Our Guiding Star
(Is.60:1-6; Eph.3:2-3, 5-6; Mt.2:1-12)
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany, and the end of the 12 days of Christmas.
In Greek, ‘epiphaneia’ means ‘appearance’ or ‘revelation’, so on the Epiphany we remember the moment when the Wise Men of the East discovered the infant Jesus in Bethlehem.
Christmas and the Epiphany are like bookends at either end of the 12 days of Christmas. Christmas is Jesus’ birthday, when he’s revealed to Israel as a little boy. And at the Epiphany, he’s revealed to all the world as a divine king. So, together, Christmas and the Epiphany reveal to us the fullness of Jesus’ humanity and divinity.
Now, some people wonder why the Wise Men chose to follow a star. Today it seems like a strange thing to do, but in ancient times people were fascinated by the sky. Indeed, the Magi are believed to have been priestly scholars and astronomers who interpreted the dreams of kings and nobles and who studied the movement of the stars.
In those days, changes in the celestial sky were thought to be a sign of major events, such as the birth or death of a king, and the appearance of a bright new star would have been exciting.
The Magi would have been introduced to the Hebrew Bible by the Jews exiled in Babylon, and they’d have known Balaam’s messianic prophecy that ‘a star shall come forth from Jacob’ (Num.24:17).
Today, travellers use all sorts of sophisticated technology like GPS to work out where they are and where they’re going. But in ancient times, people navigated differently. The Vikings used to interpret the behaviour of birds. Eskimos studied the snow. Polynesians watched the waves and the Greeks read the clouds and smelt the air.
And many cultures, including the Phoenicians, Babylonians and Indigenous Australians used to carefully study the movement of the sun and the stars to work out where they were going. [i]
The Polynesians did, too. You can see this in Disney’s movie Moana. Polynesian sailors found their direction by memorising where the stars rose and set, and by using their hands to make calculations. [ii]
Today, the question is: do we know where we are and where we’re going?
When the Wise Men of the East followed the Star of Bethlehem, they travelled about 1,000 kilometres and eventually found Jesus, the ‘bright morning star’ (Rev.22:16). They took a risk. They stepped outside their everyday lives, and were rewarded by discovering the source of all wisdom and joy.
Which star will you be following this year?
Many people today love following movie stars, pop stars and sports stars, while others chase the stars of fame, fortune and fun. The problem, however, is that these things are hollow. They might seem attractive, but ultimately they only lead to disappointment.
This year, why not do something more meaningful?
Pope Benedict XVI used to describe the Epiphany as a ‘feast of light,’ because it reveals Christ as the Light of the World. Indeed, all our readings today reveal how Jesus shines a bright light into the darkness.
In our first reading, Isaiah has a vision of Jerusalem as a holy city where God’s light will shine, bringing peace and love and hope to all.
In our second reading, St Paul tells the Ephesians that God’s peace and love and hope are available to everyone, regardless of who they are and where they come from.
And in today’s Gospel, Matthew reinforces this message.
The Magi weren’t Jewish; they were complete strangers to Israel, yet they still followed the signs to Jesus. Like the shepherds, they show us that Jesus belongs to everyone, and not just a select few.
Pope Francis once said that the journey of the Magi symbolises the destiny of every person. Our life is a journey, he said, illuminated by the lights which brighten our way, to find the fullness of truth and love which we recognize in Jesus, the Light of the World.
And to the novelist Joseph Conrad, epiphany is ‘one of those rare moments of awakening’ in which ‘everything [occurs] in a flash’. It’s a moment when a light shines in the darkness, when everything becomes clear and we discover something new.
This year, let’s resolve to follow Jesus, to really get to know him, and let his light shine into our hearts.
[i] https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/secrets-of-ancient-navigators/
[ii] https://theconversation.com/amp/how-far-theyll-go-moana-shows-the-power-of-polynesian-celestial-navigation-72375