Come let us adore Him!
The Feast of the Epiphany
Isa 60:1-6; Ps 71; Eph 3:2-6; Mt 2:1-12
On this first Sunday after New Year’s day, the Church celebrates the feast of the Epiphany i.e. the manifestation of Christ to the Magi at Betlehem. These Magi – which the Christian tradition later identified as three, since three gifts are mentioned in the Matthean text – came from the East to “adore” “the child born to be the king of the Jews” (Mt 2:2).
The verb “adore” is given prominence in this text as it is mentioned three times. This action is reserved solely to God: He alone deserves worship. This is echoed in Jesus’ answer to Satan when the latter tempted him for the third time in the desert: “Away with you Satan! For it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him’” (Mt 4:10).
Hence, in the light of the above, we can see that when Matthew informs us that the Magi “knelt down and worshiped him” (Mt 2:11), he implicitly wants to convey to the reader that the new born is not simply “the king of the Jews” (Mt 2:2) but the Son of God himself through whom “all things came into being and without [whom] not one thing came into being” (Jn 1:3). Matthew had already prepared us for this revelation when in the episode preceding the Magi’s visit, he gives us the significance of the name “Em·man’ū·el” which means “God is with us” (Mt 1:23).
This insistence on ‘adoration’ precisely at the dawn of a new year encourages us to rediscover the importance of adoration in our prayer life. In his encyclical letter ‘Ecclesia de Eucharistia’, the deceased Pope highly stressed the inestimable value of the worship of the Eucharist outside Mass, saying that, “It is pleasant to spend time with him, to lie close to his breast like the Beloved Disciple (Jn 13:25) and to feel the infinite love present in his heart. If in our time, Christians must be distinguished above all by the ‘art of prayer’, how can we not feel a renewed need to spend time in spiritual converse, in silent adoration, in heartfelt love before Christ present in the Most Holy Sacrament? … Such [adoration is] a sign of gratitude, an expression of love and an acknowledgment of the Lord’s presence” (no.25).
Our commitment to Eucharistic adoration can be further refined by paying attention to three other details in the Magi narrative, namely, the long route travelled by the wise men, the gifts they offered and the star they followed, all of which were directed to the adoration of the kingly child.
The toil of their lengthy trip teaches us that in this hectic world of ours wherein we are very often too busy to pray, we should summon up all our strengths and make an effort to find time and place for worshipping Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Furthermore, the fact that the Magi offered Jesus the best of their gifts – gold, incense, myrrh – ushers the realization that we should offer Jesus not just any time but ‘quality’ time i.e. the best time of the day. The shining star which guided the Magi to their desired destination suggests that we should be prompted to bend our knees in prayerful adoration not by some duty or obligation, but love alone should stand as the shining star which enlightens our hearts and enkindles our desire to adore in silence this wellspring of grace, which is the Eucharist.
Isa 60:1-6; Ps 71; Eph 3:2-6; Mt 2:1-12
On this first Sunday after New Year’s day, the Church celebrates the feast of the Epiphany i.e. the manifestation of Christ to the Magi at Betlehem. These Magi – which the Christian tradition later identified as three, since three gifts are mentioned in the Matthean text – came from the East to “adore” “the child born to be the king of the Jews” (Mt 2:2).
The verb “adore” is given prominence in this text as it is mentioned three times. This action is reserved solely to God: He alone deserves worship. This is echoed in Jesus’ answer to Satan when the latter tempted him for the third time in the desert: “Away with you Satan! For it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him’” (Mt 4:10).
Hence, in the light of the above, we can see that when Matthew informs us that the Magi “knelt down and worshiped him” (Mt 2:11), he implicitly wants to convey to the reader that the new born is not simply “the king of the Jews” (Mt 2:2) but the Son of God himself through whom “all things came into being and without [whom] not one thing came into being” (Jn 1:3). Matthew had already prepared us for this revelation when in the episode preceding the Magi’s visit, he gives us the significance of the name “Em·man’ū·el” which means “God is with us” (Mt 1:23).
This insistence on ‘adoration’ precisely at the dawn of a new year encourages us to rediscover the importance of adoration in our prayer life. In his encyclical letter ‘Ecclesia de Eucharistia’, the deceased Pope highly stressed the inestimable value of the worship of the Eucharist outside Mass, saying that, “It is pleasant to spend time with him, to lie close to his breast like the Beloved Disciple (Jn 13:25) and to feel the infinite love present in his heart. If in our time, Christians must be distinguished above all by the ‘art of prayer’, how can we not feel a renewed need to spend time in spiritual converse, in silent adoration, in heartfelt love before Christ present in the Most Holy Sacrament? … Such [adoration is] a sign of gratitude, an expression of love and an acknowledgment of the Lord’s presence” (no.25).
Our commitment to Eucharistic adoration can be further refined by paying attention to three other details in the Magi narrative, namely, the long route travelled by the wise men, the gifts they offered and the star they followed, all of which were directed to the adoration of the kingly child.
The toil of their lengthy trip teaches us that in this hectic world of ours wherein we are very often too busy to pray, we should summon up all our strengths and make an effort to find time and place for worshipping Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Furthermore, the fact that the Magi offered Jesus the best of their gifts – gold, incense, myrrh – ushers the realization that we should offer Jesus not just any time but ‘quality’ time i.e. the best time of the day. The shining star which guided the Magi to their desired destination suggests that we should be prompted to bend our knees in prayerful adoration not by some duty or obligation, but love alone should stand as the shining star which enlightens our hearts and enkindles our desire to adore in silence this wellspring of grace, which is the Eucharist.