The latest date on which the Feast of the Epiphany can occur is 8 January. In this case the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord is celebrated on the following day, which is Monday, instead of on a Sunday. Suddenly, we find ourselves in Ordinary Time without an opportunity to contemplate the mystery of God, who revealed himself to the world through his Son made man for our salvation. It is true that the Sunday following the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord continues to elaborate the theme of the Epiphany through passages taken from the first two chapters of the Gospel according to John (see The Epiphany at the Wedding Feast at Cana), but we still return to the monotony (or calmness) of the green liturgical colour.
Due to the haste in which we were immediately introduced to the life of Christ in his public ministry, instead of the full account of the Magi’s visit, my mind remained on the last verse of the Gospel which is read on the Solemnity of the Epiphany: “And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way” (Mt 2:12).
“They departed to their own country by another way.” There is a practical aspect to this decision, that allowed Mary and Joseph enough time to gather the few belongings they could take with them and escape with the infant Jesus into Egypt—the land from which the People of Israel had left to form a nation and become the People of God in the land that God had promised to give them and led them to take possession of.
But apart from the aspect of divine logistics, when we consider the haste with which the mystery of the Epiphany is celebrated, this small phrase takes on another dimension. Firstly, “they departed” signifies that they went somewhere and experienced something. On the other hand, “they departed to their own country” signifies that the place they went to, and their experience was not in their homeland nor was it a lifelong experience: it was a journey with the intent of returning home, taking back with them an experience that remained ingrained in their memory that did not anchor them to the physical place, but they returned to their own country.
However, they did not take a different route returning to their country simply to evade Herod after being warned in a dream. In the Bible, to take another route could have negative connotations, particularly if the other route is that of disobedience and rebellion against God’s Holy Law. On the other hand, it could mean a route to a new opportunity, a route that keeps us from peril, leads to salvation, and provides a safe journey home. For instance, when the People of Israel had crossed the Jordan after forty years in the desert, Joshua sent men to spy on the city of Jericho with the aim of gradually beginning their conquest of the land that God had promised them. These spies found refuge in the home of Rahab the prostitute who lowered them down the city walls and sent them by a different route to avoid their capture by the soldiers who were searching for them (see Jos 2:22).
And therefore, as we begin a new year, instead of the many empty resolutions that we quickly break and forget, I would like to propose this question for you to reflect upon: what is the other route that the Lord desires for you to take to your homeland? Have you taken a route in life which will not lead you to your true homeland—to the place where you feel truly at home and where you can reach your full potential— but instead you chosen to wander in the empty desert of faithlessness and lack of trust? What are the opportunities that daily present themselves to you to put the Gospel into practice? They may not be the same routes of yesterday, because our lives and circumstances change daily, and each day a new response is expected of us.
Where is your homeland? Where are you planning to settle and find your place in life? Most importantly, what is going to happen when you return to your homeland? Although the sacred author remains silent, the Magi’s encounter with Jesus unquestionably transformed them. Something had changed. They discovered something, or rather, they had encountered someone whom they recognised as King and Lord. When they returned home, they surely would have shared all that they had experienced—not simply during their journey but also what it meant to them to discover the King of Israel, who is the hope of the whole world.
During this Christmas season, what have you discovered, what has profoundly touched you, what has affected you so much that there is a possibility that your life has been touched by a love higher than ourselves and that can satisfy us? More or less, we have all begun returning to our usual routines—back to our homelands, settling in. What are you taking with you? What message are you delivering? What will you share? What love have you discovered anew? What has rekindled the fire in your heart?