God Revealed Himself To Us!

Feast of the Epiphany

Part of the Christmas celebration is the Feast of the Epiphany. It is the manifestation of God in Jesus Christ. The selected reading is that part involving the shepherds and the magi. Through the star and the angels, the birth of the Lord Jesus was communicated to all peoples, as symbolized by the magi.

Epiphany reminds us of what God had done. God humbled Himself by becoming one with us. Salvation was His purpose. Man needs to know, love and serve God. But man had difficulty knowing God. Worse, man committed the mistake of creating his own idea of God. It was the source of frustration for man. Having created his idea of God, he was limited to that idea. But God can never be contained in any idea of man no matter how grand and intelligent it maybe. This is for the simple reason that God is greater than man. The Creator can not be limited by the created. 

So, God, in His love for man and His generosity, decided to take the initiative. He revealed Himself to man! He made an Epiphany for the benefit of man. God made the first move. God oozed with humility by approaching man first so that He can be known by him. In doing so, God used mediators. Jesus was His main mediator. Jesus is also light. In the Gospel, the magi saw the light. They were en-lightened by the star. Their trust in the light led them to the source of light, Jesus, the Lord!

It was good of God to have made the initiative. With that move, he left it to us to make the move to know Him, to recognize Him so that we can love and serve Him. Like in the case of the magi (star) and the shepherds (angels), He also gives us symbols or media that will lead us to Him. The question is, do we recognize these media? Do we open our hearts, minds, and person to these revelations? Remember, Jesus lived during His time. Many people saw Him, His deeds (miracles) and have heard His words. But not everybody believed Him. And those who believed Him even wavered in their belief. His apostles deserted Him at one time and His most trusted denied Him not once but thrice! Therefore, much depend now on us after God had done His part!

Priests, for example, had been called by God in different ways. I have one classmate who discovered God because of the aroma of the grass. From that fascination on the aroma of the grass, he realized the goodness of God. It led him to a decision to serve God in the priesthood. Another classmate, who plays the organ, was so enamored with music that it led him to the revelation of God of Himself to him and thus accepted God's invitation to be one of His priests. To another classmate, God used a balloon. As for me, he used my knowledge of the systems in the human body. Once I reflected on the presence of the different systems that operate on the human body; circulatory system, nervous, digestive, respiratory, excretory, etc. These systems were placed perfectly in the human body so that they compliment each other. Their united functions make the human body live. We can ask the best doctor or scientist to replicate the human body, but he can not make it live. All he can achieve is to imitate the its physical attributes. Then, I realized that there is Somebody or Something that made us the way we are. He is God! Then it led me more to seek Him and the journey led to my consideration and decision to serve Him in the ministry of the priesthood. God manifested Himself to me through the human body. The point here is; many had smelled the grass, played and heard music, saw a balloon, and knew the different systems in the human body. But only me and my classmates entered the priesthood! God reveals Himself to each one in a special way. Everyday, God reveals Himself. Do we recognize Him? For all we know, He had already tried so many times, in so many places, and in so many ways for us to recognize Him. And most probably, we snubbed Him (?).

Every mass, God reveals Himself in the community, in the priest, in the Word, and as Himself (mismo) in the Eucharist! Do we recognize Him in these manifestations? He may be more present to some in those tourist religious places like Fatima, Lourdes, or Medjugorje, but not more present than in the Eucharist.

So, next time, try to be more attentive to God's invitations. Try to be more aware of His presence. Then you will know Him better. When you know Him, you will love Him and serve Him. Then, you will find yourself recognizing, loving and serving your neighbor too!