Category Archives: Epiphany

Great events come and go, and sometimes the people who should be aware and recognise such great events end up ignoring or failing to recognise such great events. One reason why they fail to do so is because of their mentality or way of thinking. Some people think that great events only happen in great or important places. Such people are unable to comprehend or accept such great events happening in what they perceive to be lowly or insignificant places. But sometimes, great events do happen in the most unlikely or least expected places.

We know that the Jews were supposed to be God’s chosen people. They were supposed to have been aware of the events that took place in the scriptures and the various prophecies foretold. However, it was the gentiles, the Magi, who recognised a great event instead. The Jews were ignorant and failed to recognise such a great event, possibly because they were so used to thinking about their religion in fixed ways. In their mind, God is found on sacred mountains, in the Temple and in holy places. The Messiah being such a great figure in the prophecies must be born into wealth and power. They were not prepared to accept the fact that God may choose to be born in a stable. Sometimes we too may be so fixed in our ways of thinking and are not open to new ideas. Whenever someone has an idea or suggestion, we shoot it down with our pessimism. Because of this attitude, we stifle growth and change and also put obstacles in the way God is trying to reveal His will to us.

Today’s Gospel challenges us to recognise the stars, especially the star that led the wise men or Magi to Jesus. Our God is a God of surprises and we must be open to Him choosing the way in which He wishes to reveal Himself. Whenever we follow the star, a sign from God, a new idea or a new direction, we may not know where it will lead us. Instead, we are asked to walk by faith, knowing and trusting that God will be there to help and guide us along the way. There may be times that we feel like giving up or we may encounter other distractions. But if we get lost, there is always the star to remind us of our direction and destination. The star isn’t our destination but points to us the way to Jesus, the Light of the World, who has come to show us the way to the Father. May we humbly and joyfully follow Jesus, our star, and remain in His care and love.

Do you recognise Jesus? Do you know if Jesus is standing in front of you right now? Some of us claim to have seen Jesus. Some claim to have felt His presence. Some call Jesus their friend, saviour, redeemer, and many other titles. But do you really know and recognise Him? Do you know what Jesus really expects of us?

In today’s Gospel, we come across different kinds of people who had some involvement with Jesus. We have King Herod who was known as Herod the Great, because he held a large territory. King Herod was called Great, but he was merely a puppet of the Roman empire and had to “kow tow” or pay homage to the Romans, for his power was dependent on their benevolence. King Herod was constantly living in fear and paranoia, since his power could be taken away from him at any time, at the whims and fancies of the Romans. King Herod had heard about Jesus, but did not know Him. All he knew was that Jesus was a threat to his attempt at holding on to power. Herod did not see Jesus as the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy and did not recognise Jesus as the promised one long awaited by his people. He saw Jesus as a threat to be gotten rid of, but as we later discover, King Herod failed to get rid of Jesus, instead he himself was gotten rid of in the end.

We have the wise men from the East who followed the star and were searching for Jesus. These wise men may not have known Jesus well, but when they finally found Him in a stable, they did pay homage to the baby Jesus and by doing so acknowledged him as the King of kings. Another group of people who recognised Jesus were the shepherds. These shepherds were the poorest of the poor and were considered ritually unclean due to the kind of work they did. But unlike the other Jews, these shepherds recognised Jesus and even, as the Gospel tells us, “hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.”

Today, Jesus has revealed himself to all of us. Many of us take for granted that we know and recognise Him, but do we really and honestly recognise him? Have we been blinded by our pride and prejudice, our ambitions, our power, our riches, so much so that we think we recognise Jesus but according to our own terms? Are we prepared to humble ourselves like the shepherds and the wise men from the East, and recognise Jesus among the poor, the weak, the lowly, and even those thought to be insignificant? Let us open our eyes and hearts, so that we may truly recognise Jesus in others, and let us bring His love and care to all.

Some of us like to follow stars. Some like to follow movie stars, singing stars, successful stars, wealthy stars; hoping perhaps that one day we would be like the stars we follow. The wise men in today’s Gospel were also after a star. However, this star is not just any ordinary star. This star is the true star which we should follow: Jesus Christ, King of kings.

To further affirm that Jesus is the true star, even the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh which the wise men brought have great significance. The gift of gold symbolises the kingship of Christ. Jesus Christ is a king, not of this world, but one of justice, peace and love. The second gift is the gift of frankincense. This gift symbolises the divinity of Christ. Christ is no mere human person. He is God made man. He is God with us. Finally, we have the gift of myrrh which points to the passion of Christ. Christ must suffer and die to save us. We must also be prepared to follow his ways and eventually on the way to the cross.

Today, let us choose to follow the one true star that really matters: our Lord and God, Jesus Christ. All other stars come and go, but Jesus is here to stay and He is leading and guiding us to be with him eternally. Are we willing to follow Him earnestly?