We don't need to go to the Bethlehem crib to discover the Christ child; we only need to look to the neighbor next door.

“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?’”

That is the Epiphany question for the magi and for ourselves as well:  Where is the newborn king of the Jews?  Where?  The Christmas mystery is that the power of God is revealed through a baby.  The Lord of the universe is revealed in the infant of Bethlehem.

In celebrating the Feast of the Epiphany, we celebrate the Good News of the birth of Jesus "breaking out" beyond the boundaries of Israel, and being made known to all the peoples of the world - to every tribe, and tongue and people and nation. So, we celebrate the Savior who comes to the Gentiles. This is symbolized by the three wise men, who came from the East to welcome and worship Him.

"Epiphany" - means "revealed". But what is it, exactly, that is revealed to the magi?

         

-- It's revealed that God loves all human beings, not just one kind.

- It's revealed that God has a plan to save us from the dead end of sin and selfishness, and love us back from the brink of hatred, jealousy, and greed that threatens to destroy us.

- It's revealed that God chose to do this through a small, humble and unassuming family from a poor neighborhood so that the poor and the rich could recognize the love at the heart of this world-transforming event.

 -It’s revealed that there were no outsiders at the Bethlehem crib.  There was no racism.  All were welcome.  Jesus welcomed everyone – the ox and the ass, the shepherds and magi, poor and rich, the Jews and Gentiles.  He came for us all.  He would reject no one, as he would accept the unique gifts of each.

Notice the stark contrast between the Magi kings and Herod the king: Herod sees the promised child as a threat. He's afraid the coming baby will crimp his style, will challenge his power and lower his status.

The Magi see the promised child as wonderful gift. They've humbled themselves to travel a great distance to a strange culture that speaks a different language, in order to embrace this baby who fulfills God's love.

Herod's selfishness, fueled by his fears leads to his downfall. The Magi's worship leads to the salvation of all the nations. Today more than 2 billion people call themselves Christians, in large part because of the humility of these three kings.

The gift of eternal life is offered to the peoples of the world through the birth a child.

In celebrating the Feast of the Epiphany, may the story of the Epiphany be our story as well.  Like the magi, we are seekers searching for an encounter with the Lord, a deeper relationship with Jesus in 2018.  Let us respond to the deeper meaning of this Feast by participating in the ongoing epiphany, the ongoing revealing, of God's love and light to a world desperately stands in need of redemption.

The magi did not come to the Bethlehem crib empty handed.  The gospel tells us: “They opened their treasures.”  Like the magi, each of us has a treasure to offer

Christ.  The prayerful question we should ask ourselves this Sunday is: what is it? What do we have to give?

 The magi presented gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the Christ child.  What gifts do we offer to the Christ child?  Our gifts are not gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  Rather, our gifts are our time, talent, and treasure that we offer as good stewards of the giftedness that God has blessed us with.

I invite you to see the connection between stewardship and the meaning of the Epiphany event.  The magi were overjoyed at arriving at the Bethlehem crib and offered their gifts.  So too, for us, when we are overjoyed in encountering the Lord, we are led to share from our giftedness in the service of one another.  For us we don’t need to go to the Bethlehem crib to discover the Christ child; we need only to look to the neighbor next door.  How much and how often are we to give?   As long as our God continues to share his unending love with us, that is how long we are to continue to give in the service of one another.  Period.  End of the story.

Like Zacchaeus in the Gospel account, when we know how much we are loved and forgiven and healed by our God, we never regret our generosity that is given in praise of God and in the service of one another.

Please note well in the Christmas mystery that it is not just the magi who are seekers.  God is a seeker.  We are sought by a God who has become one of us and who hunts us down with His love.  In the Epiphany mystery, we need to allow ourselves to be found by the love of the Christ child.

The spirituality of stewardship is all contained in the beautiful Epiphany account.  As you fill out your stewardship commitment card and place it in the collection basket, see yourself as the magi who are seeking a deeper relationship with Jesus.  The magi were givers, not taker; they reached out to others; and they were not self-absorbed.   It is in giving that you receive.

In the Christmas-Epiphany mystery, God has become man in Christ for to share his life and love for our salvation.  Our spirituality is a response to God’s love for us.  We gather thankful for our blessings.  We live life with an attitude of gratitude.  We gather also knowing that love is the first requirement of a disciple of Jesus.  We share our love as we share our treasure in praise of God and in the service of one another.    In a spiritualityof stewardship, like the magi, we are givers, not takers.  We do not encounter the Lord empty-handed.  We share our treasure with the Lord and with the Church.

As we place our stewardship cards in the second collection today, may we like the magi share our treasures as we encounter the Lord in this mystery of the Eucharist.

Have a blessed day.