The Fellowship of St. Columbanus

Isaiah 60:1-6 St. Matthew 2:1-12 The thing that stood out to me most on this reading of the lessons for Epiphany is their relentless use of the imagery of Empire. In Isaiah, the kings of the world come to the light of God's people, bringing tribute in almost unimaginable volume, to the extent that the land will be "covered" with the multitude of camels. The idea of Imperial Israel is heightened by pointing to the exile, "your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried in their arms" (RSV), referring to the return from an exile inflicted by the empires of the Assyrians and the Babylonians. In the Gospel of St. Matthew, a similar contrast occurs: rulers bring tribute to the newborn King of the Jews from afar, and at the same time, the petty ruler of a backwater province of the Roman Empire secretly attempts to find out where the High King is dwelling in order to put out his light. The brief scenes of Herod in Matthew 2 are stinging satire: