. An insignificant couple from the northern and un-regarded town of Nazareth, come down the 70 miles to Bethlehem, itself six miles outside the political and religious capital of Jerusalem. Pawns of the Roman Empire, needing to register for the imperial census and tax system, they find no room to stay in and so end up camping in a stable with the animals. Jesus is born there, hidden and on the edge, precariously so. But something bigger is happening. First, shepherds from the hills, of the tribes of Israel but religiously unclean, come down to see the newborn baby, praising God for this sign of new hope. Then something even stranger. A group of wise ones from far away countries in the east turn up in Jerusalem, asking to see the ‘infant king of the Jews’. These wisdom-seekers had seen a new star in the sky and, according to the wisdom of the day, had taken it for a sign of a divine event, a new royal birth. Assuming that any new king would have been born in the royal city, they travel to Jerusalem. But the prophecy points to the humble city of David, to Bethlehem, rather than to Herod’s political and religious capital. And so, the wise ones encounter the infant Jesus. In some way they recognise him as king, priest, and suffering prophet as they offer gifts of royal gold, divine incense, and anointing myrrh.

This recognition, this sign of hope, finds an echo in the first reading from the book of Isaiah. The words spoken are to a people who have been in exile in Babylon, a people who have been exiled from their homeland and their traditions, a people subjugated and separated. The prophet cries out a word of hope, ‘Arise, shine out, Jerusalem, for your light has come,’ your exile is coming to an end, the people are coming home. And not only that, but the nations from east and west will come and bring you gifts. As it was in the time of the Babylonian occupation, so now will it be in the Roman occupation. A light has come, a hope has come, and the nations from east and west will come and bring gifts. And it is these representatives of the gentile world, the nations from afar, in all of their diversity, who will recognise the new hope. And this light, this hope, shines not from Jerusalem, not from the centre of power, but from the historic edge, Bethlehem, the city of David, the least likely of the sons of Jesse to be chosen as king. God does not see as other people see; God sees the heart. We might say this is a ‘truth hidden in plain sight’, a mystery.

In the second reading, Paul speaks to the Ephesians about the mystery that has been revealed to him. Paul too had an epiphany! What is this mystery? It is that all the nations share equally with the people of Israel the promise and choice of God. All the nations are co-heirs, co-members, co-partners, with Israel as the chosen People of God. The Body of Christ embraces the whole world. This is the mystery that Paul speaks of, that was revealed to him. And it is the mystery that is revealed at the beginning of Jesus’ life by the visit of the magi.

How do we read these words in our context today? How does this Epiphany speak to us? What does this revealing of the mystery mean for each of us? Certainly, that each one of us is a co-heir, a co-member, a co-partner, in Jesus, the Christ. What a dignity and a responsibility that is for each of us! And if that is true for me, then it is true for you, and it is true for each and every one. We are all co-members in the Body of Christ.

This Epiphany does not give us an answer to all the questions and struggles that we face, as individuals and as a society. But it does give us a way of approaching the questions, an interpretative key, to help us discern. The Epiphany gives us the key to hold in front of any question - the unique dignity of each person and at the same time the dignity of the body as a whole, the common good. I am included in the body; my family, my town, my denomination, my country, are included in the body; so too are all the nations from east and west included in the body.

Today, we are called, liked the shepherds and the magi, to show up, to search for new signs of hope, to look in unexpected places, to look to the edges, to notice the Christ mystery everywhere, to give thanks, and to offer our gifts in service to our world.

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