“Today the Bridegroom claims his bride, the Church, since Christ has washed her sins away in Jordan’s waters; the Magi hasten with their gifts to the royal wedding; and the guests rejoice, for Christ has changed water into wine, alleluia.” - Antiphon for the feast of the Epiphany
528 The Epiphany is the manifestation of Jesus as Messiah of Israel, Son of God and Savior of the world. The great feast of Epiphany celebrates the adoration of Jesus by the wise men (magi) from the East, together with his baptism in the Jordan and the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee.212 In the magi, representatives of the neighboring pagan religions, the Gospel sees the first-fruits of the nations, who welcome the good news of salvation through the Incarnation. The magi's coming to Jerusalem in order to pay homage to the king of the Jews shows that they seek in Israel, in the messianic light of the star of David, the one who will be king of the nations.213 Their coming means that pagans can discover Jesus and worship him as Son of God and Savior of the world only by turning towards the Jews and receiving from them the messianic promise as contained in the Old Testament.214 The Epiphany shows that "the full number of the nations" now takes its "place in the family of the patriarchs", and acquires Israelitica dignitas215 (is made "worthy of the heritage of Israel"). - CCC
At Mass today the homilist suggested that in his sacred humanity, Jesus didn't know who he was until the Baptism, when the heavens opened up and the Father spoke saying, "You are my beloved son."
That made me sad. Christ knew who he was. As St. John states "Jesus, fully aware that he had come from God and was going to God, the Father who had handed everything over to him..." - John 13 That verse comes at the Last Hour of course, yet it seems to me the threefold dimension of the feast of the Epiphany is the key to understanding that Christ knew fully that he had come from God and was going to God, and that the Father handed everything over to him. The manifestation of this mystery was for us: "No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, ever at the Father's side, who has revealed him." -
It makes me sad because this is the result of what Pope Benedict called in his book, Jesus of Nazareth, 'a broad current of liberal scholarship'. Benedict goes on to call such speculation as something more akin to the construction of a "'Jesus novel' than an actual interpretation of the (sacred) texts."
I wonder if the style of interpretation of scripture I heard for today's Gospel may be why we see slip shod liturgies, bad catechesis and sloppy decorum, as well as a lack of faith in the Real Presence?
"Where does this poisonous harm fail to reach? And who fails to drink little or much from the golden chalice of the Babylonian woman of the Apocalypse? ...There is hardly anyone of high rank or low, saint or sinner, who does not drink of her wine, subjecting his heart somewhat."
"At Mass today the homilist suggested that in his sacred humanity, Jesus didn't know who he was"
ReplyDeleteThat old heresy still being peddled I see. I remember back in the day, some nun, on retreat, claiming the same lies. Fr. Groeshel put her in her place by refuting every word she said. She was livid.
Why this persistence to spread such a lie? Fr. Groeshel warned us that day that "anyone who claims to have Christ figured out, well, they are asking for trouble."
I am sticking with Papa Emerito's teachings.^^
Anyone who teaches the error of which you speak is teaching the spirit of Anti-Christ. I shudder at the thought.
ReplyDeleteRather like Jesus pretending to be angry.
ReplyDelete