Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord
Reading 1
Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come,
the glory of the Lord shines upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth,
and thick clouds cover the peoples;
but upon you the LORD shines,
and over you appears his glory.
Nations shall walk by your light,
and kings by your shining radiance.
Raise your eyes and look about;
they all gather and come to you:
your sons come from afar,
and your daughters in the arms of their nurses.
Then you shall be radiant at what you see,
your heart shall throb and overflow,
for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you,
the wealth of nations shall be brought to you.
Caravans of camels shall fill you,
dromedaries from Midian and Ephah;
all from Sheba shall come
bearing gold and frankincense,
and proclaiming the praises of the LORD.
Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13Responsorial Psalm
R. (cf. 11) Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king’s son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more. May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
The kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts;
the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute.
All kings shall pay him homage,
all nations shall serve him.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6Reading 2
Brothers and sisters:
You have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace
that was given to me for your benefit,
namely, that the mystery was made known to me by revelation.
It was not made known to people in other generations
as it has now been revealed
to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit:
that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body,
and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Mt 2:1-12Gospel
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,
in the days of King Herod,
behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,
“Where is the newborn king of the Jews?
We saw his star at its rising
and have come to do him homage.”
When King Herod heard this,
he was greatly troubled,
and all Jerusalem with him.
Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people,
He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea,
for thus it has been written through the prophet:
And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
since from you shall come a ruler,
who is to shepherd my people Israel.”
Then Herod called the magi secretly
and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance.
He sent them to Bethlehem and said,
“Go and search diligently for the child.
When you have found him, bring me word,
that I too may go and do him homage.”
After their audience with the king they set out.
And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them,
until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
They were overjoyed at seeing the star,
and on entering the house
they saw the child with Mary his mother.
They prostrated themselves and did him homage.
Then they opened their treasures
and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod,
they departed for their country by another way.
Catholic Fundamentalism Interpretation:
Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem. You now have access to The Loving Programmer’s Holy Download.
No one else is able to see this, others are operating in clouds of errors, unable to have the light penetrate into their minds and hearts. But, you get to see Him shining on you, His glory around you.
Your light will guide nations, kings will be led by your brilliance. Look up and around: they all gather and come to you, wanting to know the truth that you know. Your (Abraham’s?) sons from from afar, and your daughters carried by their nurses. You will absorb the download, operate by it, and become more brilliant as you do. You will be as happy as possible, with the riches of the sea before you, along with the wealth of nations. Caravans of camels will fill you from all over the world, bringing gold, frankincense, and proclaiming the praises of The Loving Programmer.
Loving Programmer, every people (and person) on earth will adore you.
Loving Programmer, give the kings Your judgment, give princes your justice. Let your people (and others?) be governed with judgment.
Let justice spread and flower, let there be peace until the moon disappears. May The Programmer rule from sea to sea, from Egypt to the ends of the earth.
All the kings of the world will offer you gifts, tribute, and homage. The sons of Ishmael and East Africa will worship you, along with all the other nations.
The Loving Programmer will rescue the poor when they ask Him to do so, along with those afflicted who have no one to help them. He will pity the lowly and poor, and save their lives.
Everyone on earth will adore You, Loving Programmer of all that is.
Fellow believers, you have heard about the way I take care of God’s grace, that He gave to me to help you. It’s important to note that the mystery was given to me by revelation, and no one in earlier generations was given it as it’s now revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the Holy Wireless Connector:
Those who are not Jewish are just as able to be saved as are those who are. They are equal partners in the promise of Christ, (The Program in Perfect, Obedient, Human Form) through The Programmer and Holy Wireless Connector as they have downloaded in The Programming Logs.
When Jesus was born, (as predicted) in Bethlehem of Judea, when Herod was King, wise men came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is the newborn King of the Jews? We saw His star (sign/angelic messenger?) when it came time for Him and have come to worship Him." (These Magi were sons of Abrahamic tribes who’d developed and become powerful in Persia without losing sight of the prophets or God’s guidance.) When Herod heard this, he was worried, along with the Jerusalem establishment who already had all the kings it needed. He got everyone who knew anything about the subject, and asked them where Christ was to be born. As the Wise Men already knew, they told him "Bethlehem is the birthplace of our lawful, chosen ruler."
Herod took the Magi aside, secretly, and found out when the star appeared. He told them to go to Bethlehem and look hard to find the child, and then to let him know, so he could go worship Him, too." What a liar he was!
They left Herod, and saw, again, the star they had seen at its first appearance, and followed it to Bethlehem, where it stopped over the place where Jesus was. They were overjoyed! They went in, and saw Jesus and Mary, His Mother. They prostrated themselves flat on the ground before Him, and worshipped Him. Then, they gave Him their treasures, gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
They were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and went back to their country by another way. (They were, it would appear, from one country.)
