20260104 A VIBRANT COMMUNITY THAT CELEBRATES
04 January 2026, Sunday, The Epiphany of the Lord
First reading | Isaiah 60:1-6 |
Above you the glory of the Lord appears
Arise, shine out, Jerusalem, for your light has come,
the glory of the Lord is rising on you,
though night still covers the earth
and darkness the peoples.
Above you the Lord now rises
and above you his glory appears.
The nations come to your light
and kings to your dawning brightness.
Lift up your eyes and look round:
all are assembling and coming towards you,
your sons from far away
and your daughters being tenderly carried.
At this sight you will grow radiant,
your heart throbbing and full;
since the riches of the sea will flow to you,
the wealth of the nations come to you;
camels in throngs will cover you,
and dromedaries of Midian and Ephah;
everyone in Sheba will come,
bringing gold and incense
and singing the praise of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 71(72):1-2,7-8,10-13 |
All nations shall fall prostrate before you, O Lord.
O God, give your judgement to the king,
to a king’s son your justice,
that he may judge your people in justice
and your poor in right judgement.
All nations shall fall prostrate before you, O Lord.
In his days justice shall flourish
and peace till the moon fails.
He shall rule from sea to sea,
from the Great River to earth’s bounds.
All nations shall fall prostrate before you, O Lord.
The kings of Tarshish and the sea coasts
shall pay him tribute.
The kings of Sheba and Seba
shall bring him gifts.
Before him all kings shall fall prostrate,
all nations shall serve him.
All nations shall fall prostrate before you, O Lord.
For he shall save the poor when they cry
and the needy who are helpless.
He will have pity on the weak
and save the lives of the poor.
All nations shall fall prostrate before you, O Lord.
Second reading |
Ephesians 3:2-3,5-6 |
It has now been revealed that pagans share the same inheritance
You have probably heard how I have been entrusted by God with the grace he meant for you, and that it was by a revelation that I was given the knowledge of the mystery. This mystery that has now been revealed through the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets was unknown to any men in past generations; it means that pagans now share the same inheritance, that they are parts of the same body, and that the same promise has been made to them, in Jesus Christ, through the gospel.
Gospel Acclamation | Mt2:2 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
We saw his star as it rose
and have come to do the Lord homage.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 2:1-12 |
The visit of the Magi
After Jesus had been born at Bethlehem in Judaea during the reign of King Herod, some wise men came to Jerusalem from the east. ‘Where is the infant king of the Jews?’ they asked. ‘We saw his star as it rose and have come to do him homage.’ When King Herod heard this he was perturbed, and so was the whole of Jerusalem. He called together all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, and enquired of them where the Christ was to be born. ‘At Bethlehem in Judaea,’ they told him ‘for this is what the prophet wrote:
And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
you are by no means least among the leaders of Judah,
for out of you will come a leader
who will shepherd my people Israel.’
Then Herod summoned the wise men to see him privately. He asked them the exact date on which the star had appeared, and sent them on to Bethlehem. ‘Go and find out all about the child,’ he said ‘and when you have found him, let me know, so that I too may go and do him homage.’ Having listened to what the king had to say, they set out. And there in front of them was the star they had seen rising; it went forward, and halted over the place where the child was. The sight of the star filled them with delight, and going into the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, and falling to their knees they did him homage. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. But they were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, and returned to their own country by a different way.
A VIBRANT COMMUNITY THAT CELEBRATES
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Isa 60:1-6; Ps 72:1-2,7-8,10-13; Eph 3:2-3,5-6; Mt 2:1-12]
What does it take for us to become a vibrant community that celebrates? Becoming a vibrant community begins with discovering Christ. This is what St Paul experienced when he came to know Christ as the revelation of God. Today, as we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany, we are celebrating God manifesting Himself to man in Christ Jesus. Jesus is the revelation of God in person. Of course, it takes revelation to recognise that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God – a gift given to His apostles and disciples. St Paul acknowledged it as such. “You have probably heard how I have been entrusted by God with the grace he meant for you, and that it was by a revelation that I was given the knowledge of the mystery. This mystery that has now been revealed through the spirit to his holy apostles and prophets was unknown to any men in past generations.” This was the same joy granted to them when they encountered the Risen Lord after His scandalous suffering and death.
Not only is revelation necessary to come to know Christ as the Son of God, but it is entirely by His grace. It is not through human effort, but purely through His grace. Paul came to know Christ through His mercy. He wrote, “I am grateful to Christ Jesus our lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” (1 Tim 1:12-14)
To discover Christ as the revelation of God brings us a joy beyond imagination. This is because He is the answer to the mysteries of life, death, suffering, and happiness. To discover Jesus as our Saviour is to find our true identity and our calling in life. This is illustrated in the story of the three wise men. “The sight of the star filled them with delight, and going into the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, and falling to their knees they did him homage.” Through the gift of revelation and faith, they recognised in the Baby Jesus the incarnation of God, and so they worshipped Him. They must have been overjoyed to know that their efforts to find the Lord were not in vain. Having found Him, they surrendered all they had. “Opening their treasures, they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.”
However, it was not only the joy of discovering Jesus as the Christ, the King of the Jews, but, most importantly, their lives were radically transformed. The Gospel tells us, “they were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, and returned to their own country by a different way.” The command not to go back to Herod was a command not to go back to the old way of life. Herod was a symbol of insecurity, ruthlessness, manipulation, cunning, dishonesty, and bloodthirstiness. He was not concerned with being a true king who looks after the interest of his people; it was all about himself – his power, his wealth and his influence. He had no love for God or for the Messiah. For this reason, God instructed the Magi to return by a different route. Having found the Lord, we, too, cannot remain the same, as we were. We must now travel a different path, walking in the way of the Lord if we are to reach the Promised Land at the end of our pilgrimage on this earth. We must be faithful to the Gospel we have received from the Lord and seek to live out it out in our daily live.
But our joy does not end here. Christian joy comes from knowing that we are not alone in our search for Christ; we search together and grow in faith together. It is telling that the wise men did not travel alone in their quest for the Christ, the infant King of the Jews. They were from different nations and cultures, but somehow, they came together, collaborating and using whatever resources and knowledge they had to find the Baby Jesus. They were astrologists of sorts and must have studied the stars, receiving an inkling that something and someone great was to be born. We, too, in our search for Christ – and even after we have found Him – must never walk alone on our journey of faith. We need one another to inspire and encourage us. For this reason, the three wise men travelled together in faith. In our own faith journey, like them, we sometimes lose sight of the star because of the challenges, trials, sufferings and difficulties of life. This is why we need one another to journey together in faith.
The journey of faith is the journey of the entire community. No one can travel alone on this path. This is what St Paul wrote to the Ephesians regarding the consequences of accepting Christ as our Saviour. “It means that pagans now share the same inheritance, that they are parts of the same body, and that the same promise has been made to them, in Christ Jesus, through the gospel.” We are called to be members of the same body of Christ, using whatever talents and resources we have to build up the Body of Christ. As Paul wrote in the same letter later, “The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.” (Eph 4:11-13,15f)
Consequently, today catechesis and spiritual formation is the work of everyone. It is not simply the responsibility of catechists, but of parents, relatives, friends, teachers, and fellow students. Whether our faith grows or not depends on how well we are connected to the Christian community, for faith is not simply taught – it is caught. Even if we have done all the research about our faith and understand it intellectually, it still remains immature unless it is lived out in the Christian community, where Christ is shared, experienced, loved and worshipped. We all need mentors to inspire us and guide us. We must not fall into the mistaken belief that simply sending our children to catechism classes is enough to sustain or grow their faith. Faith is not merely an intellectual grasp of our beliefs; above all, it is the cultivation of a personal relationship with Christ and His Body, the Church. We need to walk together, like the Magi, to find Christ.
Of course, this does not mean that we should not take our knowledge of Christ seriously. We need to study the Scriptures, just like the wise men. Hence, they sought the help of the chief priests and the scribes to confirm their search for Christ. They asked King Herod and he assembled “together all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, and enquired of them where the Christ was to be born. ‘At Bethlehem in Judaea,’ they told him, ‘for this is what the prophet wrote: And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, you are by no means least among the leaders of Judah, for out of you will come a leader who will shepherd my people Israel.'” So, study and consultation are necessary prerequisites for growing our faith. This is why we need to take the study of Scripture and doctrines seriously, as a preparation for entering into the mystery of Christ.
The true joy of a vibrant community is discovered when we find the Lord together and seek to become the light of Christ for the entire world. The prophet Isaiah invites Israel – and all of us – to “Arise, shine out, Jerusalem, for your light has come, the glory of the Lord is rising on you, though night still covers the earth and darkness the peoples. Above you the Lord now rises and above you his glory appears. The nations come to your light and kings to your dawning brightness.” Indeed, our joy is multiplied when we bring Christ to the world. This is our ultimate calling. We receive divine revelation, like St Paul, for the sake of others. And when, like them, we do so, we can then “lift up your eyes and look round: all are assembling and coming towards you, your sons from far away and your daughters being tenderly carried. At this sight you will grow radiant, your heart throbbing and full; since the riches of the sea will flow to you, the wealth of the nations come to you; everyone in Sheba will come, bringing gold and incense and singing the praise of the Lord.” This is our hope, and this is our dream! We hope to celebrate the return of all men and women to the Lord, so that we may become one Body of Christ.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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