Breaking the Word

Epiphany of the Lord, Sunday – 02^nd January 2022 — Gospel: Matthew 2,1-12

Recognized His star

The wise men from the East, avid scholars of spiritual mysteries, interpreted the rising of the star as a heavenly sign marking the birth of a great ruler. And so they undertook an arduous journey to honour the infant of whom great things were prophesied. In the days of Moses, a seer from the East named Balaam had blessed Israel’s future by proclaiming a coming king who would be announced by a star: “A star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel” (Num 24,17). The chief priests and the scribes knew this ancestral prophecies and the prophetic text from Micah (5,2; Mat 2,6) that confirms the birth of a great Messiah in Bethlehem, who will be shepherd and ruler over Israel like David (2 Sam 5,2). But the wise men, who were more closely acquainted with nature, had neither known the Jewish scriptures nor of the foretold prophecies.  However, they recognized the star; for the gospel text states that it was not just any unusual cosmic occurrence, but “his star”, a divine sign pointing to the Messiah. And they came prepared with offerings that refer to his kingship, divinity and humanity.

Christmas Octave, Friday – 31^st December 2021 — Gospel:  Jn 1,1-18

Dual Nature of the Word

Unlike Matthew and Luke who begin their Gospels with stories of the birth of Jesus, the Gospel of John begins with the pre-existent word and the relationship of the word to the world. Jesus the word has double nature: it is God and also an incarnate word made flesh. Thus, the prologue of the Gospel of John is concerned with the sphere of God, the eternal sphere and the sphere of human beings, the temporal one. The word is one with God, but is also distinct from God. The word has given life and light to all creation. Nothing has come into existence without the word. Yet, the word has not always been accepted by people, even the chosen people of God. Those who accept the word are empowered to be children of God, not because of their blood lineage, neither because of their desire to relate to God, but because God has gifted them with a new, life-giving relationship. This new relationship is possible because in the person of Jesus, the word became flesh and dwelt among us. God came to dwell with us in an intimate way, by sharing with us the divine life and calling us children of God. John describes then that the fullness of this relationship cannot be expressed with mere human words. It cannot be fully understood until we are one with God eternally. However, the truth of that relationship can only be glimpsed or partially experienced in our human life, if we become children of God in and through Jesus.