Epiphany.       This Sunday, January 7th, we celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord.  Epiphany means “manifestation,” and refers to the manifestation of God to His creatures – the manifestation of Jesus as the Messiah of Israel, Son of God and Savior of the world (see Catechism of the Catholic Church 528 ).   Although Epiphany had been celebrated earlier in some areas, since AD 376, the Church universal has celebrated on Epiphany three grand manifestations of the Divinity of Jesus: (1) the coming of the wise men (the three kings), the first Gentiles to adore the Infant God ( Mt. 2:11 ); (2) the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan where the voice of the Eternal Father proclaims Him as, “My Beloved Son” ( Mt. 3:17 , Mk.1:11 , Lk. 3:22 ); and (3) Jesus’ changing water into wine at the marriage feast of Cana, the first of Jesus’ signs which “manifested His glory” ( Jn. 2:11 ), His Divine power, His radiance of the God’s splendor ( Heb. 1:3 ).      ...

  (2) Rumors from Hebron. Late June, perhaps 5 BC.       Dear Friend, in our last conversation I told you the strange story of the priest serving in the Temple in Jerusalem last Fall. He was from my home town, Ain Karim in Hebron. His name was Zechariah, and while offering the incense in the Temple, suddenly he was struck mute! Coming out, he couldn’t speak a word! ( Luke 1:5-25 .) Do you remember my telling you?       Well, guess what! The old gossip who started the rumor that the priest’s wife – Elizabeth is her name – was pregnant – was right! Another Hannah bearing a child in her old age! ( 1 Sam 1 .)       It was my wife who noticed first. She was out in the garden last Spring planting the vegetable and flower seeds and happened to notice Elizabeth out in front of her house,  looking for someone on the road. Soon a young girl, maybe about 15,  and bit older man, maybe in his 30's – later we le...

(1) Rumors from Jerusalem. This Advent, as we prepare to once again welcome the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas, perhaps we might consider God’s immediate preparation for His Messiah and how it may have been understood by an ordinary person at the time. Imagine .... I am a faithful believer in God. My home is in Judea, in Hebron. Seems it’s about 6 BC, and that rotten imposter of a Jewish King, Herod, is on the throne. Ah! He’s just a puppet of Rome! Oh, where is the Messiah to set things right? When will the Kingdom be restored to Israel? (Cf., Ac 1:6 .)            It has been 600 or 700 years since Isaiah had prophesied. He said that a Voice would cry out in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord” ( Is 40:3 ). Where’s that Voice? I’ve visited with the Essenes, with their group that left Jerusalem decades ago, no maybe a couple hundred years ago. They are faithful believers, even if they have some strict rules. They went “out in the wil...