EPIPHANY OF THE LORD
“We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” As I ride through the neighborhood, I already see Christmas trees at the curb and the Christmas decorations coming down. For so many, the Christmas season is already over. Now, it’s on to the next thing – the Eagles are doing well and Valentine’s Day is not far off. We, the faithful, however, are still in the midst of the Christmas season – it doesn’t end until next Sunday, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Throughout this beautiful season of Christmas, we have been hearing about the great gift that God has given us. On Christmas day, we celebrated the gift of his only begotten Son, Jesus, our Savior. Jesus, who is God Incarnate, is born of Mary; we celebrated her on New Year’s Day last Thursday. Today’s Feast of the Epiphany celebrates the public announcement that the gift of salvation is available not just to the Jews but to all who seek it.
Years before St. Paul would tell the Ephesians, as we hear in today’s second reading, “that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,” Jesus was revealed to the Magi. Notice, these Magi were not Jews, but Gentiles, people who knew little if anything about the Jewish faith. Yet, they have traveled to Bethlehem to see “the newborn king of the Jews.” They were somehow drawn to this great gift, and Matthew’s Gospel tells us how they respond. This reminds me of an important observation that St. Augustine made about human nature. He realized that we were created with a thirst for the divine. “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you,” St. Augustine taught us all so clearly. The Magi were people gifted with what Augustine might have called the grace of holy restlessness. They also were courageous and willing to take on hardship. Before the time of air-conditioned SUVs, GPS and organized international police, they had to travel on foot or on camel foot through the desert and face the threat of robbery around every turn. But, these Magi had that interior yearning that led them to respond to the Spirit who urged them to look for more than they already had and knew.
The story of the Magi’s seeking and finding frames our feast of the Epiphany, the celebration of God’s self-revelation. This story demonstrates that those who are willing to go a distance in their seeking will discover God. The response of the Magi is a beautiful example of how we ourselves should respond to Jesus – and to any gift that God offers to us.
These Magi – these wise men – had the openness of mind and heart to see the star, to follow it a great distance from their homeland and to accept the unexpected gift that was revealed to them: a humble, simple child who didn’t appear with the majesty of a king but was found among the poor and forgotten.
The Magi were able to see beyond the obvious to recognize this child for who he was and to pay him homage and present him with their gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh, acknowledging his kingship, his divinity and his death. And, they continued to be open to the voice in their dreams and, in obedience, went home a different way, avoiding Herod.
Matthew’s Gospel also gives us an example of a completely opposite response to this gift – the response of Herod. King Herod, hearing of the newborn King of the Jews, responds defensively and with great fear. If what the wise men report is true, Herod thinks, he will lose his status as king of the Jews – a status he gained through bribery and back-room manipulation. Rather than see this child as a gift, as the long-promised Messiah, Herod sees him as a threat that needs to be removed right away. Herod closes his heart to the gift of God, the Messiah, wanting to keep his own ill-gained power and glory.
Of course, none of us would want to follow the example of Herod – to close our hearts and minds to God and to resort to doing evil – as Herod did when he ordered the killing of innocent children – to keep our plan intact. Yet, reflecting on these two responses to God’s revelation of himself to the world helps us to consider how open we are to the many gifts that God presents to us throughout our lives – many as surprising as finding a newborn king in the lowly setting of a manger, surrounded by animals rather than royal court officials. Everything that happens in our lives, not only the good things – like the love we experience in our families and the good school we were accepted into – but also the hard things – the sickly child or lost job or unexpected death in the family – everything is, in its own way, a gift from God – some more easily seen as gift than others, I admit. We can either reject them as Herod did and insist on following our own plan, or follow the example of the Magi and accept God’s plan for us with humility and courage, trust and obedience.
In today’s first reading, we hear the prophet Isaiah call us to raise our eyes and look about. As we continue our celebration of Christmas, we pray for the grace to keep our eyes open and have the seeking hearts of the Magi throughout the coming year. All is gift from God. With the help of the Holy Spirit, may we greet the expected and unexpected gifts – the obvious ones and those that are harder to understand – as truly gifts from our loving God. May we see the radiance and glory of Jesus in all we meet in the year ahead, and welcome it into our hearts with joy, reverence and faith in God. Our God has come into our midst to save us; let us be open to his saving work in us. And, in a world burdened by so much darkness and despair, let us be the reflection of our Lord’s light of peace and joy to everyone we meet.