[ Today's Readings ]
Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come,
the glory of the Lord shines upon you.
The light of Jesus is revealed to us today. We are the people who walked in darkness. Today we see a great light. We lived in a darkened land. But today light shines. The star which the Magi follow reveals that there are no boundaries to God's mercy. He wants to call all peoples to himself.
Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
We should be grateful. We see darkness all around us. At least, we do if we look. There is terrorism, racism, abortion, and all of the ales of modern times. We see the darkness and recognize a cry for justice. We tend to feel a sense of entitlement here. We think that we are on the side of those who are wronged and so that we will benefit. But we who live in the darkness need the light. Our own hearts reveal inchoate forms of the same evils the darken the world. Anger, pride, lust, sloth, gluttony, greed, and envy live in our hearts as well as in the world. In strict justice we are condemned and without hope in the face of these sins. But we do not face strict justice.
The star that shines today is an offer of mercy for all who desire it. To some degree we have already welcomed this mercy. But today the star calls us to come even closer to Jesus. It calls us to avail ourselves more and more of a mercy which is not just for a select few, not just for a nation, for for the entire human race.
Nations shall walk by your light,
and kings by your shining radiance.
The Magi must apparently have a lot of wisdom and knowledge to recognize the star of Jesus. But they are not too proud to follow it to a little town called Bethlehem to a manger in a stable.
We saw his star at its rising
and have come to do him homage.
We too recognize the star. But we still need revelation to point us ever closer to the king we seek.
They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea,
for thus it has been written through the prophet:
And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
since from you shall come a ruler,
who is to shepherd my people Israel.”
We still need mercy to help us to recognize the humble entrance of our king into the world. With the Magi we listen to revelation. With the Magi we humble our own pride and enter the stable to worship the king of Kings.
They were overjoyed at seeing the star,
and on entering the house
they saw the child with Mary his mother.
They prostrated themselves and did him homage.
Let's us empty the treasures of our lives before him. He is worthy of all that we have and are.
Then they opened their treasures
and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
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