How is God
revealed to us?
When the people at
last return from exile, the prophet Isaiah tells them, Jerusalem will be
blessed with prosperity: the glory of the Lord will shine upon her, and she will be radiant at all she sees.
The riches of the sea, the wealth of nations, caravans of camels from
around the world: all will reveal God’s
blessing conferred upon the people of Israel.
Here, God is revealed as a light
radiating out from God’s people, drawing other nations to Jerusalem, and therefore
to God. This vision is confirmed in
Psalm 72: Lord, every nation on earth will adore you. God is revealed in the justice of the king God
has set to rule over his people Israel. All kings shall pay him homage, all nations
shall serve him, thereby serving God.
A light over
Jerusalem will similarly draw magi from
the east to that city to witness, yet again, God revealed to God’s people,
this time in the person of Jesus. Matthew's Gospel tells us that gifted
with insight into the ways of science and of the stars, the magi hold a special
wisdom; not only do they find the star at
its rising, they follow it in order to do
homage to the newborn king of the
Jews. They are moved by faith, open
to God’s revelation, traveling great distances to witness the ruler who is to shepherd Israel. Like the kings of Tarshish, Arabia and Seba
in Psalm 72, the magi offer gifts as homage to God’s justice incarnate upon the
earth.
God’s mysteries,
as St. Paul tells the Ephesians, are made
known to us by revelation – and
not just to his holy apostles and
prophets by the Spirit, but to all the world, Gentiles and Jews alike. All nations, all peoples are coheirs, members of the same body, and
copartners in the promise, if only they, and we, like the magi, move by
faith toward the Christ revealed in our midst.
This post is based
on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com
