{"id":1528,"date":"2015-01-04T12:52:20","date_gmt":"2015-01-04T17:52:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/?p=1528"},"modified":"2015-01-04T12:52:20","modified_gmt":"2015-01-04T17:52:20","slug":"the-epiphany-of-the-lord-homily","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/the-epiphany-of-the-lord-homily\/","title":{"rendered":"The Epiphany of the Lord – Homily"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Epiphany of the Lord<\/a>
\nIsaiah 60:1-6
\nEphesians 3:2-3a, 5-6
\nMatthew 2:1-12
\nJanuary 4, 2015<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Christmas!\u00a0 Well, it\u2019s not Christmas day but we celebrate the Season of Christmas until the Baptism of the Lord, which falls on January 11th<\/sup> this year.<\/p>\n

Christmas is about the birth, the incarnation<\/em> of our Lord Jesus.\u00a0 He came into the world to save people but who did He come to save?<\/p>\n

The scriptures make it clear that Mary and Joseph were good practicing Jews.\u00a0 Jesus was first visited the shepherds and then seen by Simeon and Anna in the temple.\u00a0 Without a doubt Simeon and Anna were faithful and practicing Jews.<\/p>\n

It would be no surprise to the Jews that the first to see Jesus would be Jews.\u00a0 After all, they were a chosen <\/em>people, or as they saw it a privileged <\/em>people.<\/p>\n

Today we hear of the Baby Jesus receiving more visitors, the magi from the east.\u00a0 They travel a great distant to see the newborn king of the Jews<\/em> to do him homage.\u00a0 The thing is they aren\u2019t Jewish.\u00a0 Why would they bother to travel to see Jesus then?\u00a0 Their hearts must have been open to what was happening.<\/p>\n

If this is how Gentiles respond, one would imagine the Jews would be absolutely thrilled at the birth of their new king.\u00a0 Yet many were troubled by the news of the birth of the new king.\u00a0 Among them was King Herod.\u00a0 He was a Jew by ancestry but he didn\u2019t really practice his faith.\u00a0 So, instead of rejoicing at the news of the birth of a new king for the Jews, he plots to have Jesus killed because he is a threat to Herod\u2019s kingship.<\/p>\n

As I already said, the Jews saw themselves as a chosen people and they were.\u00a0 They also saw themselves as an exclusive people to receive salvation.<\/p>\n

The visit of the Magi serves to show that Jesus comes not just for the Jews but also for the Gentiles.\u00a0 As Paul writes, the Gentiles are to be co-heirs with the Jews for the gift of salvation<\/p>\n

Really this was not new.\u00a0 Look at what Isaiah says.\u00a0 He speaks of the light the people receive, fulfilled for us in Jesus\u2019 birth.\u00a0 Isaiah speaks of the people radiating the light such that \u201cNations shall walk by your light<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t say nation.\u00a0 It says nations, plural.\u00a0 600 years before the birth of Jesus the Jews were being told that all are to receive the light God offers but they continued to see themselves as an exclusive people.<\/p>\n

So what does our Church teach today about who gets to be saved?<\/p>\n

For centuries the Catholic Church has spoken about no salvation outside the church<\/em>.\u00a0 For a long time this was interpreted to mean that Protestants couldn\u2019t get into Heaven.\u00a0 The feeling was mutual in many cases as many Protestants thought Catholics had it all wrong.<\/p>\n

Now, for many the pendulum has swung the other way so if you believe in Jesus, it doesn\u2019t matter what denomination you are.<\/p>\n

What does our Catholic Church say today?\u00a0 Certainly, we believe that our Church has heart of the faith but that other denominations had \u201cportions\u201d of the truth of our faith so that salvation is possible for them.\u00a0 The documents of the Second Vatican Council go so far as to recognize that the Jews and the Muslims believe in the same God, even if they have some very different beliefs.<\/p>\n

What about other faiths or no faith?\u00a0 We are to share what we know about Jesus but then to leave it in the hands of God who knows what is the desire of their hearts.<\/p>\n

Salvation is offered to all.\u00a0 We need to let others know about Jesus but then it is their choice to accept the gift of salvation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Epiphany of the Lord Isaiah 60:1-6 Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6 Matthew 2:1-12 January 4, 2015 It\u2019s Christmas!\u00a0 Well, it\u2019s not Christmas day but we celebrate the Season of Christmas until the Baptism of the Lord, which falls on January 11th this year. Christmas is about the birth, the incarnation of our Lord Jesus.\u00a0 He came …<\/p>\n

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