(Fernando Gallego - Epiphany)
They prostrated themselves and did him homage
Readings for the Feast: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/010817.cfm
Having
grown up in a very Catholic family in the very Catholic city of Chicago
surrounded by my relatives, all of whom were of the Catholic faith, with parents
who were very much a part of our local parish along with my siblings, products
of a large Catholic grade school, I never gave a thought to what it might be
like to not be Catholic! We never thought of a Sunday without going to Mass
first. This was the light we followed and had no desire to go anywhere else. We
certainly weren’t the only ones who lived that way. It was part of the culture.
However, when
I finally did meet a non-Catholic at the age of twelve on a family vacation, my
reaction, as I look back, was to feel like I was talking to an alien from
another planet. I was curious as to why
they didn’t believe as we do. With no
ill intent, I still took a kind of superior attitude. I had the true light and
felt they didn’t so my job would be to show them what they were missing. I didn’t
really put the pressure on. We were just kids and never pursued any kind of
theological discussion on the finer points of Catholicism but I felt I had
something he didn’t. On one level we can say that's true of course but all this came from a somewhat self-righteous twelve
year old! Well-meaning maybe but not the best approach.
That kind
of superior attitude is not found among the seekers this Sunday; the Magi took
a very different approach because they knew something more was out there and
they were determined to find it. They approached their journey with humility
and open hearts and minds. They
were in search before they arrived in Jerusalem: “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising . . .” they
tell Herod. So, our Feast this weekend, the Epiphany reminds us that we
Christians, we Gentiles which fill our Churches, have a direct connection to
the ancient Jews through their traditions, prophecies and the birth of Jesus
himself within the Jewish tradition. As I recently said to a family member: “Do
you know that none of the Apostles were Catholic?” Think about that for a
minute.
Therefore,
we might say the Epiphany is probably among the most ecumenical of all Church
feasts. As the Magi come to symbolize
the greater world beyond ancient Bethlehem and Jerusalem we see ourselves
reflected in them. To follow the signs of
nature in the bright star and to interpret a deeper significance in the shining
light, the Magi laid aside all other attractions in their lives and saw in this
new young child a greater King; a person of higher rank than themselves and
deserving of worship, which they offered in a humble spirit
The Magi
represent the intellectual world; the higher ranked ones; the kind of elite and
wealthy whose knowledge not only about their own study of the stars and planets
was great but also their knowledge of what the ancient Jews believed about the
Messiah. They represented an open mind
and set out on a journey to ultimately find the truth; something and someone
who represented more than what they knew.
So, it’s
clear that they were on a search and staying in Jerusalem was not on their
agenda. Once they were led to Bethlehem
by the light of a star they found the one they searched for and laid down their
gifts. They saw not in the powerful and the learned the fulfillment of their
hopes; someone like themselves but in a small child with his mother. Something more was at work in this event that
led them to a deeper awareness that something far more is outside them. Their
faith was changed. Once they returned to their country we can only imagine what
they might have told others about their search.
So, the
Epiphany is an opportunity to recognize those moments in our lives when we have
come to a deeper understanding of our faith.
As well-meaning as I might have been when I met that student my
understanding of my Catholic faith was more centered on me than it was around
Christ. I needed to mature and maybe to
listen to their story first. Children
aren’t exactly ready for that kind of thinking but as I look back it’s a good
lesson for me today.
So, we may
be tempted to look at this Epiphany story as a kind of passive event. The Magi journey, they find their way to
Jerusalem, have an intense encounter with King Herod, go to Bethlehem, find the
child, present their gifts and go on their way.
But, the
light of today we heard in Isaiah symbolizes God’s effort to shine upon
us. To show us his Son and to say to the
world “I love you.” More than just love to see in Jesus a light
which leads us to the truth of God and cuts through all that isn’t him;
everything we go in search of thinking that will fulfill us. It’s plenty:
money, position, power, fame, technology, the latest and the brightest. Everything the world says we need to have a
meaningful life.
God is
shining the brighter light of himself for us.
To see in Christ what the Magi saw is to do what they did: to lay down
what they used and substitute something greater – the newborn King. This is the
child who will become a man and state: “I
am the way, the truth, and the life.”
So, though
our gift giving may be ended for this season, or if maybe you give on today’s
Epiphany, the ultimate gift is one that God gives us; the gift of himself in
his Son and like the Magi we follow the path to him. We meet him on his terms,
not on our own. The Magi returned to
their Country by another route not only because they were warned to do so but
more because they were forever changed.
O God, who on this day
revealed your Only Begotten Son to the nations
by the guidance of a star,
grant in your mercy
that we, who know you already by faith,
may be brought to behold the beauty of your sublime glory.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
(Opening Prayer for Feast)
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