The Epiphany of the Lord which we remember this weekend, celebrates the manifestation of our Lord to the whole world, the shining forth of the Light of the World, the manifestation of the Incarnation to the entire world beyond the Jewish world. The three kings symbolize the coming of God to the Gentiles, the entrance of God into all of the world in all of its history.
Today’s Liturgy is surrounded with other epiphanies: the manifestation of God’s marriage to us, symbolized in the wedding feast at Cana, the manifestation of Christ’s Sonship in His baptism by John the Baptist in the River Jordan, and finally His Presentation in the Temple, otherwise known as Candlemas Day – February 2nd. This latter celebration marks the closing of the various manifestations of God’s incarnation for us in our world, beginning with Christmas and ending with His presentation in the Temple.
The essential reality of the Christian religion is that God reveals Himself to us. God comes to us; He makes Himself known to us at our own level, in our humanity. It is fundamental to Christian belief that God entered our human condition in order to enter into communion and close communication with us. From Adam and Eve until now it is God who comes to search us out; it is not we who search God out.
Materiality carries within it spirituality. The meaning of having a body is to allow for communion of spirits. This fact flies in the face of any sort of “other world” spirituality. It undercuts the spiritualities that tell us flesh is evil, that the world is totally corrupt, that materiality is a bad thing because it imprisons the human spirit. Catholicism celebrates the holiness of material things in order to show the sacredness of things created by God. The Catholic vision is to see what is inside, to manifest the Spirit Who moves within them because God has entered into our material world. Hence bread, wine, fire, incense, water, oil, candles, and all of the other things we find in Catholic churches, are seen to be conveyors of God’s Holy Spirit. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh are therefore apt symbols to be presented to the God Incarnate now manifesting Himself to us in His creations, particularly His crowning creation, the humanity of men and women.
Read more
|
.jpg)
