In the United States we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany this Sunday, in other parts they do it on the actual day, January 6. This is a beautiful celebration, not just because it’s a time for presents in many cultures, but also because of the profound theological message behind it. The Magi, coming from afar, gentile nations, search out and encounter Jesus, the Messiah. The relationship between the encounter of peoples and their encounter with God and salvation, is at the center of who we are as the Catholic Church.
I began to see the importance of the Church being a place of encounter during my years of formation with the Community of Saint Paul in the Dominican Republic. I became involved in our work with the Haitian immigrant community living within the territory of La Sagrada Familia Parish. Many of those reading this know that the relationship between the two countries is far from cordial. Over time, we developed a Haitian Ministry program, becoming one of the few parishes in the region to have one. Then we began to have more opportunities and events aiming at bringing the two different groups together in prayer and community. And I am very proud that the Community of Saint Paul continues to develop more opportunities for this to happen.
Now I am serving in my first assignment as a priest in St. John Paul II Parish on the Southside of Milwaukee. We have a good-sized English-speaking community, with a large and growing Spanish-speaking community. And the diversity goes beyond language, as we have several different countries of origin within the Hispanic population, and our parish is the merger of what was once three separate neighbor parishes in a part of the city that was very neighborhood-based. Inspired in part by my experiences in the Dominican Republic, I am involved with a group in the parish that focuses on building unity in St. John Paul II from within this diversity.
The parish setting should always be a place of encounter and unity, with one another and with God. This is so central to who we are that every Sunday we profess it in Mass. Unity is the first of the four marks of the Church within the Creed: one, holy, catholic and apostolic. And there is of course a direct relationship with “one” and “catholic,” meaning “universal.” It is in this sense that the Second Vatican Council taught that the Church exists in Christ as the “light of humanity,” as a “sign and instrument” of communion with God and unity among all humanity.[1]
The inherent connection between the unity of peoples and the unity of humanity with God is not new. Rather, it has deep roots in Judeo-Christian theology. For example, one of the main oral traditions in ancient Judaism regarding the culmination of Salvation History uses the image of all nations (think “peoples”) gathering on God’s mountain and recognizing Him as God. We can see this captured, for example, throughout Isaiah[2]. In this way, the unity of peoples takes on an eschatological importance, pointing to the end of time.
As those rooted in this tradition, it is not surprising that the early Christian communities would see in Jesus the beginning of the unity of all peoples with the fullness of God’s salvation. We even have an example of this in our reading last Sunday from the Gospel of Luke for the Feast of the Holy Family. Simeon sees in the child Jesus that his “eyes have seen [God’s] salvation which [he] prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles.”[3] Part of the fulfillment of God’s promise is the aforementioned connection of the unity of all peoples, and the fulfillment of salvation.
With this in mind, we can turn to today’s Gospel reading on the Feast of the Epiphany. Matthew, of all the evangelists, has a particularly “strong knowledge of and attachment to Jewish Scripture, tradition and belief.”[4] Most scholars believe that Matthew was writing for a Jewish-Christian community that was struggling with the diversity it was experiencing as more Gentile-Christians were joining them. Accepting this thesis, it makes sense that especially Matthew would strive to show how Jesus is the fulfillment of what was promised by God in “the scriptures,” of the Torah and the prophets.[5] This is the “epiphany” of this Feast day. Coming from “the East,” the Magi represent Gentile nations who come to Jesus to pay homage to “the king of the Jews.”
This is reflected throughout Matthew’s Gospel, from the beginning, with the visit from the Magi, to its end where the resurrected Jesus commands to his disciples to go out and to “baptize all nations.”[6] For Matthew, the connection between the unity of peoples and the fulfilment is not just a theoretical discourse, but points to the importance of the practical reality his community was facing and with which they struggled. The Magi “prefigure those Gentiles who are part of Matthew’s community.”[7] Writing for catechetical purposes, Matthew reminds his community, and us, that striving for unity is of utmost importance in the long tradition of its eschatological significance: the unity of peoples is linked to the fullness of the Kingdom of Heaven.[8]
There may have been times when we have taken for granted the importance of unity within diversity, as it became a common catch-phrase throughout our schools, universities, workplaces and social outreach programs. It is perhaps in part for that reason that it seems many societies are sadly moving away from it. But this should never happen within the Church. We can never lose sight of this ancient and profound spiritual principle of the unity of peoples being linked to the fullness of God’s Kingdom. While it is something “nice,” building unity is so much more to who we are as a people of faith, especially as disciples of Jesus.
As we celebrate the Magi, let us be renewed in our evangelical fervor to reach out to and unite all peoples. Times of sharing, like cooking classes, pot-luck dinners and bilingual-liturgies may not be easy, but they are an essential step in who we are, called to be one, holy, universal and apostolic Church.
I began to see the importance of the Church being a place of encounter during my years of formation with the Community of Saint Paul in the Dominican Republic. I became involved in our work with the Haitian immigrant community living within the territory of La Sagrada Familia Parish. Many of those reading this know that the relationship between the two countries is far from cordial. Over time, we developed a Haitian Ministry program, becoming one of the few parishes in the region to have one. Then we began to have more opportunities and events aiming at bringing the two different groups together in prayer and community. And I am very proud that the Community of Saint Paul continues to develop more opportunities for this to happen.
Now I am serving in my first assignment as a priest in St. John Paul II Parish on the Southside of Milwaukee. We have a good-sized English-speaking community, with a large and growing Spanish-speaking community. And the diversity goes beyond language, as we have several different countries of origin within the Hispanic population, and our parish is the merger of what was once three separate neighbor parishes in a part of the city that was very neighborhood-based. Inspired in part by my experiences in the Dominican Republic, I am involved with a group in the parish that focuses on building unity in St. John Paul II from within this diversity.
The parish setting should always be a place of encounter and unity, with one another and with God. This is so central to who we are that every Sunday we profess it in Mass. Unity is the first of the four marks of the Church within the Creed: one, holy, catholic and apostolic. And there is of course a direct relationship with “one” and “catholic,” meaning “universal.” It is in this sense that the Second Vatican Council taught that the Church exists in Christ as the “light of humanity,” as a “sign and instrument” of communion with God and unity among all humanity.[1]
The inherent connection between the unity of peoples and the unity of humanity with God is not new. Rather, it has deep roots in Judeo-Christian theology. For example, one of the main oral traditions in ancient Judaism regarding the culmination of Salvation History uses the image of all nations (think “peoples”) gathering on God’s mountain and recognizing Him as God. We can see this captured, for example, throughout Isaiah[2]. In this way, the unity of peoples takes on an eschatological importance, pointing to the end of time.
As those rooted in this tradition, it is not surprising that the early Christian communities would see in Jesus the beginning of the unity of all peoples with the fullness of God’s salvation. We even have an example of this in our reading last Sunday from the Gospel of Luke for the Feast of the Holy Family. Simeon sees in the child Jesus that his “eyes have seen [God’s] salvation which [he] prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles.”[3] Part of the fulfillment of God’s promise is the aforementioned connection of the unity of all peoples, and the fulfillment of salvation.
With this in mind, we can turn to today’s Gospel reading on the Feast of the Epiphany. Matthew, of all the evangelists, has a particularly “strong knowledge of and attachment to Jewish Scripture, tradition and belief.”[4] Most scholars believe that Matthew was writing for a Jewish-Christian community that was struggling with the diversity it was experiencing as more Gentile-Christians were joining them. Accepting this thesis, it makes sense that especially Matthew would strive to show how Jesus is the fulfillment of what was promised by God in “the scriptures,” of the Torah and the prophets.[5] This is the “epiphany” of this Feast day. Coming from “the East,” the Magi represent Gentile nations who come to Jesus to pay homage to “the king of the Jews.”
This is reflected throughout Matthew’s Gospel, from the beginning, with the visit from the Magi, to its end where the resurrected Jesus commands to his disciples to go out and to “baptize all nations.”[6] For Matthew, the connection between the unity of peoples and the fulfilment is not just a theoretical discourse, but points to the importance of the practical reality his community was facing and with which they struggled. The Magi “prefigure those Gentiles who are part of Matthew’s community.”[7] Writing for catechetical purposes, Matthew reminds his community, and us, that striving for unity is of utmost importance in the long tradition of its eschatological significance: the unity of peoples is linked to the fullness of the Kingdom of Heaven.[8]
There may have been times when we have taken for granted the importance of unity within diversity, as it became a common catch-phrase throughout our schools, universities, workplaces and social outreach programs. It is perhaps in part for that reason that it seems many societies are sadly moving away from it. But this should never happen within the Church. We can never lose sight of this ancient and profound spiritual principle of the unity of peoples being linked to the fullness of God’s Kingdom. While it is something “nice,” building unity is so much more to who we are as a people of faith, especially as disciples of Jesus.
As we celebrate the Magi, let us be renewed in our evangelical fervor to reach out to and unite all peoples. Times of sharing, like cooking classes, pot-luck dinners and bilingual-liturgies may not be easy, but they are an essential step in who we are, called to be one, holy, universal and apostolic Church.
[1] Lumen Gentium 1
[2] See for example Is 28:6, 43:9, 56:6
[3] Lk 2:30-32.
[4] Gale, Aaron M. 2011. “Introduction to the Gospel According to Matthew” in Jewish Annotated New Testament. Oxford University Press. p. 1.
[5] Ibid
[6] Mt 28:19.
[7] Harrington, Daniel J. 1991. The Gospel of Matthew. In Sacra Pagina commentaries. Liturgical Press. p.49.
[8] John Nolland argues that the Gospel may have been written as a sort of Catechetical manual for discipleship, which is directed toward the eschaton. He writes that the author’s self-understanding many be reflected in Mt 13:53, in being “disciple [to be] a scribe for the kingdom of heaven.” Nolland, John. 2005. The Gospel of Matthew. In The New International Greek Testament Commentary. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. p. 20.
[2] See for example Is 28:6, 43:9, 56:6
[3] Lk 2:30-32.
[4] Gale, Aaron M. 2011. “Introduction to the Gospel According to Matthew” in Jewish Annotated New Testament. Oxford University Press. p. 1.
[5] Ibid
[6] Mt 28:19.
[7] Harrington, Daniel J. 1991. The Gospel of Matthew. In Sacra Pagina commentaries. Liturgical Press. p.49.
[8] John Nolland argues that the Gospel may have been written as a sort of Catechetical manual for discipleship, which is directed toward the eschaton. He writes that the author’s self-understanding many be reflected in Mt 13:53, in being “disciple [to be] a scribe for the kingdom of heaven.” Nolland, John. 2005. The Gospel of Matthew. In The New International Greek Testament Commentary. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. p. 20.
