Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord (6th January)
1st Reading: Isaiah 60:1-6
A Radiant New Jerusalem
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[1] Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen
upon you. [2] For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness
the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon
you. [3] And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of
your rising.
[4] Lift up your eyes round about, and see; they all gather together, they come
to you; your sons shall come from far, and your daughters shall be carried in
the arms. [5] Then you shall see and be radiant, your heart shall thrill and re-
joice; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of
the nations shall come to you. [6] A multitude of camels shall cover you, the
young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come.
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Commentary:
60:1-64:11 In the central section of Third Isaiah, the restored Jerusalem has a
wonderful radiance; it is the dwelling place of the glory of the Lord, and from it all
the nations will hear about God’s salvation. These are chapters that shine with
hope and joy. In the opening verses, Jerusalem, the Lord’s spouse, is invited to
leap with joy, for the glory of the Lord will light up the holy city, which will become
a beacon for the nations (60:1-22). From there, too, the Lord’s herald proclaims
the good news of salvation to the poor, the oppressed and all who labor under
some burden (61:1-11). The holy city will radiate righteousness for all the nations
to see (62:1-12). Finally, the Lord, depicted as a conqueror, enthroned in a glo-
rious Jerusalem, is proclaimed as the sovereign lord who wilt judge and reward
and punish (63:1-64:11).
60:1-22. These verses are a magnificent hymn to Jerusalem, completely re-
stored, idealized; the prophet does not need to identify it by name. The most re-
markable feature of the city is its radiance, mentioned at the start and end of the
poem (vv. 1-3 and 19-22): it stems from the glory of the Lord, who has made the
city’s temple his dwelling-place. The city acts as a magnet for all the nations, not
only because it instructs them by means of the Law and by the word of God, as
we heard at the start of the book (2:2-4; cf. Mic 4:1-3) but also because they are
in awe of its splendor. The central verses of the poem rejoice in the pilgrimages
that make their way to the holy city: first, those of Israelites, who had been scat-
tered across the world: the pilgrims are most happy and they bear rich gifts for
the Lord (vv. 4-9). Foreigners will come, too, and they will bring precious mate-
rials to reconstruct and embellish the city they previously destroyed. The obei-
sance they must do corresponds to the harm they did earlier (vv. 10-14). But the
most important event is the arrival of the Lord who will bring gifts in abundance,
the most precious being peace (vv. 15-10) and light (vv. 19-22). This picture of
the new Jerusalem (one would expect) must have raised the spirits of those en-
gaged in the final stages of the rebuilding of the temple.
This poem clearly has resonances with the eschatological description of the hea-
venly Jerusalem in the Revelation to John (cf. Rev 21:9-27). Some of the wording
is virtually the same: cf. v. 3 with Rev 21:24 (“By its light shall the nations work;
and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory into it”); v. 11 with Rev 21:25-26
(“its gates shall never be shut by day--and there will be no night there”); v. 14
with Rev 3:9 (“I will make them come and bow down before your feet”); v. 19 with
Rev 21:23 (“the city has no need of sun or moon to shine upon it, for the glory of
God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb”) and 22:5 (“night shall be no more;
they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they
shall reign for ever and ever”). The hopes harbored by the early Christians (and
the consolation to which the new people of God look forward) are in continuity
with the hope felt by the ancient people of Israel. The message of Isaiah and
that of the book of Revelation were each (in different historical contexts) calling
for firm faith in the Savior of all. The New Testament fills out the Old by openly
declaring that God saves us through his Son, Jesus Christ.
60:4-9. The pilgrimage described here comes from all corners of the earth, and
yet it is a familial one. It is made up of people who were scattered throughout the
known world, and not just those exiled in Babylon. Those from the west come by
sea (v. 5), bearing the sort of goods normally transported by sea, particularly by
Greek and Phoenician merchants. Those from the east, from the Arabian penin-
sula (Kedar and Nebaioth) and further afield will travel in caravans bringing pre-
cious commodities typical of the area--silver, gold etc. (v. 6). The visit of the Magi,
who came bearing presents to adore Jesus, is in line with the sort of commerce
that was current at the time, and it is probably connected with this text of Isaiah.
Certainly, when this passage is read in the liturgy on the Solemnity of the Epi-
phany, the implication is that those rich gifts brought to the temple in honor of the
Lord prefigure those that the Magi offered to him who is truly the “Lord your God”,
“the Holy One of Israel” (v. 9). “Today, the wise man finds lying in a manger the
One he had searched for as a brilliant light shining among the stars. Today, the
wise man sees wrapped in swaddling clothes the One he long sought to find, un-
veiled, in the heavens. Today, to his great surprise, the wise man discerns in
what he studies: heaven on earth, earth in the heavens, man in God, and God in
man; what the whole universe could not contain inhabits the body of a child. And
seeing all this, he believes and doubts no more; and he announces it to all, using
his mystical powers: incense for God, gold for the King, and myrrh for the One
who will die. Today, the Gentile who was once last is first, because the faith of
the wise man sanctifies the belief of all the peoples” (St Peter Chrysologus, "Se-
mones", 160). And Eusebius of Caesarea comments: “The conversion of the Gen-
tiles glorifies the Church of God in a special way. The prophecy, "I will glorify my
glorious house" [60:7], is fulfilled. This promise was made to the old Jerusalem,
the mother of the new city, who, as has already been said, was the community
of all among the ancient people who lived righteous lives--the prophets and patri-
archs, all just men, those to whom the coming of Christ was first proclaimed”
("Commentaria in Isaiam", 60, 6-7).
2nd Reading: Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6
St Paul's Mission
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(I am) [2] Assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that
was given to me for you, [3a] how the mystery was made known to me by reve-
lation, [5] which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations
as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; [6]
that is, how the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and par-
takers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
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Commentary:
1-21. Christ's saving work on behalf of the Gentiles, calling them to be, with the
Jews, living stones in the edifice of the Church, leads the Apostle once again to
overflow in prayer (vv. 14-21). But first he considers his own position and what
Christ has done in him by making him a minister or servant of the Mystery of
Christ (vv. 2-13). He witnesses to the revelation he himself has received, which
made this Mystery known to him (vv. 2-5); and he goes on to give a summary
of the Mystery, emphasizing the call of the Gentiles to the Church through the
preaching of the Gospel (v. 6); he then explains that his mission is precisely to
preach the Mystery of Christ to the Gentiles (vv. 7-13).
1-4. What led to St Paul's imprisonment was Jewish charges that he had
preached against the Law and had brought Gentiles into the temple (they thought
Trophimus, a citizen of Ephesus, was a Gentile: cf. Acts 21:28f). He did not mind
so much the chains or the imprisonment or the Romans being his judges and
jailers: what he wanted to make clear was that he was imprisoned for preaching
to the Gentiles the salvation won by Jesus Christ.
He is very conscious of being an instrument specially chosen by God: he has
been given the grace to reveal the "Mystery" (cf. Rom 1:15; 2 Cor 12:2f). He is
clearly referring to the vision he had on the road to Damascus (cf. Acts 9:2) and
possibly to later revelations as well. His encounter with the risen Christ, who
identifies himself with his Church (cf. Acts 9:5), is the origin and basis of his
grasp of God's eternal plan, the "Mystery", which is one of the central teachings
in this letter. The fact that Christ revealed himself to Paul and chose him to be
the preacher of the Gospel to the Gentiles is something which Paul sees as
part of the systematic implementation--the "oikonomia"--of God's plan.
5. In the Old Testament the promise made to Abraham revealed that in his off-
spring all the nations of the earth would be blessed (cf. Gen 12:3; Sir 44:21); but
how this would happen was not revealed. The Jews always thought that it would
come about through their exaltation over other nations. Through the revelation
Jesus made to him, St Paul has discovered that God has chosen another way--
that of bringing the Gentiles into the Church, the body of Christ, on equal terms
with the Jews. This is the "Mystery", the plan of God as revealed by the mis-
sion Christ gave his apostles or envoys (cf. Mt 28:19), of whom St Paul is one
(cf. 3:8). Once again, as in 2:20, prophets are mentioned together with apostles;
this may mean either the Old Testament prophets who announced the coming
Messiah, or the New Testament prophets, that is, the Apostles themselves and
other Christians who had insight, through revelation, into God's saving plans for
the Gentiles and who proclaimed them under the inspiration of the Spirit.
The context and other passages in Ephesians and elsewhere in the New Testa-
ment (cf. Eph 4:11; 1 Cor 12:28f; Acts 11:27; etc.) would suggest that he is re-
ferring to New Testament prophets. The Holy Spirit has revealed the Mystery to
them "that they might preach the Gospel, stir up faith in Jesus the Messiah and
Lord, and bring together the Church" (Vatican II, "Dei Verbum", 17). St Paul does
not see himself as the only person to whom it has been given to know the Mys-
tery revealed in Jesus Christ. All that he is saying is that, by the grace of God, it
has been made known to him and that its preaching has been entrusted to him
in a special way, just as it was given to St Peter to preach it to the Jews (cf.
Gal 2:7).
St Paul attributes to the Holy Spirit the revelation of the Mystery, recalling, no
doubt, how he himself came to know it after his meeting with Jesus on the road
to Damascus (cf. Acts 9:17). It is the Spirit also who acts in the apostles and
prophets (cf. Acts 2:17), and it is he who on an on-going basis vivifies the
Church, enabling it to proclaim the Gospel. "The Holy Spirit is the soul of the
Church. It is he who explains to the faithful the deep meaning of the teaching of
Jesus and of his mystery. It is the Holy Spirit who, today just as at the beginning
of the Church, acts in every evangelizer who allows himself to be possessed and
led by him. The Holy Spirit places on his lips the words which he could not find
himself, and at the same time the Holy Spirit predisposes the soul of the hearer
to be open and receptive to the Good News and to the Kingdom being pro-
claimed" (Paul VI, "Evangelii Nuntiandi", 75).
Gospel Reading: Matthew 2:1-12
The Adoration of the Magi
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[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 kind 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 wor-
shipped 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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Commentary:
1. "King Herod": four different Herods are mentioned in the New Testament. The
first is Herod the Great, referred to in this passage and in the next; the second,
his son, Herod Antipas, who had St. John the Baptist beheaded (Matthew 14:1-
12) and who abused our Lord during His passion (Luke 23:7-11); the third, Herod
Agrippa I, a nephew of Herod the Great, who executed the Apostle St. James
the Greater (Acts 12:1-3), imprisoned St. Peter (Acts 12:4-7), and died sudden-
ly and mysteriously (Acts 12:20-23). The fourth, Herod Agrippa II, was Herod
Agrippa's son. It was before him that St. Paul answered Jewish accusations
when he was a prisoner in Caesarea (Acts 25:23).
Herod the Great, who appears here, was the son of non-Jewish parents. He
came to power with the aid and as a vassal of the Romans. He was a consum-
mate politician and among other things he rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem on a
lavish scale. Herod the Great had a persecution complex; everywhere he saw
rivals to his throne. He was notorious for his cruelty: he killed over half of his ten
wives, some of his children and many people of standing. This information de-
rives largely from the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, who wrote towards the
end of the first century, and it confirms the cruel picture drawn in the Gospels.
"Wise men": these were learned men, probably from Persia, who devoted them-
selves to the study of the stars. Since they were not Jews, they can be consi-
dered to be the very first Gentiles to receive the call to salvation in Christ. The
adoration of the wise men forms part of the very earliest documented tradition:
the scene is already depicted at the beginning of the second century in the
paintings in the catacombs of St. Priscilla in Rome.
2. The Jews had made known throughout the East their hope of a Messiah. The
wise men knew about this expected Messiah, king of the Jews. According to
ideas widely accepted at the time, this sort of person, because of his signifi-
cance in world history, would have a star connected with his birth. God made
use of these ideas to draw to Christ these representatives of the Gentiles who
would later be converted.
"The star had been hidden from them so that, on finding themselves without their
guide, they would have no alternative but to consult the Jews. In this way the
birth of Jesus would be known to all" (St. John Chrysostom, "Hom. on St.
Matthew", 7).
St. John Chrysostom also points out that "God calls them by means of the
things they are most familiar with; and He shows them a large and extraordinary
star so that they would be impressed by its size and beauty" ("Hom. on St. Mat-
thew", 6). God called the wise men in the midst of their ordinary occupations,
and He still calls people in that way. He called Moses when he was shepher-
ding his flock (Exodus 3:1-3), Elisha the prophet ploughing his land with oxen
(1 Kings 19: 19-20), Amos looking after his herd (Amos 7:15).... "What amazes
you seems natural to me: that God has sought you out in the practice of your
profession! That is how He sought the first, Peter and Andrew, James and John,
beside their nets, and Matthew, sitting in the custom-house. And--wonder of
wonders!--Paul, in his eagerness to destroy the seed of the Christians" (St. J.
Escriva, "The Way", 799).
"Like the Magi we have discovered a star--a light and a guide in the sky of our
soul. `We have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.' We
have had the same experience. We too noticed a new light shining in our soul
and growing increasingly brighter. It was a desire to live a fully Christian life, a
keenness to take God seriously" (St. J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 32).
4. In all Jewish circles at the time of Jesus, the hope was widespread that the
Messiah would come soon. The general idea was that he would be a king, like
a new and even greater David. Herod's worry is therefore all the more understan-
dable: he governed the Jews with the aid of the Romans and cruelly and jealous-
ly guarded his crown. Due to his political ambition and his lack of a religious
sense, Herod saw a potential King-Messiah as a dangerous rival to his own
worldly power.
In the time of our Lord, both Herod's monarchy and the occupying Romans
(through their procurators) recognized the Sanhedrin as the representative body
of the Jewish people. The Sanhedrin was, therefore, the nation's supreme coun-
cil which ruled on day-to-day affairs, both religious and civil. The handling of the
more important questions needed the approval of either the king (under Herod's
monarchy) or the Roman procurator (at the time of the direct Roman occupation
of Palestine). Following Exodus 24:1-9 and Numbers 11:16, the Sanhedrin was
composed of 71 members presided over by the high priest. The members were
elected from three groupings: 1) the chief priests, that is, the leaders of the prin-
cipal priestly families; it was these families who appointed the high priest (the
chief priests also included anybody who had formerly held the high priesthood);
2) the elders, or the leaders of the most important families; 3) the scribes, who
were teachers of the Law or experts on legal and religious matters; the majority
of these scribes belonged to the party or school of the Pharisees.
In this passage of St. Matthew only the first and third of the above groups are
mentioned. This is understandable since the elders would have no authority in
the matter of the birth of the Messiah--a purely religious question.
5-6. The prophecy referred to in this passage is Micah 5:1. It is worth noting
that Jewish tradition interpreted this prophecy as predicting the Messiah's exact
place of birth and as referring to a particular person. The second text thus tea-
ches us once more that the prophecies of the Old Testament are fulfilled in
Jesus Christ.
8. Herod tried to find out exactly where the Child was--not, of course, to adore
Him, as he said, but to dispose of Him. Such was Herod's exclusively political
view of things. Yet neither his shrewdness nor his wickedness could prevent
God's plans from being fulfilled. Despite Herod's ambition and his scheming,
God's wisdom and power were going to bring salvation about.
9. "It might happen at certain moments of our interior life--and we are nearly al-
ways to blame--that the star disappears, just as it did to the wise kings on their
journey.... What should we do if this happens?
Follow the example of those wise men and ask. Herod used knowledge to act
unjustly. The Magi used it to do good. But we Christians have no need to go to
Herod nor to the wise men of this world. Christ has given His Church sureness
of doctrine and a flow of grace in the Sacraments. He has arranged things so
that there will always be people to guide and lead us, to remind us constantly
of our way" (St. J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 34).
11. The gifts they offered--gold, frankincense and myrrh--were those most valued
in the East. People feel the need to give gifts to God to show their respect and
faith. Since they cannot give themselves as a gift, which is what they would wish,
they give instead what is most valuable and dear to them.
The prophets and the psalmists foretold that the kings of the earth would pay
homage to God at the time of the Messiah (Isaiah 49:23). They would offer Him
their treasures (Isaiah 60:5) and adore Him (Psalm 72:10-15). Through this
action of the wise men and the offering of their gifts to Jesus, these prophecies
begin to be fulfilled.
The Council of Trent expressly quotes this passage when it underlines the vene-
ration that ought to be given to Christ in the Eucharist: "The faithful of Christ vene-
rate this most holy Sacrament with the worship of latria which is due to the true
God.... For in this Sacrament we believe that the same God is present whom the
eternal Father brought into the world, saying of Him, `Let all God's angel worship
Him' (Hebrews 1:6; cf. Psalm 97:7). It is the same God whom the Magi fell down
and worshipped (cf. Matthew 2:11) and, finally, the same God whom the Apostles
adored in Galilee as Scriptures says (Matthew 28:17)" (Decree, "De SS. Euchari-
sta", Chapter 5).
St. Gregory of Nazianzen has also commented on this verse, as follows: "Let
us remain in adoration; and to Him, who, in order to save us, humbled Himself to
such a degree of poverty as to receive our body, let us offer not only incense, gold
and myrrh (the first as God, the second as king, and the third as one who sought
death for our sake), but also spiritual gifts, more sublime than those which can be
seen with the eyes" ("Oratio", 19).
12. The involvement of the wise men in the events at Bethlehem ends with yet
another act of respectful obedience and cooperation with God's plans. Christians
also should be receptive to the specific grace and mission God has given them.
They should persevere in this even if it means having to change any personal
plans they may have made.
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase
The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.
[참고: 이 파일은 저서명 "가톨릭 교회의 말씀 전례에 따른 성경공부 해설서"(엮은이: 소순태, 출판사: 가톨릭출판사)의 각주의 연장으로 마련되었습니다].