Hubris within US – What Keeps Us Blind from Epiphany – What Killed Christ

What is the problem with the statement, "Is he the son of Joseph?"(Luke 4:22)? In fact, why the Nazarene synagogue congregation became so angry and spiteful to Jesus, upon that statement? 


To entertain these question, we need to examine our ego. 

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In my blog article, “First Stumbling Block on the Path of Epiphanies – Based on Cycle C Gospel Reflections  Until the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time”(January 31, 2016), I wrote that the first stumbling block was cast into the way of Jesus’ epiphanies, during his first teaching at the synagogue in his hometown, Nazareth, based on the Gospel reading for the 4^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C. What is the “stumbling block”? What do I mean by “the way of Jesus’ epiphanies”?

First, let me explain about the way of Jesus’ epiphanies.

One of my exegeses of the New Testament, including the Gospels, focuses on the progression of divine manifestations through Jesus by the power of the Father in heaven and then through the actions of Jesus by the power of Jesus himself, as it is the power of the Father in heaven, poured into him upon his baptism.  In this context, as I also explained in my aforementioned blog article, epiphany means a manifestation of the invisible God and divinity to human senses, such as vision and hearing.

The word, “epiphany” is consisted of two Greek words. Its prefix, “epi” suggests “above”, and the rest, “phainein” means “to manifest”, “to appear”. The word, “phenotype”, and the word, “phenomena”, are also derived from the Greek word, “phainein”, as these words are related to something observable or recognizable, because of manifestation or appearance – coming above the surface of invisibility. Therefore, epiphany can be any phenomena, in which the invisible God makes Godself manifested in a way to be perceived and recognized by human senses, especially in vision. It is actually “theophany”, which literally means God (theo) is manifesting (phainein), above (epi) the surface of invisibility.

Epiphany is not limited to what the Feast of Epiphany celebrates, the Magi’s homage to Jesus, when he was around 2 years old, recognizing him as the King.  In fact, epiphany begins with the Nativity of the Lord, the Word in flesh, coming out of the immaculate body of Mary, as it was the very first moment when the invisible God was seen by humans.  Following this initial epiphany, there is the Presentation of the Lord as the second epiphany, followed by the visitation of the Magi as the third epiphany, which is followed by the Baptism of the Lord, the fourth epiphany.  All four Gospel stories are built upon these first four epiphanies – though Mark’s Gospel begins with the third epiphany: the Baptism of the Lord.

In this sense, the Advent Season reflects the preparation for the very first epiphany: the Nativity of the Lord, and the Christmas Season reflects the first four epiphanies. Then, the fourth epiphany, which is the very first miracle that Jesus made: turning water into the choicest wine during the wedding banquet at Cana, is reflected in the Gospel reading for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time on Cycle C. In the Gospel narratives for both the Third Sunday and the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time on Cycle C, the epiphanic event of Jesus is the initiation of his teaching. 

According to Luke 4, Jesus initiated his teaching of the Word at the synagogue of his home town, Nazareth. He opened the scroll of Isaiah’s prophecy and revealed the meaning of its portion on the Messianic mission of bringing the glad tidings (Good News) to the poor (Anawin). As Jesus proclaimed that Isaiah’s prophecy of the glad tidings for the poor was being fulfilled in the words spoken by him, it became epiphany.  It is because the divinity in the Word the scroll manifested loud and clear in Jesus’ “dabar”(spoken words).

Ever since the Nativity, which is the very first epiphany, series of epiphanies were reflected through the Sunday Gospel readings during Christmas Season, the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, and the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time. These readings point to how the works of the Messiah will lead to salvation. Up to this point, there was no disruption in this evolving flow of salvific epiphanies. However, in the Gospel reading for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Luke 4:21-30), when the congregation in the Nazarene synagogue who heard Jesus’ teaching said, “Is he the son of Joseph?” (Luke 4:22), their receptivity to epiphany suddenly changed 180 degreesb– from awesome amazement into angry aversion.  The situation resulted in expulsion of Jesus.  In fact, what made the synagogue congregation so hateful against Jesus instantly was the way Jesus himself responded to the “Is he the son of Joseph?” statement.

In response to, “Is he the son of Joseph?”(Luke 4:22), Jesus replied:

“Surely you will quote me this proverb, ‘ Physician, cure yourself’, and say, ‘Do here in your native place the things that we heard were done in Capernaum’. Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place. Indeed,, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land. It was none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian” (Luke 4:23-27).

This response of Jesus to the congregation’s “crab mentality” statement, which arose from the congregation points out the spiritual blindness and deafness to the epiphany that Jesus just made through his teaching, reminding how God’s chosen people, during the time of the Old Testament, also were blind and deaf to divine scheme evident in the mentioned acts of prophets, such as Elijah and Elisha. It also reminded the congregation that the Gentiles may be better in regard to recognizing epiphany in Jesus’ actions, as in the case with a widow in Zarephath in Sidon (1 Kings 17:7-24)and in the case with Naaman of Syria (2 Kings 5).

In his response, Jesus was telling the synagogue congregation that they are just as spiritually blind and deaf as their ancestors of the time of the Old Testament, the generations that were unable to appreciate their prophets, such as Elijah and his successor, Elisha. In fact, ones who were able to recognize the divine in these prophets’ acts were Gentiles, such as the widow In Zeraphath and Naaman of Syria. Hearing this response from Jesus, the congregation grew so furious toward Jesus as they must have felt  that Jesus regarded them worse than the Gentiles.

What is the problem here?

First, what is the matter with the statement, “Is he the son of Joseph?”  Second, why the congregation reacted with strong aversion to Jesus as he responded to their statement about him as the son of Joseph?

In the latter portion of the Gospel reading for the Third Sunday, Luke 4:14-21, Jesus conducted his very first teaching, upon opening the scroll of Isaiah’s prophecy and proclaimed its prophecy on the glad tidings being fulfilled as the congregation heard him speak.  Following this Lucan Gospel narrative, on the Fourth Sunday, in Luke 4:21-30, the synagogue crowd were so amazed at Jesus teaching but then casted the statement, “Is he the son of Joseph?”(Luke 4:22).

Imagine, if nobody in the congregation had ever said, “Is he the son of Joseph?”. Perhaps, then, they would have remained astonished by Jesus’ teaching and began to appreciate his presence as a new prophet.  It was when God’s first chosen people, the Israelites, had not had any prophet for about 400 years ever since Malachi. They would have thanked God for sending such an amazing prophet-teacher to their synagogue in Nazareth.  However, as soon as they saw Jesus as the son of Joseph, they probably could have thought that the son of Joseph had no business in preaching in the synagogue as he is mere an ordinary man, like anyone else in the congregation. In their mentality, only a trained rabbi could preach in the synagogue as Jesus did. Their initial expectation and impression on Jesus as an amazing new rabbi-prophet turned out be a bubble to be busted with the statement, “Is he the son of Joseph?”  Thus, this issue reflects a typical problem of our tendency  to make assumption in a way to foster self-serving interest. This problem often leads to our close-mindedness.

The statement, “Is he the son of Joseph?” also reflects crab mentality of the congregation.  Until they realized that Jesus was just the son of ordinary man, Joseph, like anyone else in the congregation, they seemed to have thought of Jesus as a very special rabbi-prophet to fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy made more than 600 years before. However, as soon as they recognized Jesus as an ordinary man, they must have felt rather annoyed, because of their crab mentality, which is a form of jealousy.  Of course, psychologically, jealously comes out of insecure self – namely, narcissism.

In terms of the synagogue congregation’s angry and aversive reaction to Jesus comment on them in response to the “Is he the son of Joseph?” statement, the problem is their pride, which makes them think of themselves superior to the Gentiles.  Hearing from an ordinary man, the son of Joseph, who has no “credential” to preach, telling them that the Gentiles are better than they, their pride sure makes them angry at Jesus.

It is evident that the self-centeredness of the congregation made them blind and deaf to the divine manifestation – epiphany – in Jesus’ teaching on the Word from the scroll in the synagogue.  Not only their spiritual ignorance, their attachment to ego also leads to their vain pride and makes them easily hurt and become angry at those who challenge their assumption and pride.  That is why the congregation grew in anger and spitefulness, expelling Jesus out of Nazareth.

It was out of their own spiritual ignorance that the Nazarenes rejected Jesus and the epiphany in his rabbinic teaching.  Beneath their ignorance, it was their narcissism that prompted them to become angry and hateful toward Jesus when they recognized him as just the son of Joseph and as they felt they were put down lower than the Gentile by Jesus’s response to the “Is he the son of Joseph?” statement.

The statement, “Is he the son of Joseph?, represents the Nazarenes’  closed-mindedness, cognitive stiffness, which leads to their confirmation bias. Because of this psychological problem, the Nazarenes failed to recognize epiphany in Jesus’ amazing teaching on the Word of God from the scroll of Isaiah’s prophecy, as he was just the son of Joseph in their eyes. Their confirmation bias prevented them from recognizing Jesus beyond the son of Joseph, thus, keeping them blind to the epiphanic truth that he is the Word, which is God (John 1:1), in visible flesh (John 1:14), though Mary, Joseph, shepherds at the Nativity scene, the Magi, Anna and Simeon, John the Baptist, and, perhaps,  the servers of the wedding banquet at Cana were able to experience epiphanies. Unlike the Nazarenes, they were able to recognize divine manifestation in rather unexpected places, such as in the stable in Bethlehem in a little baby, Jess, of a poor peasant couple, Mary and Joseph, because they were all poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3), meaning that they were humble.

As we are poor in spirit – humble, being Anawin, to whom God has promised to bring glad tidings (Isaiah 61:1, we are free from what our ego may clouds our vision and hearing. Thus, we are open to whatever the way God manifests Godself. In other words, we are able to recognize epiphany as it happens, regardless of our own ego-driven assumptions and expectations.  In such a state, free from ego’s influence, being poor in spirit, then, we are free from confirmation bias, which makes our cognition limited only to experience that fits our own ego-driven assumptions and expectations, while rejecting otherwise.

Because the Nazarenes in the synagogue were plagued with confirmation bias, due to their strong self-centered attachment to their own ego, their spiritual vision and hearing were immediately blocked when the  statement, “Is he the son of Joseph?” was cast out.  Thus, it became a stumbling block laid on the path of epiphany of Jesus.

The statement, “Is he the son of Joseph?”, reflects the Nazarene synagogue congregation’s confirmation bias, which we all possess, due to our ego.  The bias rejects the epiphanic reality that Isaiah’s prophecy on glad tidings for Anawin (Isaiah 61:1), was fulfilled in the proclamation made by the son of Joseph, because in their bias-infested rigid mind, the son of Joseph “should not” be a rabbi, who is qualified to teach the Word in the synagogue.  To this problem, Jesus alluded to the same kind of spiritual ignorance as that of their ancestors during the time of the Old Testament. Then, because of their hubris, the Nazarene congregation’s pride of vanity was hurt, and they reacted to Jesus with anger and hatred.

In fact, this psychospiritual problem – hubris due to the pride of vanity – later contributes to the conspiracy to have Jesus killed, as reflected during Lent.

What the Fourth Sunday Gospel narrative (Luke 4:21-30) can remind us, is how dangerous our ego can be – unless it is disciplined by the Holy Spirit and its fruits, especially self-control (Galatians 5:23). Otherwise, we tend to fall into the spiritual blindness and deafness – the spiritual ignorance, to become unable to recognize epiphany that Jesus brings.  Spiritually undisciplined ego tends to result in our confirmation bias and pride of vanity. The pride, then, makes us angry and spiteful toward those who confront our ego problems, such as our bias and the pride of vanity itself.

In order for us to appreciate epiphany, we need to remain humble – not hubristic, as hubris, which is a problem of our ego, keeps us blind  and deaf to divine manifestation.  Besides our pride of vanity, our ego makes our senses skewed to assumptions in favor of our narcissistic disposition.  By keeping our confirmation bias in check through the spiritual discipline, we can accept a messianic rabbi even he comes as the son of Joseph. 

The path of epiphanies that Jesus makes is also the glad tidings, prophesized in the Book (scroll) of Isaiah 61, and the light of salvation, as reflected in Psalm 27:1. Let us ensure that nothing obstructs this path of epiphanies, as we discipline our ego, keeping us from developing confirmation bias and hubris. 

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

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. 

The Six Wise Persons Gather for the Feast of the Three Wise Men

As temperature was plummeting toward -27C on the eve of Epiphany, our prayer and bible study group still held a Sunday evening meeting as scheduled. 

A polar vortex, a massive polar low pressure frigid air cyclone, was fast approaching the Midwest region of the United States on that evening.  We already had more than a foot of snow by that evening. So, it was challenging to come to the meeting.  Because of that situation, I was not sure if anyone would ever show up.

But, 6 members showed up, in spite of difficult weather condition – frigid temperature, icy road and snow!  Surely, their love to be with and serve the Lord overrode whatever that could have kept them in cozy homes. 

As the meeting touched upon Epiphany, especially in the part of the scripture study, I could not help but juxtapose those 6 members who came with the three wise men (the magi) (Matthew 2:1-12). 

In concluding the Christmastide, we commemorate that the three wise men from the Orient  finally arrived at the house where the newborn King – Jesus –was and presented gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  The Western tradition holds that these three were Melchior, Casper, and Balthazar – though the Matthew’s Gospel narrative does not name. 

Biblical and theological discussion on the names of the magi aside, in place of Melchior, Casper, and Balthazar, our group had Eugene, Reggie, John, Marciano, Susan, and myself.   

From a pastoral perspective, what is more important than discussing nitty-gritty theological stuff about the biblical text is how we discern meaning of Epiphany – how we draw personal meaning from the biblical narrative on Epiphany – the magi from the east finding the baby Jesus and overjoying. 

As I was also leading the group that evening, besides teaching the scriptures,  I emphasized that “the 6 wise persons” present at that evening’s meeting can reflect their commitment to the Lord, strong enough to overcome adversarial weather condition,  in light of the magi’s determination to find the newborn King, Jesus, God incarnate, that endured them to complete their mission in spite of a long challenging journey through mountains and marshlands (moors), besides arid desert.  

In this reflection, I also suggested “the six wise persons” to think of what gift they are to bring to the Lord we love and serve this year, making it our new year’s resolutions.  

What gifts are we to offer to the Lord Jesus Christ in our service to him this year?  Gold, frankincense, and myrrh were what the magi offered. Now, what are we going to bring?

For this reflection, it is important that we get to know ourselves in light of our relationship with the Lord. Namely, this reflective exercise requires a critical self-reflection in faith. 

From a pastoral psychological perspective, what helps this reflection is understanding ourselves not only from a developmental  psychological perspective but also from an anthropocentric theological perspective.  The anthropocentric theological perspective is a theological perspective based on Genesis 1:27: we are created in an image and light of God. Therefore, the direction of our growth is the fullness in the mystery of Christ, who is God incarnate.  

With this perspective in mind, we can explore within ourselves in terms of our unique abilities and potentials, in light of gifts and talent that the creator God have bestowed upon us, in addition to external gifts – grace. 

We are called not only to discover our own unique gifts, talents, abilities, and potentials, but also to cultivate and utilize them for the sake of our mission for the Lord, partaking in God’s evolving salvific plan. 

Of course, we also need to consider the importance of the Holy Spirit in this reflective exercise, because the Holy Spirit is the power (Acts 1:8) that drives our mission.  This is also true to Jesus himself, as there was the Holy Spirit present, when Jesus was baptized, marking the beginning of his public ministry (Matthew 3:16).  And, the Holy Spirit is always present with the Sacrament of Baptism,  because it is indispensable in appointing and commissioning. 

“The Six Wise Persons”, who attended the cold snowy Sunday evening meeting, are all baptized. And, they are renewing their baptismal commitment, by tapping into the gifts that they can offer in their service to the Lord. 

While engaging in self-reflective and introspective exercise, we also recognize and appreciate the presence of the Holy Spirit to empower us and God’s grace to turn our gifts into wonderful fruits.

For this, it is also important that we look into the gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4-11), as well as the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). 

Another important thing to reflect is what is our guiding star as we go on our mission. The magi faithfully follow the guiding star to find and pay homage to baby Jesus - to complete their mission.  What is our guiding star - so that we will not go astray or drop out of our mission ?

As we move from this Epiphany week into the feast of the Baptism of the Lord this coming Sunday, let us be like the magi – three wise men, who endured challenging mission trip, not only to find and adore the King of all kings, the Messiah, but also to served him with gifts. For this, let us explore within ourselves and discover more of our unique gifts so that we can offer them in our service to the Lord, empowered and guided by the Holy Spirit, supported by grace, and fueled by the Eucharist, renewing our baptismal commitment.