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Sunday, January 2, 2011

Great Things Come in Small Packages

Today, on the feast of the Epiphany, we celebrate the wealthy kings that journeyed from the East to pay homage to a poor, homeless baby, lying in a barn. In sharp contrast, although they were wealthy and even prepared very expensive "small packages" fitting for a King. To their dismay, upon their arrival, they discover Jesus - the King of Kings is actually a helpless baby, lying in a barn and clearly without a palace, an earthly kingdom or royal robes. Prophetically, these affluent kings instantly became a sign that one day all the kings of the earth will bow down before Jesus, the child infamously born in homelessness and utter poverty. Confounding the wise, we pray . . .

R Lord, every nation on earth will adore you!

Endow the king with your justice, O God,
the royal son with your righteousness.
May he judge your people in righteousness,
your afflicted ones with justice. R

May the mountains bring prosperity to the people,
the hills the fruit of righteousness.
May he defend the afflicted among the people
and save the children of the needy;
May he crush the oppressor. R

May he endure as long as the sun,
as long as the moon, through all generations.
May he be like rain falling on a mown field,
like showers watering the earth.
In his days may the righteous flourish
and prosperity abound till the moon is no more. R

May he rule from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
May the desert tribes bow before him
and his enemies lick the dust.
May the kings of Tarshish and of distant shores
bring tribute to him.
May the kings of Sheba and Seba
present him gifts.
May all kings bow down to him
and all nations serve him. R

For he will deliver the needy who cry out,
the afflicted who have no one to help.
He will take pity on the weak and the needy
and save the needy from death.
He will rescue them from oppression and violence,
for precious is their blood in his sight.
Long may he live! R

May gold from Sheba be given him.
May people ever pray for him
and bless him all day long.
May grain abound throughout the land;
on the tops of the hills may it sway. R

May the crops flourish like Lebanon
and thrive like the grass of the field.
May his name endure forever;
may it continue as long as the sun.
Then all nations will be blessed through him,
and they will call him blessed. R

Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel,
who alone does marvelous deeds.
Praise be to his glorious name forever;
May the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and Amen. R (Psalm 72)

After a grueling 4,000 year delay from the first prophesy, the long-awaited Messiah has come. The glory of the Lord fills the earth, hidden in the person of a child of the poor. Our Salvation that took many millennia in coming, arrives as a “small Package” and unrecognizable to the world. It is the way of the incarnation.
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2 comments:

newguy40 said...

Good post.

The Kings were prepared to overcome their preconceptions of what the Messiah would be.

Simeon is another example of being prepared to accept what the holy spirit sends and directs us.

Where hearts and spritis are open, grace will flow. The most challenging task I have is keeping my heart and spirit open thru my day in the world. Frequent Mass, prayer and access to the sacramments keeps my feet planted!

Thanks for the blog and your ministry!

Anonymous said...

Newguy40, what a great insight you have been given . . . "The Kings were prepared to overcome their preconceptions of what the Messiah would be." So true. We all would do well today to also shed our preconceptions of Jesus as King and go seek him where he may be found, in the poor, the lost, homeless and broken.