Homily for the Solemnity of the Epiphany, January 7, 2024. Gospel of St. Matthew 2:1-12. Theme: Bringing Our Own Magi Gifts to the Lord
Today’s ancient feast of the Epiphany commemorates the homage given to the Holy Child Jesus by the Magi and has been celebrated in the Church since at least the year 315 AD. It has alternative popular names in different countries such as Three Kings Day or Little Christmas. And in those places where Epiphany is always celebrated on January 6, it brings to a conclusion the traditional 12 Days of Christmas. But no matter what it’s called or on what January date it’s celebrated, it proclaims the biblical truth that Jesus Christ is the Messiah-Savior for all people and not just for Israel.
Epiphany is a Greek word meaning “manifestation” or “revelation”. It refers to an enlightenment, an illumination of truth, an experience of having an insight into the utter reality about something or someone. And so today’s Gospel tells us how the Magi, astrologers from foreign lands, were given an epiphany, an enlightenment, an illumination, an insight into the reality of who and what the Infant Jesus really was.
Having observed a new royal star appearing in the constellation of the skies, the Magi searched ancient writings to discover its possible meaning. They must have stumbled upon the words of the prophet Balaam in the Hebrew Scriptures which says, “I look into the future and I see that in Israel a king, like a bright star, will arise…Like a comet he will come out from Israel.” (Numbers 24:17) And so they began a long westward journey to pay homage to this newborn son of the Royal Family of Israel. The Holy Spirit must have inspired them in selecting the gifts that they would bring because their choices so perfectly reveal His true identity: gold for royalty; incense for divinity; and myrrh for anointing, which was a kind of premonition about the importance of this Child’s future death.
But St. Matthew is doing more than simply sharing a story with us. He wants this Gospel to bring us to our own personal epiphany of the Lord by reflecting on the Magi and following in their footsteps. He is hoping that we will truly see and acknowledge Christ’s true and full identity. He is hoping that we will follow their example and bow down in humble adoration to Christ as King, God and Savior of our lives. And he wants us to offer Jesus our own gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, so to speak, but in ways and forms that are expressions of our unique personal relationships with Him.
The first gift of the Magi was gold, a precious treasure of great worth that people hold on to for security because of its enduring value. So, what kind of gold can we give to Christ? What is of immense value to us, something that we hold onto and do not so easily give away? I think it’s our hearts, our innermost self, that which we keep so carefully guarded. We only open up our hearts to someone who has proven their love for us, someone we can trust to not reject us. Jesus is indeed this very Person for you and for me. He has put aside the power and glory of His divinity to become a little Child destined to offer himself in sacrifice as proof of His immense love. By doing so He has earned our trust and so we can safely and confidently give Him the gift of our hearts, of our innermost selves, as our version of the Magi gift of precious gold.
The second gift of the Magi was frankincense. Incense is used in every culture for prayer and the worship of divinity. The ascending smoke along with its pleasant aroma symbolizes the rising up of our prayers to God, from whom all good things come. The Wisemen recognized that in some mysterious way that Christ was God-come-in-the-flesh and so they bowed down before Him in adoration. For us today, this reality of God-come-in-the-flesh is found in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. With the reverence of the Magi we can offer Christ the frankincense of our worship, the rising up of our prayers, especially when we come before Him at Mass. Just as the Magi fell prostrate before the Holy Child on Mary’s lap, so we can kneel before Him present on the altar and in the tabernacle. Our Eucharistic adoration of God-in-the-flesh through this sacrament, can be our spiritual frankincense which we present to him with the Magi.
Lastly, we come to the third gift of myrrh, a spiced-oil used for anointing the deceased. The name “Jesus” means Savior and it points to His redeeming death. And His title of “Christ” means the Anointed One. So this third gift foretells that the healing of the human heart from sin begins with the wondrous birth of this Holy Child. Through our faith in HIm, we, too, are also anointed by God. As a matter of fact we are called “Christians” precisely because this name means “the anointed ones”. We were anointed with holy oil at Baptism and then again at Confirmation. And both times we were asked to reject Satan, sin and darkness so as to live more deeply in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. And so faithful discipleship can be our third Magi gift to the Holy Child, a gift which is more precious to Him than the myrrh which was given to honor His birth.
So you see, it’s possible for us to enter into the story of the Magi and give it life by making it a part of our own story with Christ. Like them, we should seek Jesus with all our hearts and invest whatever time and energy it takes to experience an epiphany of the Lord in our own lives. With their same reverence and homage, we should bow down before Him to offer the gold of our hearts, the frankincense of our worship and the myrrh of our discipleship. And then like the Magi, who Matthew tells us changed plans and took a different route home to protect the Holy Child, we too should take whatever steps are necessary to protect the faith we have in Jesus as King, God and Anointed Savior of our lives.
The Bible doesn’t tell us anything more about the Magi after Epiphany. But it was said that they were deeply affected by their encounter with Jesus and after returning to their homeland, they spread the word about the Newborn Messiah-King. Legends say that each of them later converted to Christianity upon hearing the Gospel preached in their native lands and they were so committed to Christ that all three died as martyrs. And so, we are also called to be like the Magi after they left Bethlehem. Our devotion to Christ should show itself by spreading the word about Him and his Gospel to others so that they, too, might receive grace and become the anointed of God. And we, too, should be willing to go to any length to maintain our love for and loyalty to Christ, no matter what the cost.
No comments:
Post a Comment