St James Catholic Church

Dear Parishioners,

Today, the Epiphany of the Lord, we commemorate the day when Jesus Christ was made manifest to the wider world. The magi, the three Kings, who were not Jewish and not from the region, were guided by the star which eventually led them, to Bethlehem. There they paid him homage and offered gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. In many cultures and traditions, today is their Christmas, traveling to loved ones and exchanging gifts.

When Isaiah proclaimed the words we hear in our first reading, God’s chosen people had just returned to Judah after sixty years of exile in Babylon. The city of Jerusalem was in ruins, the temple destroyed, and many of its families had not survived or were still lost. Picture the devastation after a city or region is heavily bombed during a war like Palestine or Ukraine. “Rise up in splendor,” was aspirational at best, and unimaginable to most (Isaiah 60:1). Yet Isaiah insists that Jerusalem's light was not only possible, but had already come. Isaiah was able to see God’s glory amidst destruction and squalor, as the shepherds and magi could see a king and messiah in a wooden trough, as we are challenged to see peace, justice, and hope in a world with wars, injustices, and despair. We can choose to try to see through God’s eyes, as Isaiah and the magi did.

Love, Peace Joy,

Fr. Bob

This is also a time to bless our homes using chalk to mark over our entrance ways: 20 † C † M † B † 26. The initials remind us of the three Kings, Casper, Melchior, and Balthasar, and also stand for the Latin motto Christus manisionem benedicat (May Christ bless the house). May we be manifestations of Christ’s presence in the New Year having “hope and prayer from despair.”