The Lord has made his salvation known to the whole world

Treasures of Our Faith with Deacon Richard Vehige

Today, Sunday, as our Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, we are invited to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of the prophet Isaiah (60: 1-22) entitled “The revelation of God’s glory over Jerusalem”. Our treasure, which follows, is from a sermon by Saint Leo the Great, pope.

The Epiphany of the Lord is a Christian feast day that celebrates the manifestation of Christ to the world. It's celebrated on January 6th or the first Sunday after January 1st. The word "epiphany" comes from the Greek word epiphainen, which means "to manifest," "appear," or "make known".

The Epiphany of the Lord celebrates:

• The visit of the Magi: The Magi, also known as the Three Kings or the Wise Men, traveled from the East to visit the baby Jesus. They brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to honor Jesus.
• Jesus' baptism: Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River.
• The wedding feast at Cana: The wedding feast took place in Galilee.

The Epiphany of the Lord invites people to consider how Christ is manifest in their own hearts. It's a reminder that God's kingdom is different from earthly kingdoms, where the humble are lifted up and true power is found in love and service.

Saint Leo became pope in the year 440. Saint Leo was a Roman aristocrat, and was the first pope to have been called “the Great”. Saint Leo is known as one of the best administrative popes of the ancient Church .His work branched into many areas of the church, indicative of his notion of the pope’s total responsibility for the flock of Christ. In the 96 sermons which have come down to us, we find Leo stressing the virtues of almsgiving, fasting, and prayer, and also expounding Catholic doctrine with clarity and conciseness, in particular, the dogma of the Incarnation. Leo is perhaps best known for having met Attila the Hun in 452 and having persuaded him to turn back from his invasion of Italy.

Isaiah, one of the greatest of the prophets, appeared at a critical moment in Israel’s history. The Northern Kingdom collapsed, under the hammerlike blows of Assyria, in 722/721 B.C., and in 701 Jerusalem itself saw the army of Sennacherib drawn up before its walls. In the year that Uzziah, king of Judah, died, Isaiah received his call to the prophetic office in the Temple of Jerusalem. Close attention should be given to chapter six, where this divine summons to be the ambassador of the Most High is circumstantially described.

The vision of the Lord enthroned in glory stamps an indelible character on Isaiah’s ministry and provides a key to the understanding of his message. The majesty, holiness and glory of the Lord took possession of his spirit and, at the same time, he gained a new awareness of human pettiness and sinfulness. The enormous abyss between God’s sovereign holiness and human sinfulness overwhelmed the prophet. Only the purifying coal of the seraphim could cleanse his lips and prepare him for acceptance of the call: “Here I am, send me!”

The ministry of Isaiah extended from the death of Uzziah in 742 B.C. to Sennacherib’s siege of Jerusalem in 701 B.C., and it may have continued even longer, until after the death of Hezekiah in 687 B.C. Later legend (the Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah) claims that Hezekiah’s son, Manasseh, executed Isaiah by having him sawed in two. During this long ministry, the prophet returned again and again to the same themes, and there are indications that he may have sometimes re-edited his older prophecies to fit new occasions.