Sunday Homily | 2025-01-04 | Epiphany of the Lord

Today we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany of the Lord. In both Spanish and Japanese, this is a strange word. When I looked up this word in the dictionary, a homophone meaning “declaration” appeared, but that is another word. But that is another word, so what does this word mean? Originally, it comes from the Greek word “ἐπιφάνεια”. It has two parts. The first is “ἐπι” and means “over”, “above”. The second is “φαίνω” which is the verb “to show” or “to appear”. So together these two words mean “which is shown above”, i.e. “which is made visible” or, more simply “which is made manifest”. In Japanese, two kanji are used. The second corresponds to the meaning we have just seen. But the first one adds one more piece of information that is very important. The first kanji means that the manifestation is “public”, not private. So we have been able to explain what this word means.
2. Let us now try to explain what this word has to do with Christmas. This is simpler. There is no need to explain strange Greek words. What we celebrate at Christmas is that God has become man. And since God has become man, he has publicly manifested himself to all men. Jesus Christ, God made man, has manifested himself to the whole human race. Therefore, his manifestation is public and not private, as we saw before.
3. And to explain how Jesus manifests himself to all men, we can look at what happens on this feast. Three wise men from the East, who are neither Christians nor Jews, arrive in Bethlehem guided by a star. Their knowledge of the stars and their interpretation led them to the place where God was born. And upon arriving there, they recognized and worshipped him. Despite coming from a culture and religion far removed from Christianity, these three men were able to make the journey that led them to the living and true God, Jesus Christ.
4. I have just completed a year and a half since I arrived in Japan. I am still learning Japanese and I think I will continue to learn Japanese until I die. It never ends. But maybe I have had time to get to know Japanese culture. And I have been discovering in the Japanese culture some elements that, like the interpretation of the stars of those men from the East, are a help to discover Jesus Christ as the living and true God and to worship Him.
5. I thank God for the value of humility that I see in the Japanese, which is not only shown in language, but also in life. I thank God for the great capacity for sacrifice that I see in the Japanese and that is manifested especially in the family and at work. I thank God for the respect for others that I see in the Japanese, which is undoubtedly a gesture of love for others. I thank God for the aesthetic sensitivity that I see in the Japanese and that leads them to a great love of creation. I could go on, but I have to save things for the following homilies.
6. All these are stars in the sky that guide us, even without knowing it, to Jesus Christ, the living and true God. Let us give thanks to God today because we too have been able to see him and adore him.

[@carmendeliavera6190]

Hermosa homilía!. El amor x ese pueblo producirá frutos abundantes. Lo + importante es q uno se sienta querido x el predicador. Gloria al Señor. Felices Reyes para ud. y para su linda comunidad en Japón ❤

[@MisionJapon]

¡Feliz año y feliz día de reyes!