Prayer and worship are our responses

January 4, 2004 -- Feast of The Epiphany of the Lord

By Bishop Robert Morneau

	Bishop Robert Morneau
	Questions for reflection: 1. What is the central message on this feast of the Epiphany? 2. How do you reveal the Spirit of Jesus working in your life? 3. What testimony have you given to the mystery of Jesus as savior and redeemer?

"Don't put all your eggs in one basket," so says conventional wisdom. We Christians refuse to embrace this advice. We put all our hope in the person of Jesus who is, in his divinity and humanity, the manifestation of God's love and light to the world. On this feast of the Epiphany, we empty our baskets of gold, frankincense, and myrrh and take away our prized possession, the Lord Jesus.

Rev. Gerald O'Collins, S.J., teaches theology at the Gregorian University in Rome. His book, Christology: A Biblical, Historical, and Systematic Study of Jesus (Oxford University Press, 1995), is a scholarly work that attempts to explain how Jesus has been and is being understood by the great minds in history. Here are several passages from O'Collins' work that might shed some light on our feast today.

"His [Jesus] mission was to announce God and the coming of the divine rule. The present and future kingdom was the immediate theme of Jesus' message, even if that message also involved some astonishing implications about his own person" (66). We see in the Gospel account, aspects of Jesus' mission even as an infant. The astrologers from the east are symbols of the extent of God's kingdom. God's will is for the salvation of all; Jesus came to bring redemption to the whole universe. Jesus, true God and true man, made manifest God's reign in the hearts of all humankind.

Through baptism we are called to participate in the same mission and ministry of Jesus. Our lives are to reveal, in the unique circumstances of our life, the coming of God's kingdom. We do that by being agents of truth, instruments of God's love, channels of freedom and justice. Through the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives we are to be "epiphanies" (manifestations) of God's presence.

"Peter, Paul, and other apostolic witnesses who meet the risen Christ are understood to have the mission of testifying to that experience and founding the Church" (92). This is exactly what St. Paul does in the second reading for today's Mass. Paul tells of how God gave him the ministry of passing on God's secret plan: "in Christ Jesus the Gentiles are now co-heirs with the Jews. . ." St. Paul experienced the risen Lord, an epiphany that transformed his life. This event led him to bear witness to the person of Jesus even to the point of death.

We too are called to testify, to give witness to how God has been at work in our lives. The birth of a child, a moment of reconciliation with a family member or neighbor, experiences of spiritual growth and development, all participate in some way in the marvelous works of God: creation, redemption, and sanctification. God continues to break into our lives and prayer and worship are our responses.

"With the crucifixion and resurrection, Christians grew also into a fresh understanding of God. The first Good Friday and Easter Sunday revealed God in suffering, new life, and unconditioned divine love" (100). Isaiah the prophet speaks about the light and glory of the Lord. From our Christian perspective, Jesus, in his death and resurrection, is that light and glory revealing God's extravagant love. This is what makes our hearts throb and overflow. This divine radiance and appearance calls forth our highest praise.

The feast of the Epiphany begins a serious study of the person of Jesus. We pray this Sunday with the whole church: "Father of light, unchanging God, today you reveal to people of faith the resplendent fact of the Word made flesh. Your light is strong, your love is near; draw us beyond the limits which this world imposes, to the life where your Spirit makes all life complete. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen" (alternative opening prayer for the feast of the Epiphany).

(Bp. Morneau is the auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay.)