It was a mystery. It was a truth hidden for the ages. It was
revealed to Paul. No one would have ever heard of it, least of all Paul in the
days when he was Saul of Tarsus, Pharisee and persecutor of anything that did
not appear to be thoroughly Hebrew.
But the mystery was in Sacred Scripture. It is just that no one understood the meaning of the verses[1].
The mystery was this: all the peoples of the world
would be included in God’s great promise to the Jews. Jews and Greeks, all people, would be co-heirs in Jesus
Christ. They could have found this in scripture, though. Isaiah said in today’s first reading
that all nations would walk in the light of Jerusalem. Kings would come bearing gifts of gold
and frankincense and proclaim the praises of the Lord. And Kings did come. Magi from the East appeared with gifts
of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
They prostrated themselves before Jesus, and did him homage. They were
fulfilling the Old Testament prophecy.
The Gospel of Luke often addresses the place of the
gentiles in Christianity, making the point that a good gentile can become a
good Christian. But today’s
reading isn’t from the Gospel of Luke.
It is from the Gospel of Matthew, the gospel written to show that in
Jesus we find the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophesies. This wasn’t about the worthiness of the
gentiles. It was about God’s plan being
revealed.
Perhaps the mystery of inclusion eludes many of
us. We speak about our oneness in
Christ, but we still have a temptation to consider some people as lesser
members of His Body. For example,
we are inclined to see those with cultures different than ours as less
Christian than us. This was the
huge mistake of the past centuries when missionaries tried to turn the people
of Asia, Africa and America into European Christians. The Church cannot be the
Body of Christ unless it is open to all people. Each person is unique.
Each person adds to the strength of the Body.
Perhaps there are some elements of the secret that is
still hidden: no one is to be excluded from Christ. What St. Paul says about the gentiles refers to all people
of whatever background, experience, orientation, or what have you: We are all
co-heirs, members of the same body, and co-partners in the same promise of
Christ Jesus through the gospel.
It is not good for us using religion as an excuse to
look down on other people. The Solemnity of the Epiphany teaches us this: There
is no us and them in Jesus Christ.
There is only one big us, an us that includes all people, everywhere
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[1]
The Epiphany of the Lord, January 4, 2015. Readings: Isaiah 60:1-6;
Responsorial Psalm: 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13; Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6; Matthew
2:1-12.
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