We celebrate today the feast of the Epiphany of The Lord. The word "epiphany" comes from Greek and it means a "showing" or "manifestation". He is presented as born homeless and in poverty and surrounded by the poor and outcasts. We see also the same recently born baby in similar circumstances but the material and social surroundings are hardly touched on. The emphasis here, is different. Here are strangers, foreigners, total outsiders coming to give royal homage to this tiny child.

This will be the theme of Matthew's Gospel. "Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations."

All in all, today's feast is telling us that for God there are no foreigners, no outsiders. From his point of view, all are equally his beloved children. We all, whatever external physical or cultural differences there may be between us, belong to one single family which has one Father, "our" Father. It means that every one of us is a brother and sister to everyone else. There is no room for discrimination of any kind based on nationality, race, religion, class or occupation. There cannot be a single exception to this position. We thank God today that there is no "Chosen People" whether they be Jews or Christians. Let us try to understand more deeply God's closeness to us. There are no outsiders. All are called - be it the Mother of Jesus, the rich and the poor, the privileged and the lonely, the healthy and the sick, the saints and the sinners. Through baptism, each one of us became configured to Jesus Christ. In a sense, each one of us had a star stop and come to rest over the place where we were baptized, for in that instant, we became Christ for others.

As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, let us be attentive to the great story of the magi from the East. Let us pray that the presence of Christ will be manifested through us to a world longing for justice and peace.