Totus Tuus - Totus 2us

Pope Benedict XVI's Homily at Mass  
_{- in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese & Spanish}

"Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The light which, at Christmas, shone in the night illuminating the grotto of Bethlehem, where Mary, Joseph and the shepherds stayed in silent adoration, today shines out and is manifested to everyone. The Epiphany is the mystery of light, symbolically represented by the star that guided the journey of the Magi. However, the true luminous source, the "sun that rises from on high" (Lk 1, 78), is Christ. In the mystery of Christmas, the light of Christ radiates upon the earth, diffusing as in concentric circles. Foremost upon the Holy Family of Nazareth: the Virgin Mary and Joseph are illuminated by the divine presence of the Child Jesus. The light of the Redeemer is then manifested to the shepherds of Bethlehem, who, informed by an angel, hasten immediately to the grotto and there find the "sign" that had been announced to them: a child wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger (cf Lk 2, 12). The shepherds, together with Mary and Joseph, represent that "remnant of Israel", the poor, the anawim, to whom the Good News is announced. The radiance of Christ finally reaches the Magi, who constitute the first-fruits of the pagan peoples. The palaces of the power of Jerusalem remain in shadow, where the news of the Messiah's birth is taken, paradoxically, by the Magi themselves, and rouses not joy but fear and hostile reactions. The mysterious divine plan: "the light came into the world, but men preferred the darkness to the light, because their deeds were evil" (Jn 3: 19).

But what is this light? Is it just an evocative metaphor or does this image correspond to a reality? The Apostle John writes in his First Letter: "God is light and in him there is no darkness" (I Jn 1, 5); and further on he adds: "God is love". These two affirmations, taken together, help us better understand: the light, shone forth at Christmas, which today is manifested to the peoples, is the love of God, revealed in the Person of the Verb incarnate. Attracted by this light, the Magi arrived from the East. In the mystery of the Epiphany, therefore, alongside a movement of radiation toward the outside, a movement of attraction is manifested toward the centre, which brings to fulfillment the movement already written about in the Old Covenant. The source of such dynamism is God, One in substance and Three in Persons, who draws to Himself everything and everyone. The Incarnate Person of the Verb is presented thus as the principle of universal reconciliation and recapitulation (cf Eph 1, 9-10). He is the final destination of history, the point of arrival of an "exodus", of a providential pathway of redemption, which culminates in his death and resurrection. This is why, on the Solemnity of the Epiphany, the liturgy foresees the so-called "Announcement of Easter": indeed, the liturgical year sums up the entire parable of the history of salvation, at whose centre is "the Triduum of the Lord, crucified, buried and risen".

In the liturgy of Christmastide, this verse from Psalm 98[97] frequently recurs as a refrain: "The Lord has made known his salvation, in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice" (v 2). They are words that the Church uses to emphasize the "epiphanic" dimension of the Incarnation: the Son of God became man, his entry into history is the culminating moment of God's self-revelation to Israel and to all the peoples. In the Child of Bethlehem God has revealed himself in the humility of "human form", in the "condition of a slave", indeed of one crucified (cf Phil 2, 6-8). It is the Christian paradox. It is precisely this concealment which constitutes the most eloquent "manifestation" of God: the humility, poverty, the very ignominy of the Passion makes us know how God truly is. The face of the Son faithfully reveals that of the Father. This is why the mystery of Christmas is all, so to speak, an "epiphany". The manifestation to the Magi does not add something extraneous to God's plan, but reveals a perennial and constitutive dimension, that is "the Gentiles are called, in Christ Jesus, to participate in the same inheritance, to form the same body, and to be participants in the promise through the Gospel" (Eph 3, 6).

At a superficial glance, God's faithfulness to Israel and his manifestation to the peoples may appear to have divergent aspects; in reality, they are two sides of the same coin. In fact, according to the Scriptures, it is precisely by remaining faithful to his pact of love with the people of Israel that God also reveals his glory to other peoples. "Grace and faithfulness" (Ps 88, 2), "mercy and truth" (Ps 84, 11), are the content of God's glory, they are his "name", destined to be known and sanctified by men of every language and nation. But this "content" is inseparable from the "method" that God has chosen to reveal himself, which is absolute faithfulness to the covenant, which reaches its culmination in Christ. The Lord Jesus is, at the same time and inseparably, "the light to illuminate the peoples and the glory of his people Israel" (Lk 2, 32), as the elderly Simeon, inspired by God, exclaimed taking the Child in his arms, when the parents presented him at the temple. The light that illuminates the peoples - the light of the Epiphany - emanates from the glory of Israel - the glory of the Messiah born, according to the Scriptures, in Bethlehem, "the city of David" (Lk 2, 4). The Magi worshipped a simple Child in the arms of his Mother Mary, because in Him they recognized the source of the double light that had guided them: the light of the star and the light of the Scriptures. They recognized in Him the King of the Jews, the glory of Israel, but also the King of all the peoples.

In the liturgical context of the Epiphany, the mystery of the Church and her missionary dimension is also manifested. She is called to make the light of Christ shine in the world, reflecting it in herself as the moon reflects the light of the sun. In the Church the ancient prophecies referring to the holy city of Jerusalem have found their fulfillment, like the wonderful one in Isaiah that we have just heard: "Arise, clothed in light, because your light has come.... The peoples shall walk by your light, the kings by the splendour of your rising" (Is 60, 1-3). The disciples of Christ must realize this: trained by Him to live in the style of the Beatitudes, through their witness of love they must attract all men to God: "Thus let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (Mt 5, 16). By listening to these words of Jesus, we, members of the Church, cannot not/but be alert to the total inadequacy of our human condition, marked by sin. The Church is holy, but made up of men and women with their limitations and errors. It is Christ, Him alone, who in giving us the Holy Spirit can transform our misery and renew us constantly. He is the light of the peoples, lumen gentium, who has chosen to illuminate the world through his Church (cf Vatican Council II, Lumen Gentium, 1).

"How can this come about?", we also ask ourselves with the words that the Virgin addressed to the archangel Gabriel. And she herself, the Mother of Christ and of the Church, gives us the answer: with her example of total availability to will of God - "fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum" (Lk 1: 38) - She teaches us to be an "epiphany" of the Lord, in opening our hearts to the strength of grace and in faithful adherence to the word of her Son, light of the world and the final goal of history. So be it!"