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