From the Catholic
Liturgy for Epiphany Sunday, January 8, 2018. Gospel – Matthew 2:1-12. Theme: We
Should All Be Magi. Today
we celebrate a Christmastime feast that is second only to the Nativity of the
Lord: The Epiphany, which is an ancient Greek word meaning “manifestation”, a
moment of sudden enlightenment, a realization about the truth of something or
someone. And so today we remember and rejoice in the fact that the Magi were
given the light to glimpse into the reality of Who and What this Little Child in
Bethlehem was.
This may not seem like an astounding thing to us
21st century Christians who live in a global world and who live out
our faith in a community of diverse people. But when Matthew was writing his
gospel this was culture-shattering – and even scandalizing – news! You see, Jewish law considered the Magi – and
anyone who was a Gentile – to be unclean, sinful and unworthy of an intimate
relationship with God.
But today’s Gospel is telling us some good news! It proclaims that all people from any nation
are welcome into the Presence of God, even us sinners if we are searching for God with sincere hearts. So, let’s take another look at this Gospel and
see what the Holy Spirit wishes to teach us in the story of the Magi.
First, we see that the
Magi are seekers, who leave the comfort zone of their lives to follow the star.
They experience a sign that God is
communicating with them and they set out to discover what this means; are willing
to go wherever it leads; to do whatever it takes to find the Newborn King. Do we have that same sincere and eager desire
to know God and his plan for our lives?
Are we willing to go to any length for the sake of our relationship with
God?
The Magi are inquirers
who act upon what they have learned. They are humble and realize that they do not
know all there is to know about finding God. They ask those who do know to tell
them how they can find the Lord’s Messiah. Notice that Herod and the religious
leaders know exactly where the Messiah is to be born, but they make no move to
go there. They had the word of Scripture to guide them but they allow those
words to remain just ink on a page. But
the Magi give life to the Scriptures by hearing and doing. So, this might
move us to ask ourselves: what is my response to the Word of God? Am I like the
Magi who allow the Scriptures to give direction to my life and serve my
relationship with God?
And once they find the Child,
the Magi bow down in homage, they worship Him. They offer the Newborn King
precious gifts, which symbolize what He means to us. Gold is precious in every
culture. Incense is used by just about every religion for worship. And myrrh is
an ancient embalming perfume used as a last respect for the deceased.
But these gifts can also
be symbols for us of our relationship with Jesus. They can remind us of what we
must bring to Him today, and really everyday of our lives. They gave Him Gold because He is King. We can
give Him our hearts, our loyalty and obedience. We follow Him into the Kingdom
of God. They gave Him Frankincense because He is God. We give Him our praise,
adoration and worship, in daily prayer and especially at Holy Mass. They gave
Him Myrrh because He is the Savior. We gratefully give Him our own lives in
return, as daily living sacrifices of mercy and compassion to those who suffer
in any way.
Finally, the Magi cherish their experience of
God. In return for their sincerity and eagerness to find Him, the Newborn King
gives them the gift of faith and they treasure it. They refuse to reveal the Child
to Herod. Do we cherish our relationship with Jesus? Do we refuse to expose it
to people, places or things that can rob us of this treasure by leading us to
sin?
As we ponder this mystery of the Magi, let’s not
forget the miraculous event that started it all: the Bethlehem Star, the symbol
of the Light of Faith. And you know, our journey to Jesus also began with the
light of faith given to each one of us at Baptism and symbolized by the
baptismal candle we received. And really
that’s the heart of Christmas, of Epiphany and of every feast-day that the
Church celebrates in her liturgy: that we follow the light of faith and are
willing to take risks, to even leave comfort zones in our journey through life
until we come to adore Christ the Lord for all eternity.
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