A reading from the prophet Isaiah (60:1-6)
Arise, shine out, for your light has come
and the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you.
Look! Though night still covers the earth
and deep gloom the peoples,
over you the Lord has dawned,
over you his glory can be seen.
Nations will come to your light
and kings to the splendour of your dawn.
Lift up your eyes and look around:
all are assembling and coming to you:
your sons coming from far away
and your daughters held firm on the hip.
At this sight you will grow radiant,
your heart will thrill and dilate,
for the riches of the sea will flow to you,
the wealth of the nations come to you.
Throngs of camels will cover you,
young camels of Midian and Ephah;
everyone in Saba will come,
bringing gold and incense
and proclaiming the praise of the Lord.
The third part of the book of Isaiah originates in the time after the exile. This great poem, which builds on the optimism of Second Isaiah, expresses hopes for the future, rejoicing in the salvation brought by God. There are repeated references to the coming of the light, and to the splendour of the dawn, even though ‘night’ still covers the earth, and ‘deep gloom’ the peoples. The words seem to be addressed to Sion, restored and resplendent. ‘Nations’ (goyim) and ‘kings’ (melakim) are attracted by her glorious light. It is first of all the exiled ‘sons’ and ‘daughters’ who return, but the nations follow, drawn to the holy city as they were in the foundational poem of Isaiah 2: ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord.’ The prophet’s imagination envisages the coming of ‘throngs of camels’. From Midian and Ephah, nearby lands, they come, but also, from the far south, ‘everyone in Saba’ comes. Their gifts, gold and incense, are worthy of the Lord.
Psalm 72 (71) The Messiah brings justice and establishes peace, attracting the tribute of Tarshish, and the gifts of Sheba and Saba.
A reading from the letter of saint Paul to the Ephesians (3:2-3, 5-6)
You have surely heard the commission of God’s grace entrusted to me for your sake; that the mystery was made known to me by a revelation, as I have just written briefly. In former generations it was not made known to humanity as it has now been revealed in the Spirit to his holy apostles and
prophets, that the gentiles now have the same inheritance and form the same body and share the same promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
It has been the role of Paul to reveal that the Messiah was born not only for his own people, but for the nations too. He speaks of ‘the commission of God’s grace’ (ten oikonomian tes charitos tou theou) entrusted to him for the sake of the gentiles. It is a ‘mystery’ (musterion) made known to him by a ‘revelation’ (apokalupsis). Paul is thoroughly convinced of his role as ‘apostle of the nations’ (Romans 11:13). He explains that gentiles share the ‘same inheritance’ (sugkleronoma) of the Jewish people, are one in the ‘same body’ (sussoma) and have received the ‘same promise’ (summetocha tes epaggelias).
A reading from the holy gospel according to Matthew (2:1-12)
After Jesus had been born at Bethlehem in Judaea during the time of King Herod, suddenly some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.’ When King Herod heard this he was perturbed, and the whole of Jerusalem with him. He called together all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, and enquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, ‘At Bethlehem in Judaea, for this is what was written by the prophet:
And you, Bethlehem,
in the land of Judah,
you are by no means the least
among the leaders of Judah,
for from you will come a leader
who will shepherd my people Israel.’
Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and made certain from them the exact time when the star had appeared, and sent them on to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and find out accurately about the child, and when you have found him, report back to me, so that I too may go to worship him.’ When they had heard the king, they set out. And see, the star they had seen at its rising went before them until it halted over the place where the child was. Seeing the star, they rejoiced with very great joy, and going into the house they saw the child with Mary, his mother, and falling down they worshipped him. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. But having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by a different way.
To what extent has the story of the magi been inspired by the poem of Third Isaiah and by psalms such as Psalm 72, prayed after the first reading? The infancy gospels of Matthew, which began with the annunciation to Joseph, proceed now with the arrival of the magi. This scene features the quotation from the prophet Micah (5:2) which provides an answer to king Herod about the location of the Messiah’s birth. The magi evade the clutches of Herod and in the climax of this scene represent the nations of the earth acknowledging their place among the people saved by the life and death of the Christ. The story illustrates that from the very beginning the Messiah is seen as a threat by the powers of the world but as a gift for those who, like the magi, seek the enlightenment of truth.
What motivates Herod the king? What motivates the magi?
Matthew, a Jewish gospel, acclaims the arrival of the nations from the very start.