Traditionally, the Epiphany of the Lord commemorates three events during the life of Christ. We are all familiar with the visit of the Magi to the infant Jesus at Bethlehem. But the Church also celebrates the Baptism of the Lord as the Epiphany event. And the Wedding at Cana also reveals his divine power at the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus.
I thought about what is common to these three events other than the public manifestation of the divinity of Jesus.
When we look at the people in these three events, we discover intriguing similarities.
First, the Lord chose marginalized or discriminated people to reveal himself. The Magi were foreigners. In a Jewish sense, they were unclean, unholy people. The people who came to John the Baptist in Jordan River for baptism were sinners. And at the Wedding at Cana, those who knew what Jesus did to the water were slaves.
Second, the Lord did not favour those who enjoyed privileges. Herod and the leaders of Israel could not have an opportunity to pay homage to the infant Jesus. John the Baptist upbraided the Pharisees and the Sadducees when he saw them coming to the River Jordan. The master of the wedding feast and the honoured guest didn’t know who provided the better wine.
Is the Lord unfair? Is he discriminating and partial to certain people? No, the Lord gives good things to the good and the evil as well. He wishes to reveal himself to all. That’s why his invitation to the epiphany included foreigners and sinners, the poor and the underprivileged. But those who held the privileges didn’t want the Lord because they themselves liked to be gods. To anyone who thirsts for the truth, Christ reveals himself without reservation.
Under this pandemic, some might feel it challenging to encounter the Lord. The public celebration of the Mass is restricted in many places, and receiving Holy Communion became difficult. We might feel the Lord is closing himself off from us. Or some may suspect that the governments or the clergy shut off the Lord from the faithful. But don’t you think that this pandemic makes us like those the Lord favoured for his epiphany? Those, who were called unclean and, thus, prohibited from entering the Temple, received first the news of the Saviour's birth. Those who had thirsted for the truth from afar were guided by the star to the Lord. Those who lived under the weight of sin and darkness heard first the Father declaring the divine Son. Those excluded from the drunkenness of the wedding feast witnessed the sign of Christ.
When we open the gospels, we will hear his voice. He will teach us the truth and clear away all darkness around us in this hour. When we strive to receive his body and blood, he will fill our souls and hearts with his joy and peace. He will reveal himself to you when you "do whatever he tells you” as his Blessed Mother advises.
