O God, who on this day
revealed your Only Begotten Son to the nations
by guidance of a star,
grant in your mercy
that we, who know your already by faith,
may be brought to behold the beauty
of your sublime glory.
(Collect of Solemnity)
It
seems somewhat a disadvantage at funeral services that we often highlight the
many accomplishments and virtues of the deceased rather than be likewise
complimentary during that person’s life. A parishioner once said to me, “Let’s
have my funeral before I die so I can hear all the great things said about me.” (Tongue in cheek) I’d rather hear them regardless of a funeral or not.
In
some cases we nearly canonize a person and would never mention any disparaging
faults or scandal. If we do, it is often put into a larger context: “Grandpa
could often be opinionated and somewhat of a curmudgeon but for the most part,
he had a heart of gold.” We tend to shine the best light we can for it would be
really tasteless to speak ill of the dead.
No one is perfect, not even the Saints among us. While there are
certainly exceptions to this, such as in the case of notorious criminals who
have done great harm, the vast majority of folks will hear good things about
their loved one.
In
the case of Jesus, however, we are dealing with the perfect human being. In our case, death is the end as we move on
to eternity and we are remembered by family and friends. We are born, we hopefully
live well and do what is right then we die. But, it is the end of Jesus’
earthly life that overshadows his birth. In the case of our Lord, his death was
only the beginning of a far greater reality – the salvation of humankind.
Post-Resurrection
and Ascension, then, we look back and shine that light on his earthly ministry.
The details of the Christmas story are one example. Like all in the scriptures it is a story of
faith. The coming of the Magi to Bethlehem, an ancient and beloved image at
this time of year, likely is seen as a foreshadow of the future mission of this
child born of Mary.
Isaiah
in our first reading speaks poetically: “Rise
up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come . . . upon you the Lord shines,
and over you appears his glory . . . Nations shall walk by you light, and kings
by your shining radiance.” We are
nearly blinded by the references to this new shining light! The Magi, from the
Gentile world, follow a shining star in the heavens which leads them to the
greater light himself. The imagery is
quite beautiful and the full reading from Isaiah continues with images that
clearly can reference this part of the Christmas story. Like Jesus’ command
before his Ascension into heaven, to “Go
and make disciples of all nations,” (Mt. 28: 19) the Magi come to symbolize
the larger world that will come to recognize Jesus as the light of the world. This is a great feast of light and faith. It
all symbolizes the end of Jesus life which points to the resurrection and
beyond.
It
may also beg the question of our own personal journey through life. The Second
Vatican Council spoke of the Church as a “Pilgrim People” and titled one of the
great Documents from that Council “Lumen
Gentium,” where it begins: “Christ is
the Light of the nations.”
Mary
and Joseph journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem; the shepherds are told by the
angels to go to the city and find the child; the Magi set out from far away in
search of the newborn king then return to their homeland by another route. All roads lead to and from Christ Jesus and
his discovery is so compelling that the shepherds return and tell all what they
have “seen and heard.” What the Magi
finally said of their discovery is lost in legend but we can safely assume they
were not quiet about it. How could they be since
their determination to find the new king is legendary? We can be the magi of today. So we are pilgrims, on a journey, in search
of a homeland and a person to lead us there.
On
the other hand, that journey is not always filled with such joy of
discovery. The magi were confronted by
Herod whose intention to find the new born king was anything but to honor him.
Mary and Joseph flee Bethlehem quickly to Egypt after a dark warning by the angel. That journey was not exactly in an air
conditioned Lexus and you can imagine their fear. The point of this is that
along our way of discovery, our growth in faith, we will encounter difficulty
and be challenged to trust more deeply in the one we are searching for.
So,
as we wind down the Christmas season with today’s beautiful and symbolic feast
of light it might be good for us to reflect for a moment on the journey of my
life. We spend a lot of time in the busy
pursuit of many things – some of them right and good but others may be just
empty gratification. Often that which is
good for us, such as exercise, a balanced diet and regular prayer and Sunday
worship, we may avoid at all costs. We may fill our day with empty pursuits and
shallow things like our laser beam focus on material possessions or competition
with our neighbors or occasional prayer only when I need something or are
desperate. Like the shepherds and magi who were clearly changed deeply by who
they found, so too can this year ahead be a year of growth and change for any
of us.
There
is no doubt that the Epiphany story has a big picture view about the future
mission of the Church in light of Jesus’ death and resurrection. All we need do is look around our local
parish assembly and see the diversity of cultures represented to know that
people of “all nations” have come to believe.
We are in a sense spiritual immigrants as we search for the star to lead
us to a higher purpose and person but do we really stay on the road? We have all been entrusted with a mission to
carry out that of the Church given by Jesus to his Apostles.
This
week we mark one of our American Saints: St. John Neumann, the first Bishop of
Philadelphia, PA. His pastoral concern
for a growing Catholic Church in America in the 18th century is
admirable. He wrote these words which strike me as appropriate for our Feast
today: “Everyone, who breathes, high and
low, educated and ignorant, young and old, man and woman, has a mission, has a
work. We are not sent into the world for
nothing. We are not born at random . . .
He creates every soul for a purpose . . . He has an end for each of us.”
That
gives me a lot of hope. Let’s together
follow the Star who is Light of this world.
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