May the story of the Epiphany be our story as well.

 

EPIPHANY 2024

"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 saying, 'we saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage."'

In celebrating the Feast of the Epiphany, may the story of the Epiphany be our story as well. We are today's magi who come to discover and encounter the Christ child.

The magic symbolizes what is restless in the human spirt seeking for a greater depth of meaning and purpose in life. They left behind what was comfortable and safe and took considerable risks in traveling to another country in search of the Lord. The magi speak to our restless human spirit seeking to discover the spiritual meaning and longing for that which ultimately satisfies us. The magi were people open and inquisitive to discover a God bigger than their imagination — a God who delighted in their seeking and finding.

May each of us be in touch with our restless human spirit that is looking for something more in our spiritual journey. How is the Lord calling us to move beyond our comfort zone and follow a star that will lead us to that deeper relationship with Jesus that we seek? The grace of Epiphany invites to come to know Jesus in a deeper relationship.

The magi come to the Lord bearing gifts. In our epiphany story, what gifts do we bring to the Lord? Much more than gold, frankincense, and myrrh, do we bring and give and share the best instincts of the human spirit: do we give our love to the Lord, our joy, our compassion? Do we give our very lives over the Lord? Is it more important for us to give, rather than to take in our day-to-day living?

My hunch is that the Lord is placing a star in our life on this Epiphany Day that we are to follow. That star may not be in the sky but possibly be the star that is in the heart of someone you are called to love and to help and to serve. That star may be in the hearts of the poor who we are called to reach out to.

The star in our life, strange as it may seem, may be a struggle, a loss, a disappointment we have experienced. The grace of this experience may make us realize that we are not fully in control of our lives; this star event may lead us to trust more fully in the hand of God for our lives.

Please note the sharp contrast between the Magi and King Herod in the Epiphany Gospel. Herod sees the promised child as a threat. He is afraid the coming baby will crimp his style, will challenge his power and lower his status.

The Magi see the promised child as a wonderful gift. They have 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 of the Christ child leads to the salvation of all the nations. Today more than two billion people call themselves Christians, in some way the result of the humility and the seeking spirit of the Magi.

We see the hostility of King Herod to the notion that he would have a rival to his kingship. Moved by jealousy, he hatched a murderous plot that was foiled by the non-cooperation of the magi.

Before we simply reject the treachery of Herod, we need to acknowledge that there is a Herod within each of us that keeps from following Christ more fully. What are the demons within us that make more self-centered than Christcentered? How radically do I share with those in need? What keeps me from listening more fully to another's point of view? Do I make time for God in the way that I live?

Yes, we all need to confess that we are sinners, and there is a bit of King Herod in all of us. But thanks be to God, the Bethlehem infant has come to be our Savior and Lord. We seek the grace of allowing ourselves to be loved by the Christ child.

In our discipleship of the Lord Jesus, we are the magi — seeking to encounter the Lord Jesus more fully in our lives. In seeking to encounter the Christ child, we come to a universal truth that brings great promise to us all.

It's revealed that there are 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. As we pray over this epiphany account, we too are to affirm that are no outsiders in our Church and in our world. All are welcome. We are to love our neighbor, no exceptions.

The magi did not come to Bethlehem empty handed. The Gospel tells us: they opened their treasures. Like the magi, each of us has a treasure to offer the Christ. The prayerful question we should ask ourselves this Sunday is: What is it? What do we have to give? Pay attention to what we give and also what we receive. We may journey like the magi seeking, but an Epiphany is beyond our control. Epiphany is an experience of grace, of how God transforms us in the mystery of the unconditional love that is given to us.

Notice well, the magi were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and they departed for their country by another way. Of course, they would return by another route. Their lives have been changed by their encounter with Jesus. May we too with God's grace have our lives changed by our encounter with Jesus. We cannot go back to our old way of living with our fears, our anxieties, our addictions, our grudges, our pettiness. We are to put on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Have a Blessed Epiphany Day.