1/3 - Feast of the Epiphany

Dear Parish Family,

   We have just begun a New Year. All of us have our own wishes and dreams for this year. Some of us will have taken new resolutions. I am also conscious of the fact that the merged Parish of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Tappan and St. John the Baptist, Piermont will function as one body of Christ. The feast that we celebrate today of the Epiphany or the Manifestation of the Lord to the Nations, can throw light on all of the above.

Who knew the Messiah was born as the baby Jesus in Bethlehem?  According to this Sunday’s Gospel Reading, a lot of people came to figure it out. The chief priests and scribes knew where the Messiah would be born because they could interpret the parts in the Old Testament that predicted the Messiah’s birth. It was one of the treasures that every Israelite heart remembered every day. There is a tradition that speaks of every woman’s prayer morning had the intercession to be the privileged mother of the Messiah. The magi from the East knew that the Messiah had been born, because they could interpret the presence of the star in the sky. When the magi followed the star to Bethlehem to see for themselves, Herod the King ordered them to come back and tell him too.

For all these people, there was a way to know the birth of the Messiah. The priests could interpret Scripture, and the magi could read the stars. King Herod had the political power to command their knowledge and wisdom for his own purposes. The shepherds may have been poor and simple, but they were trusting and open-hearted, too. And so they knew Christ Jesus was born in a manager in Bethlehem because they heard the angels sing. In fact they were the first to behold him.

 While the wise and the poor make their way to the manger, the majority of the people around who had the power, position and wealth never made it to the new born king or did not bother to know about the Prince of Peace.

We need to make that journey to the manger, bending down to enter the low vaulted cave and kneel at the sight of the Savior. Life’s sacred lessons can be learned in that one gesture of adoration. We are mighty and poor, wise and searching for answers, at the same time. God does not keep his distance from us, rather we need to see him and speak about him. In this witness we find a new purpose in living our life and all other matters in life will be re-ordered. Please know that my prayers are with you as we continue to grow in faith and holiness. My wish is that we live faith filled lives in our own families and in our Parish Family.

Fr. Tom Kunnel C.O.