Saturday, January 07, 2017

Reflection for Sunday January 8, Solemnity of The Epiphany of the Lord; Matthew 2:1-12



Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 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.” Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.” After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. 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. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.
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Reflection:
A mother was on the verge giving-up on her wayward son until she was advised by her friend to continue to be persevering with him. She further was told to bring her son closer to Jesus through her prayers and not to give-up on praying for his conversion. The mother heeded the advice of her friend and true enough after years of patiently praying and guiding her son. Her son finally found Jesus and had a conversion.

Today is the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord; Jesus’ manifestation to the gentiles represented by the Magi. These three wise men diligently looked for Jesus to honor Him with their presence and gifts. With their diligence they found Him in a house with His mother Mary and offered their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

 These three wise men from the east meticulously searched for Jesus until they finally found Him. let us also continue to search and thirst for Jesus in our lives. If we say that we’ve already found Him and that He is already in our hearts let us not be content with this. Let us dig deeper into the life of Jesus and let us discover more about Him. Jesus will never disappoint anyone who diligently searches for Him; He will make Himself available to them.

As the Magi were very diligent with their search for Jesus. We are also challenged to continuously search and to have this continues thirst and hunger for Him. Let us look for Jesus in the poor and homeless, let us look for Jesus in the oppressed and in those many that are neglected. For He is always with them And let us give them the best that we could give them. -  Marino J. Dasmarinas 

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