A: Solemnity of the Epiphany of Our Lord (Jan 6, 2020) - A STAR IS BORN (Mt 2:1-12)

This feast is traditionally beheld as the occasion of the visit of the magi to the infant Jesus. We know well that this journey of the so-called “kings from the east” (Mt 2:1) to bow down before the baby Jesus to adore him (v. 2) is a manifestation of Jesus’ kingship over all earthly kings. Additionally, this story is framed within the backdrop of King Herod’s earnest desire to hold on to power (v. 3); yet it was proved feeble before the new-born king as stars in the sky (vv. 2, 9) and an angel of the Lord (vv. 13, 19) acted in concert to protect him from any evil attempt to suppress his rising dominion overall. Indeed, a new star is born in Christ Jesus!

In our contemporary entertainment industry, when we proclaim that a star is born it means two things. First is that a fresh personality has just arrived who is able to inject a new kind of following and amusement in his/her performance. Second is that the old personalities who used to rule the business are about to be replaced by this new personality with their declining popularity and public significance. That is most probably what run in the mind of Herod the Great when he heard of the birth of a new king: his own end is impending along with it! His anxiety about this fact drove him to order the horrendous execution of all children below the age of two, to ensure that this new king would be annihilated (v. 16) and his reign perpetuated.

However, this is not how our Christian spirituality works as the rise of one does not mean the fall of another. Rather, the rise of one can be tantamount, too, to the rise of everybody. Thus, Jesus’ manifestation as a new king may mean that non-aristocratic people like us, despite our humble birth and beginnings, can climb the ladder of leadership, prosperity, and success. We can all be kings in our own situations and contexts, being adopted children of a kingly God in heaven. Henceforth, the phrase “a star is born” does not mean that the old star is being replaced; rather, it may mean that each of our hopes in life is made evidently achievable. Remember, there are millions of stars in heaven, and they all can co-exist peacefully with one another.

Sadly, such is never the case in the political arena, as the rule of thumb is always that there is only one star or king at a given moment; power-sharing is always out of the equation. This way of thinking was affirmed recently via the judicial decision on the so-called Maguindanao massacre when 58 individuals (politicians, party-supporters, and some 32 journalists) were brutally executed in 2009 at the heights of the gubernatorial electoral campaigns in Mindanao. Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes is praised for bravely accepting the case, and for subsequently conducting a fair judicial trial leading to a well-discerned decision last December 19 that allegedly brought justice to all the innocent victims, save for one. Despite this milestone jurisprudence, the situation in the Philippines in terms of rendering justice is far from being fully achieved as political killings continue to thrive at the local level—the latest being the failed ambush of Vice Mayor Akmad Mitra Ampatuan last Christmas eve.

Still sadder is the continuous worsening of the situation in all parts of the world in terms of building peace, equality, and justice. Pope Francis, in his annual Christmas message called Urbi et Orbi (i.e., “to the city and to the world”), took notice of the darkness in our human hearts particularly in the worldwide presence of violence, wars, conflicts, socio-political tensions, persecution, and massive injustices, particularly in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Iraq, Yemen, Venezuela, Ukraine, Congo, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria. He enjoined everybody to work together to bring light to the darkness of the world (cf. Isa 9:1) by softening “our stony and self-centered hearts, and make them channels of his [Jesus’] love”.

In the light of all of these, may we entrust the year 2020 to the loving protection of Jesus the Incarnate Word, who inspires us by his birth to shine as stars in our own right in our day-to-day contexts bringing light to our world that is still immersed in darkness.

- Rex Fortes, CM