Epiphany Of The Lord.Jesus is Welcomed by the Pagans.

                                                                          

Antoni BigCuore *

Date: 05.01.2019, Saturday, 11:12 am

Location: São Paulo,SP.,Brazil

This Sunday the Church celebrates the feast of the Epiphany, which means manifestation. The child of God manifests himself to the world as the prophets of the Old Testament predicted.

Today's text is set forth in the Gospel of St. Matthew, chapter 2, verses 1 to 12.

Antiphon: "In Bethlehem in Judea, for thus it is written through the prophet:" And you, Bethlehem, the land of Judah, is by no means the least of the chief cities of Judah, to lead Israel, my people "(cf. v. 6, chapter 2) (Pauline Bible, pastoral edition, p.

Herod, then governor, learns of the guide star and tries to entice the wise men to tell him when to find the Boy.

A. BIGCUORE´S COMMENT: There are two dimensions in this text that serve as a basis for good reflection.

First, God manifests himself to the simple, to the true worshipers. The Magi (they were pagans) enter the house and see the Child with Mary, his Mother. They knelt down before him and paid him homage. Then they opened the coffers, and offered gifts to the boy: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Warned in a dream, that they should not return to Erodes, they departed into their country by another way "(verses 11 and 12).

All the people awaited the coming of the Messiah Savior. Herod, they did not want to worship anything; he wanted, in fact, to kill the Child God, for this was THREAT to his throne, to his earthly power! Herod's SELFISH attitude.

The simple, humble people, yes, this one wanted to SEE the Boy! He wanted, like the Magi, to go to the MEETING with the Child Savior! It is imperative to note that the Magi were shepherds and pagans, and yet they wanted to SEE Jesus; they wanted to see the true Messiah!

Jesus is later REJECTED by elites and the poor in spirit, embrace him, welcome him as truly being the Son of God, the expected Messiah.

By way of illustration, the late Father Leo of Song Nova, in one of his books, says that Jesus was the most persecuted man in humanity. Already born persecuted! Haha!

But, it is the most admired and loved by most people, worldwide !. So much is its importance, that history is divided BEFORE Christ, BC, and after Christ, DC.

Second dimension. Sign of contradiction: Jesus is rejected by his people, especially by the elite of Israel and welcomed even by the pagans. See the present case of the Pastors, humble people and they were considered pagans. Another case of the Roman Centurion: "Lord, speak only a word and my servant will be healed!"

Conclusion: Verse 12: "Warned in a dream, that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their country, following another way." What other way is this? It's the way of CONVERSION !. After this event, the magical shepherds were never again the same people. They recognize in Jesus, the Messiah, the Savior whom the prophets had long ago predicted would come to Israel.

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PERSONAL AND GROUP REFLECTION:

01. What are the paths leading to the encounter with Jesus?

02. Which way are you looking for my brother, my sister?

03. Is it really that our communities (churches) are on the way out to meet the weakest?

04. What, we Christians, must we do to CHANGE our ATTITUDES to improve the process of evangelization?

05. What do you mean by conversion?

(*) author is Friend of the Good, Writer and Evangelizer. Know your Blog Bem Viver Brazil and antonibigcuore.blogspot.com (self-knowledge, spirituality and healthy life) and its poetic and philosophical link: www.recantodasletras.com.br/autores/antonibigcuore

Original: 07.01.2018, amended 05.01.2019.

Tool: Google tradutor.