“They have left their treasures behind and return richer. Unlike the usual secrecy that surrounded their lives, they are ready to reveal what has been revealed to them”. Our reflection from the daily Mass.
BIBLE READINGS: You can find the readings the Epiphany here Universalis Website)
We know that members of the Magic Circle are sworn to secrecy. The Magicians oath says, “I promise never to reveal the secret of any illusion unto the laity, unless one swears to maintain the Magician’s Oath in turn. I promise never to execute any illusion for any layperson without practicing the effect before I could do it well enough to maintain the illusion of magic.”
There is a wide variety of suggestions about the Magi. Whilst they are often interpreted as being kings, this doesn’t come from the account in Luke but from the prophecy of Isaiah. Some scholars suppose them to be members of the Zoroastrian religion or some other mystical system of belief. Others that they come from different countries of the East, that they were philosophers or astrologers or someone for whom astrology was important to help them understand the world. Another interpretation is that they were magicians or sorcerers. In the Acts of the Apostles, we meet a man called Simon Magus or Simon the Magician, a sorcerer who used illusion and slight of hand to bewitch people and hold power over them. No doubt, he never gave the secret of his tricks away.
Whatever we think of the Magi, something significant is happening in the events of today’s celebration. If the Magi are used to using slight of hand to deceive people or reading the stars to interpret the world, their encounter with Jesus has now given them a new way of seeing the world, which they take with them on their journey home. The gifts they leave behind illustrate they have understood the significance of this child. They have left their treasures behind and return richer. Unlike the usual secrecy that surrounded their lives, they are ready to reveal what has been revealed to them. The secret is out there. The mystery is unfolded. There is no illusion to maintain. God speaks clearly in Christ.
“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.”
Mass today is at St Mary’s Church at 7pm
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