Two disciples ask Jesus, “Where are you staying?” It is followed by an invitation, “Come, and you will see.” Open your eyes and respond! In today’s first reading, a number of verses are omitted. Why? The reading omits the warning that Eli’s house will fall because his sons, who are priests, were corrupt and nothing done to stop them. Hearing God’s message, Samuel overcomes his fear of telling his caretaker and benefactor that he must find his prophetic voice.

Manifestation of Jesus to the Peoples of all Nations

Epiphany saves Christmas from sentimentality. The God who comes to us in the birth of Jesus will die as Simenon foretold and Matthew prefigures today when threatened by a tyrant. There is the paradox of being rejected by his own and accepted outsiders. It is to recognise that Jesus is present in a manger surrounded by messy and smelly animals in a poor town. It is as the Magi found after following the star, that we can learn to look for him, not in a palace, but in the most ordinary people, places and situations. Taking a different route as did the Magi, means not returning to the symbols of power as in Herod, and coming home to ourselves.