Monday after Epiphany Gospel: Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25 Imitate the Good Christ and Proclaim the Gospel Publicly to the World
When we preach the gospel of the kingdom of heaven to the world, we often do so in what we consider a relatively safe environment. Consequently, we lack experience in spreading the gospel to our brothers and sisters outside our hometowns. Thus, when we leave our hometowns and find ourselves in foreign lands, and our brothers and sisters there invite us to share the gospel of Christ with them, we may become flustered and at a loss. This is because we lack the courage to follow Christ’s example and proclaim the gospel of the kingdom to all of creation.
This passage follows the incident where John the Baptist was imprisoned by Herod for condemning Herod’s act of taking his brother’s wife, Herodias, as his own. After John was imprisoned, Jesus began His ministry. At the very beginning of His ministry, Christ chose to leave the place where He had grown up from childhood and went to Capernaum. He made Capernaum the center of His preaching and began to proclaim the gospel to all of creation, thereby setting an example for us. Since we have been called to be Christians, we should follow the example of John the Baptist and, even more so, that of Jesus Christ. We should live out the spirit of the gospel in our daily lives, imitate the virtues of Christ, care for and love our neighbors, especially those who are sick and those with weak faith. Through our constant prayers to the Heavenly Father on their behalf, we hope that they may, through our intercessions, turn to Christ and believe in the gospel along with us.
John the Baptist, please intercede for us before the throne of God, so that we may increasingly resemble Christ, live out the spirit of the gospel in our lives, and have the courage to bear witness to Christ. Amen.
The Epiphany Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12 The Magi from the East: A Prefiguration of Gentile Christians
When the Magi from the East came to Jerusalem to worship the newly-born Jewish king, Herod, the political Jewish king, reacted strongly. As soon as he heard the news, he was thrown into a panic (cf. Matthew 2:1-2). His panic did not stem from the newborn infant Jesus, but rather from the fear that this newborn child would pose a threat to his throne. After Herod was thrown into a panic, the residents living in the city of Jerusalem also became frightened because of his panic, for they were afraid that Herod would wreak havoc in the city to safeguard his royal power.
Sometimes, we can be like Herod. We often regard our worldly possessions and status as more important than our faith and may even abandon our faith for these perishable things. Our actions may cause those who know we are Christians to misunderstand what we believe in, leading them, along with us, to turn away from God and fall back into the slavery of the devil.
Today, the Magi from the East serve as a prefiguration of later non-Jewish Christians. Guided by the extraordinary star belonging to Christ, they learned that the Savior, Jesus Christ, had been born and was dwelling among us. They traveled a long distance to Jerusalem to seek Jesus. Enlightened by the Holy Spirit, they chose not to return to the world represented by Herod but instead entered the kingdom of God advocated by Jesus. As we have been called to be Christians, we should follow their example, make up our minds to follow Christ, leave the secular world behind, and enter the true realm of God.
Magi from the East, since God has invited you to seek His Messiah, please come and help us, so that we may follow in your footsteps and enter the true realm of God. Amen.
全属于祢 
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