First Stumbling Block on the Path of Epiphanies – Based on Cycle C Gospel Reflections Until the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Advent was in the past...so was Christmas. Now we are in the short period of Ordinary Time in the liturgical calendar (Cycle C, this year), as Lent is fast approaching with Ash Wednesday, which is February 10, this year.

We began the liturgical year with Advent, preparing for the first epiphany, which is the Nativity of the Lord. Upon this event, more and more epiphanies have been taking place, as the liturgical year advances, through the Christmas season, and beyond.

In this context, epiphany means theophany - visible/tangible manifestation of the invisible God. It is not limited to what the Feast of Epiphany (the Magi's homage to Jesus) is about. In fact, the Magi's visit to Jesus is just one of the epiphanies.

I view the liturgical year by focusing on epiphanies and see how the series of epiphanies, starting with the Nativity of the Lord, will lead us, as the liturgical year continues to unfold.

In following the flow of the path of epiphanies, you will find an abrupt disruption in narrative of the Gospel reading for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Luke 4:21-30).

Let us reflect what this disruption, which I call "the first stumbling block on the path of epiphanies", is about, in light of our own sinfulness. Perhaps, this is a good preparation for Lent.
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Though it is still technically Christmastide, the new liturgical calendar makes this time the First Segment of Ordinary Time, which runs from the Monday after the Sunday feast of the Baptism of the Lord until the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday.  It means that Jesus is no longer an obscure figure from Nazareth that nobody, except for some few, knows about. 

When Angel Gabriel sent God’s greetings to announce her pregnancy with the Son of God (Luke 1:26-38) as the fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 7:14, the world was set for the series of epiphanies as theophanies, starting with the Nativity of the Lord (Matthew 1:18-24, Luke 2:1-21), followed by  the Presentation of the Lord/Purification of Mary (Luke 2:22-40), the Magi’s Homage to Jesus (Matthew 2:1-12), the Baptism of the Lord (Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-23, John 1:29-33), and so forth.  All of these events of Jesus’ life are epiphanies, as God has manifested in all of them, visible to human eyes, though only to those who were spiritually fit.  To those who were not because of their narcissism, pride, and ignorance, epiphany is a totally foreign concept, as they see Jesus as one of these men in Nazareth.  To many of them, Jesus was seen rather an eccentric man. 

Liturgically, the Christmas Season (not to be confused with Christmastide) concluded with the feast Sunday of the Baptism of the Lord, and now we are in the first short portion of Ordinary Time to see further epiphanies that Jesus makes, after his baptism.  In fact, the Baptism of the Lord signifies the beginning of his public ministry - also meaning that Jesus is no longer an obscure figure in Nazareth. Before his Baptism, only a few folks, such as Mary, Joseph, shepherds who witnessed the Nativity, the Magi, Anna and Simeon, who recognized baby Jesus as the Messiah in the Temple, knew Jesus as the Messiah, the very theophany, the invisible God manifesting in visible human flesh in the body of Jesus. To most of the people, Jesus was “just” the son of Joseph, the carpenter in Nazareth. However, Jesus was no longer so upon his baptism.  After his baptism, Jesus became rather a public figure, who has no place to hide, as said in Matthew 8:20, all the way to his death on the Cross.  If he had a hiding place for himself, Jesus could have evaded such a humiliating public execution to be killed. Actually, even if he had ever had, Jesus sure would not hide himself from the public, once he was baptized. It is because his baptism signified the commissioning of Jesus to embark on his public mission to fulfill the Father’s will for our salvation, as prophesized in Isaiah 52-53.

When we think of our Sacrament of Baptism, we think of it as enjoining in God’s family or becoming adopted family members of God or being grafted into the True Vine as its branches (reflecting John 15:1-17). To us, commissioning is symbolized by the Sacrament of Confirmation. However, the Baptism of the Lord is not just baptism. It is more like how adults join the Catholic Church through the Sacrament of Baptism and the Sacrament of Confirmation at the same time, upon their successful completion of a formation process, such as RCIA program – rather than how children first receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, then, first the Sacrament of the Eucharist, after a bit of CCD education program, and the Sacrament of Confirmation, upon the CCD education program.

As Jesus came out of the water of the Jordan River during the baptism, heaven opened and the Father in heaven spoke – Jesus, the one who was baptized, is His beloved Son, whom He is well-pleased, upon sending down the Holy Spirit on him to anoint (Luke 3:22). Jesus coming out of the surface of the Jordan River is a critical epiphany moment as it was the Son of God manifesting (phainein) above (epi) the surface of the water. This surface of the water in the Jordan River symbolizes the obscurity, as well as the preparatory period of Jesus to be commissioned.  For this reason, the Christmas Season ends with this feast and gives its way to Ordinary Time. 

In fact, Jesus did not start his public ministry immediately after his baptism.  Following his baptism, the anointing with the Holy Spirit, and the Heavenly Father’s blessings, the Holy Spirit took him to the desert for the final testing and spiritual “tune up”, as he was tested by Satan. During these 40 days, Jesus was pulled back into obscurity by the Holy Spirit. Then, he came public and was exposed to the public scrutiny, which will eventually kill him in Jerusalem, we will reflect during Lent. This is how the Messianic Secret is being revealed gradually toward his death and resurrection – and beyond, as we will further reflect from Easter into the second part of Ordinary Time all the way to the week of Christ the King week to end the liturgical year.

In this regard, the whole liturgical calendar is about progression of epiphanies as theophanies. 

Ordinary Time began with the Monday after the feast Sunday of the Baptism of the Lord. Following this first week in Ordinary Time, we celebrated the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, reflecting on the first miracle that Jesus performed – turning water into the choicest wine during the wedding banquet at Cana (John 2:1-12). This is also the first epiphany made by Jesus himself. Until then, all the aforementioned epiphanies were made by the Father, who sent the Holy Spirit.  On the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, we reflected on the very first teaching of Jesus (Luke 4:14-21).

According to Luke, Jesus began teaching at the synagogue in his home town, Nazareth. He opened the scroll of Isaiah and read its 61th chapter (the original scroll has no chapter and verse numbers) on the Messiah to bring the glad tidings (Good News) for the poor (Anawin). Then, he proclaimed that this prophesy was being fulfilled as the congregation in the synagogue hear Jesus citing the prophesy from the scroll. The Gospel reading for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time picks up from there in Luke 4:21.

In the Gospel narrative for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, there is a 180-degree turn in the progressive mode of the series of epiphanies ever since the Nativity. 

As Luke 4:21 tells, the people who heard Jesus preaching on Isaiah 61 were amazed at the gracious words that came out of the mouth of Jesus on the prophecy being fulfilled. However, when some people in the crowd asked, “Isn’t he the son of Joseph?” , the congregation suddenly grew hostile toward Jesus, and the situation became too dangerous for Jesus to be not only in the synagogue but also in the town of Nazareth.

The statement, “Isn’t he the son of Joseph?”, totally change the tone on the path of epiphanies that Jesus was making.  By opening the scroll and revealing it meaning to be fulfilled in his teaching, Jesus was letting invisible God manifest in his “dabar”, which means spoken words, as well as the one who speaks the words, in Hebrew.  As Jesus was making epiphany in his teaching, the salvific will of God was made manifested through “dabar” of Jesus – the spoken words of Jesus, as well as Jesus himself, as he is the Word, which is God (John 1:1), is in visible flesh (John 1:14).  The congregation in the synagogue heard “dabar” and were amazed. Then, the statement, “Isn’t he the son of Joseph?”, was cast into that epiphanic moment to spoil the epiphany in “dabar”.  That statement turn the Jesus’ spoken words –“dabar” into mere dead words.  With this, the congregation that was amazed a moment ago became spiritually blind and deaf, as they were no longer able to recognize the divine manifestation in Jesus and his words.  Instead of their amazement with epiphany that Jesus made as he read the words of Isaiah in the scroll, now hatred and anger kicked in.

 This marks the very first stumbling block casted in the progressive path of epiphanies toward the death and the resurrection, and it is what signifies the Gospel reading for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

From now on, for the rest of the liturgical year, we will reflect more and more of such stumbling blocks in the path of epiphanies.  This is particularly the case during the Lenten Season, intensified on Good Friday. In fact, the change of the congregation’s attitude toward Jesus from the Third Sunday to the Fourth Sunday in the Gospel readings from Luke 4 can be juxtaposed to how the people of Jerusalem changed their attitude to Jesus during the final week of Jesus’ life, upon entering the City of Jerusalem.  When Jesus made a triumphant entry into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey, the people joyfully shouted to him, “Hosanna in the highest!” However, they shouted, “Crucify him!  Crucify him!” to Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor of Judea, within the same week.  Therefore, by comparing and contrasting the Gospel readings for the Third Sunday and the Fourth Sunday already alludes to what the Holy Week reflects: Jerusalem’s praise of Jesus, believing him as the fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9, but soon demanding to kill him.  Since the Lenten Season is just around the corner, soon we will start reflecting and pondering upon this all the way to the Paschal Triduum.

We will see how Jesus, who himself is epiphany, will continue to make epiphanies, as he journey from Galilee to Jerusalem on his mission. As he journeys on, more and more epiphanies will be made by Jesus, through his miracles, teaching, and healing  - gradually revealing  the apocalyptic nature of God’s salvific scheme.  At the same time, Satan reacts to the epiphanies, as the spiritual ignorance of the congregation reacted to the epiphanic teaching of Jesus with the statement of “Is he the son of Joseph?”  and spoiled the epiphany.  We will need to pay attention the world’s ignorance and sinfulness will react to each epiphany of Jesus with our denial, contempt, accusation, and persecution, through the rest of the liturgical year. Most importantly, we will see how the epiphanies that Jesus continues to make will lead the victorious epiphany, once again, that the Father makes through the Holy Spirit, on Easter. And, Jesus will continue to make more and more epiphanies after his resurrection, as we will see throughout Eastertide.

p.s. You may also see the slide I have made for the scripture class I teach on this topic.

https://www.academia.edu/s/9155c76d79

Christian Unity - Peter, Paul, Thomas Aquinas

With the theme of “Called to proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord”(1 Peter 2:9), we have just concluded the Week of Christian Unity, which runs from January 18 until 25.  The Octave of Christian Unity begins and ends with special days in the liturgical calendar. 

January 18 marks the beginning of the celebration of the feast of Cathedra Petri at Rome (the Chair of St. Peter in Rome), until February 22. January 25 is the memorial feast of St. Paul’s Conversion.  Thus, the Octave of Christian Unity begins as we begin celebrating St. Peter being the first Pope, and concludes celebrating the conversion of St. Paul. 

Christians come together to proclaim in “una voce” of our shared experience of being delivered out of darkness  of our sins and ushered into the salvific light of God. In a way, this year’s Christian Unity theme is about being enlightened with God’s saving light, which is the mercy of God and the love of God.  In the Catholic tradition, the summit of unity upon proclaiming our shared evolving salvific experience of God’s light out of the darkness of sins is found in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Because the Eucharist is Christian unity as One Body of Christ being broken to nourish us, in our gathering, to keep us as One Body of Christ with Many Parts (1 Corinthians 12:12). 

The “Unam Corpus Christi” that we make up, by putting our diverse gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:1-11), bound by One Holy Spirit (e Spiritus Unam), is an embodiment of our “una voce” that reflects 1 Peter 2:9, with our heartfelt thanksgiving to God for delivering us from darkness into His light. 

Upon closing the Octave of Christian Unity, we have celebrated the Conversion of St. Paul. This is no coincidence, as Paul’s conversion was indispensable for the unity of the Church.  Unless Saul, who was a zealous persecutor of early Christians and enemy of the Church, converted and became Paul, which means “being humble”, churches may not have been established in the culturally diverse Gentile world. 

It was really Paul, who heralded the Apostolic Church, to break the wall between the Jews and the Gentiles, to bring people of all nations together as One Body of Christ, as described in his first letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 12:12-31). What is hold people of various diverse backgrounds together in harmonious unity is love, which is supported by faith and hope, according to Paul (1 Corinthians 13). Furthermore, in Romans 5:5, Paul indicates that this holding love for our unity as One Body of Christ is the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the essence of One Body of Christ with many parts, which represent various gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:8-10, Romans 12:6-8) bestowed upon each of us, is love, which is the essence of the Holy Spirit. 

In fact, this unity, as One Body of Christ, the ultimate sacramental embodiment of love that Jesus has taught and further evangelized by Paul among diverse Gentile communities, is what the Octave of Christian Unity reminds us to keep striving for.  This is what we are “called to proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord”, as God has called each of us to step forward with our own unique gift of the Holy Spirit to form and sustain this One Body of Christ on earth.  

Having just celebrated the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, it is also important to know that Thomas also regarded love as the essence of the Holy Spirit, evoking the Triune bond of the three hypostatic divine figures: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In particular, Thomas described that the love nature of the Holy Spirit is best represented in the unity between the Father and the Son (cf. John 10:30), and this echoes Paul’s view on the Holy Spirit as love in Romans 5:5. 

Furthermore, in the Thomistic theological view, there is a symbiotic juxtaposition between the Eucharist and this One Body of Christ, characterized by love, which is the essence of the Holy Spirit. The Eucharist is the Corporis et Sanguinis Christi offered to us so that not only we may attain the eternal life but also to become One Body of Christ, who is love and is the new Holy Spirit, as parakletos (John 14:16). Because parakletos, from its prefix, “para”, it is also what accompanies. Therefore, as we become One Body of Christ, representing the Holy Spirit, as parakletos,  we find Christ among us in this Body. And, this means that we are truly becoming  One with Christ, as the Son is one with the Father. 

Given this, it is no coincidence that the Octave of Christian Unity concludes with the feast of St. Paul’s conversion and that it is also near the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas. 

Without his conversion, who else but Paul could have brought so many different types of Gentiles together during the first century? Without St. Paul, would St. Thomas Aquinas could have written Summa Theologica and so eloquently defend Paul’s teaching on Christian Unity also from the Trinitarian perspective?

Though the Octave of Christian Unity is over now, it is still during the feast of Cathedra Petri at Rome (until February 22). In fact, it is still during the traditional Christmastide (until the feast of the Presentation of the Lord and Mary's Purification - February 2). Therefore, we shall now reflect what Christian Unity, as One Body of Christ, is about in light of the incarnation of the invisible God, epiphanies (theophanies), and how this series of God's unfolding revelation has been prompted Peter and Paul to have led the spreading of the glad tidings in light of the purpose of Mass - Ite, Missa Est,  reflecting Jesus' commissioning words in Matthew 28:19.

Meaning of Christian Life: Being Epiphany Agents - the Keepers of the Wedding Wine

Now the Christmas Season is gone and First portion of Ordinary Time has begun. The first Sunday in Ordinary Time is to commemorate Jesus' first miracle - Turning mere water into the best wine at a wedding party. What does it mean to those who are inducted into Christian life through the Sacrament of Baptism and have said "yes" to the Lord through the Sacrament of Confirmation?

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Though there are many ways of practicing faith, liturgies are public forms of exercising faith.  The most important form of liturgy is Mass, the celebration of the Sacrament of the Eucharist, which is the summit of the Catholic liturgy, preceded by the Penitential Rite and the Liturgy of the Word.  Upon Mass, the faithful are nourished, spiritually and physically, and sent out to proclaim the Word throughout the world, with these driving words: Ite, missa est….Ite ad Evangelium Domini nuntiandum (Go, Now you are sent/dismissed….God announce the Gospel of the Lord).

Ultimately, the purpose of liturgies are to formerly send the faithful on mission – the mission that Jesus initiated by sending off the Apostles upon Pentecost, after spending about three years for training them. Through our Sacrament of Baptism, we were inducted into this mission as disciples of Christ – just as Jesus recruited the Apostles on the shore of the Sea of Galilee in Capernaum. As Jesus trained them through his teaching before and after his Death and Resurrection, until his Ascension, before being sent out on mission upon the Pentecost, we also spend some years in learning about Christ and his teaching, as well as the doctrine of the Church, through the CCD (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine) education, usually from K through 8^th grade, for the Sacrament of Confirmation. During this mission preparation for Confirmation through CCD, young disciples begin receiving the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

The faithful disciples now understand what it means to be Christian, disciples of Christ, by the time they are being sent on their personal missions for Christ – as the Jesuits motto says, Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (for the greater glory of God).  The meaning of Christian life as a disciple of Christ is summed in the words of the Concluding Rite of Mass: Ite, missa est….Ite ad Evangelium Domini nuntiandum.

What does it mean for us to be nourished by the Word of God (in the Liturgy of the Word) and by the Sacrament of the Eucharist (in the Liturgy of the Eucharist) to be sent out on mission to proclaim the Good News (Gospel) of the Lord?

It is to serve the Lord as his “epiphany agents” through our works of mercy, which include proclaiming the Gospel of the Lord to enlighten people and serving as “Good Samaritan” to those who are in need, with the kind of love that Christ has taught – agape, emphasized in his Mandatum Novum during the Last Supper, written in John 13:34 - ἀγαπᾶτε ἀλλήλους, καθὼς ἠγάπησα ὑμᾶς ἵνα καὶ ὑμεῖς ἀγαπᾶτε ἀλλήλους/ Agapate allelous kathos egapesa hymas hina kai hymeis agapate alleous  - Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

Because God is agape (1 John 4:8), by practicing agape as commanded by Jesus in John 13:25 and Matthew 25:31-46, and by proclaiming the Word of God to enlighten and to bring hope, our work in faith can let agape visibly and tangibly manifest. Thus, we serve as active catalysts for epiphanies – as theophanies – letting the invisible God manifest visibly and tangibly above the surface of the invisibility.

Until the Church, which was born upon the Pentecost, out of the Apostles, on earth is fully united with Christ the King, as envisioned in Revelation 19, the darkness of our sinfulness will continue to affect the world we live. Our mission to be agents of epiphanies will remain active until this time. As the Confirmed faithful, we must constantly ask how we can serve the Lord in bringing epiphanies to the world, as the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matthew 5:13-14), reflecting the light of Christ (John 8:12), which cannot be overcome (John 1:5).

Now, the Advent Season is in the past, and the Christmas Season is over. On the Sunday after the Christmas Season on Cycle C, we commemorate the very first miracle that Jesus performed during the wedding banquet at Cana in Galilee (John 2:1-11).  This miracle is actually one of the series of epiphanies, counting from the Nativity of the Lord.  Perhaps, we can find this epiphany as a good reference for the way we serve as epiphany agents – epiphany catalysts.

How can we direct the multifaceted – multifold gift of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11:1-2, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11) to facilitate epiphanies in the world to characterize the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)?

By turning mere water into the choicest wine, Jesus ensured that the wedding celebration would not be disrupted. How about us? God has been working toward the heavenly wedding of the Son now in heaven and the Church on earth.  Satan continues to interfere this great work of God.  We have been sent on mission to make sure Satan’s efforts are nullified. Let us serve as God’s agents to keep the wine for the wedding all the time. After all, this is what we learn from the first miracle of Jesus at Cana as epiphany, as God’s epiphany agents.

The meaning of Christian life is to be the keeper of the wedding wine until the matrimonial union of Christ the King and the Church completes, as the agents of epiphanies.