"Lord, every nation on earth will adore you"
Matthew 2: 1-12
The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/010426.cfm
O God, who on this day
revealed your Only Begotten Son to the nations
by the guidance of a statr,
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, God, for ever and ever.
(Collect for Mass)
It is safe to say
that all those who attend our Sunday Masses in our parish Churches are
overwhelmingly gentiles who are expressing their faith in Jesus the Christ, the
Messiah of Israel and our Lord and Savior. That being said we are reminded on this
Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord not only about our direct connection
with the people of Israel but also that the Magi followed a star in search of a newborn king but they ultimately were in search of the
greatest Star himself, the light of the world.
The Second Vatican
Council in its Document on the Churches relationship with non-Christian
religions, states that the Old Testament was revealed to us
by the Jews and that we receive: “. . . nourishment from the good olive tree
onto which the wild olive branches of the gentiles have been grafted.” The legend of the Magi, those from the wider non-Jewish world beyond the small confines of Israel, who come to find the light
of a star and a newborn “king” are a wonderful representation of ourselves who
gather to profess our faith in that same king honored by the Magi but feared by
Herod. They represent not the simple and
ordinary, as the shepherds, but high learning and science, star gazing and the
search for meaning and truth; by association this time in which we live.
So, the seekers this
Sunday; the Magi begin a journey because they know someone more was out there
and they were determined to find him. They approached their journey with
humility and open hearts and minds. It began by using what they did best – the
observation and interpretation of stars and planets to which they gave a
meaning - a new star, a new king.
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. The Christ is revealed to
the Magi and to us as the Savior of all.
Therefore, we might
say the Epiphany is probably among the most ecumenical of all Church
feasts. In a sense we might even say it
is the most “catholic” of all Christian feasts due to its universal inclusion
of the non Jewish world. As the Magi come to symbolize the greater world beyond
ancient Bethlehem and Jerusalem, we see ourselves reflected in them. Would that
our personal search for Christ would be so singularly focused as the Magi.
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 honor, which they offered in a humble spirit. What moved them
to see in a baby, or more likely a little child with his mother, this
greatness? A hunger, a desire to discover, a humble submission to the truth
before them. They represent 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 fulfilment of their hopes 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 by an alternate route from the fanatical King
Herod, 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 and to acknowledge from where we came; from
the chosen people on whose vine we were grafted. It certainly reminds us that life
is a journey in search of the good, the beautiful, and truth itself found only
in Christ Jesus. And, as the Magi were in search of a star and a newborn king,
it was God himself who was in search of humanity. Trying to get our attention, he finally came
down to visit us, to encounter us in our own humanity. As much as we search for God, we know that he
is in search of us.
Isaiah speaks of
God’s effort to reveal his Son and show to humanity our value, our dignity, and
his obsessive love for us all: “Your light has come, the glory of the Lord
shines upon you!” No longer do we
need to wander aimlessly trying to fulfil ourselves in limited pleasures and
pursuits. All we need is found in this
child, this God-man in our midst. More than just love we 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 fulfil us: money, position,
power, fame, technology, the latest and the brightest. Everything the world says we need to have a
meaningful life.
So, though our gift
giving may be ended for this season the ultimate gift is one that God gives us,
particularly in the Holy Eucharist, 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 Feast of the
Epiphany of the Lord is filled with the image of light. As we draw life from
ancient Israel we are called to lead others on their search from darkness to a
new light. What kind of light do we bring to others?
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