The feast Of Epiphany –2009, Jan. 06
According to the New Catholic Dictionary of 1929, the word "Epiphany" had its origin from the Greek word "epiphaino." "Epi" signifies "upon," "phaino" signifying "show." Combined, these words, means "to show upon." This Feast, usually celebrated on January 6th, commemorates the manifestation of the glory of Christ that was shown upon the Gentiles in the person of the Magi, as well as His Baptism and the first miracle at Cana. Originating in the Eastern Church in the 3 rd century, it soon spread to the West, where it is now commemorated especially for the apparition to the Magi. In England and many European countries it is popularly known as Twelfth Night (after Christmas) and is the occasion for the revival of numerous quaint customs. We use a lot of symbols which communicate real message of Epiphany.
Today we have heard the story of the Epiphany- the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles represented by the wise men. In our reflection today I would like to focus on three things: first on the Star, second on Herod and third on the wise men and the gifts they brought.
A. To grasp the importance of the star, we need to understand two things about the ancient world. The first is the importance of stars. The ancients, particularly in the deserts of the Middle East and on the seas, did not have compasses like we do, or highway signs telling us 60 miles to Dayton. They were highly dependent on the fixed stars in the sky as references for their direction. Whenever anything happened in the sky that was new like the appearance of a comet, or stars shining more brightly they thought that it had to bear some message from God. The second thing about the ancient world that we have to be aware of is that there were prophecies outside of Israel, from women called Sybils that heralded the future birth of a King in Israel who would be king of all. One of these Sybilline prophecies predicted that the birth of the king would be preceded by a sign in the heavens. This was the context in which the wise men would have been looking into the heavens.
1) Led by the star, and their faith in its meaning, the wise men went on a journey toward the Holy Land. We don’t know the details like how long their pilgrimage took, whether they walked or had the help of animals etc. They went to Herod and told him the story about why they had come so far to adore a child to whom God in the heavens was testifying by means of this star. Herod called all his experts around him and asked where this universal king was to be born. From the book of the prophet Micah, they told him that he was to be born in Bethlehem of Judea. Then something happened that we really shouldn’t miss: only the Wise Men left. None of the experts around Herod, who knew the Scriptures inside out, were curious enough to make the short journey, even though the wise men, who had already journeyed more than a thousand miles, left with zeal. Herod feigned an interest in seeing the child, but he was only trying to deceive the Magi so that he could kill him.
2) What does this mean for us? Sometimes it is those who travel great distances who are hungriest to continue the journey of faith. In Church today, were buoyed by the incredible fire of so many converts from other faiths and denominations. And many of them who do enter want to give their whole lives to God in service to his Church. In many ways, they are the modern wise men. On the other hand, many who have been Catholics for their whole lives can become like Herod experts, pointing out the truths of the Bible or of the faith, but not really living the faith with a searching hunger for God.
3) But for this analogy to hold, we have to ask where the star pointing out Christ’s presence is still burning. God is not calling us to walk thousands of miles to ancient Palestine, but he does call us to follow the indicators of his Sons presence. The star continues to burn in several places, of which I will mention a few: The first is in the red flame of the tabernacle lamp. The star of Bethlehem burned pointing and attracting the wise men to the Son of God. The tabernacle lamp burns pointing to the presence of that same Jesus. The question we need to ask ourselves today is how zealously do we follow that star? The Wise Men traveled great distances at great sacrifice to come and adore the Lord. How much are we willing to sacrifice to come to Mass or to come to adore Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament?
4) The second place the star continues to burn is in the light of the confessional, which heralds the presence of Christ acting through the ministry of his chosen priests in the sacrament of God’s mercy. Christ is truly present there, doing what he came from heaven to be born as a child in order to die to bring about: the forgiveness of sins. We need to ask ourselves how well we are following that star.
5) A third place the star burns- or at least is supposed to burn- is in each of us. On the day of our baptism, our Godparents lit our baptismal candles from the Easter Candle, which is the symbol of Christ the Light of the World. We were instructed by the priest who baptized us in Christ’s name to keep that light burning brightly. Were called to reflect Christ’s light so that others in seeing this light might come to Christ, its source. We are supposed to be stars drawing others toward the presence of Christ within us through grace, drawing others to follow our footsteps to the Eucharist, to the confessional, to the faith. But the question is: are we still burning brightly?
B) We turn now to Herod.
1) Herod was one of the most talented leaders the ancient world had ever seen. A great organizer and builder, he built all types of roads and public works and constructed the Second Temple in Jerusalem, the one which lasted until the Romans destroyed it in 70 AD. As talented as he was, however, he had an extraordinarily serious flaw, one that led him eventually to do awful things: he wanted to be in control so much that he ended up committing great atrocities. He, who started off as a very religious king, ended up killing three of his own sons, whom he saw as threats to him. We know what he did in order to try to kill Jesus: he massacred every boy under two in a whole geographical area. He became a mass murderer of the young and innocent in order to be in control. And at the end of his life, we see even more of the decay that was corroding his soul. Herod knew that people would celebrate rather than mourn his death and that thought filled him with rage. So he asked his advisors to prepare him a list of the most beloved people in and around the Holy City. They didnt quite know then why he made this request. After he had reviewed the list, he told his soldiers to round them up and put them in prison. And as his death approached, he gave orders that, on the moment he breathed his last, every single one of them be slain. They might not mourn because of my death, he said, but they would at least cry at my death. This was a man who, fearing not being in control of everything, became capable of great evil.
2) What do we learn from the life of Herod that can help us in our own lives? We learn the incredible depths to which a human being can fall once he lets his fear of losing control over his life start to consume him. Herod didnt start by terrible acts of mass murder. His fall from the devout religious observance of his youth began in little ways. He stopped practicing the Jewish faith. He stopped going over to the temple he built to pray. He started to have women who werent his wives. He started to look on his temporal kingdom as the treasure worth sacrificing everything and everyone to maintain, rather than on God and his commandments as the true treasure. Little by little, all of these sins propelled him on the way of becoming the murderous tyrant he turned out to be.
3) The same thing happens with us, too. The great saints have said that venial sins prepare us to commit mortal sins. And mortal sins become contagious and can become more serious with time, because every time we say, MY will, not thine, be done, we become more capable of horrific sins. Whatever the individual cases may be, the point that we see in the life of Herod and in modern life is that sin even those sins we might consider small separate us from God, and the longer we stay in separation, and the more we act out of a sinful habit and push ourselves away from God, the more likely it is that we can become capable of horrible sins like Herod.
4) What is the antidote to this type of Herodian pattern? We see it clearly in the Wise Men. They were wise, because they were searching for God, even when his signal was faint. They were wise because they were hungry to make the Lords wisdom their own. They were wise because they knew that whatever sacrifices they made was a small price to pay in order to find the Lord. They were wise because when they found him in a manger, they gave him the best and most costly gifts they had: gold, frankincense and myrrh. Their greatest gift to their infant savior came when they dropped to their knees and gave him their hearts in adoration. The antidote to becoming like Herod is to become like the wise men, to have a hunger to make whatever sacrifices necessary to search for and find God, to follow the star that continues to burn, to base our lives on his wisdom, to be generous with God and give to him who has given us everything the best we have; to adore Christ in all our actions.
C) We now turn to the kings. Today's reading from the Gospel of Matthew [Mt. 2:1-12] teaches us that Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea during the reign of king Herod. History reveals to us that Herod the Great, a satellite king of Judea, reigned from 37 to 4 B.C. Based on this knowledge, contrary to what many believe, because of the timing related to the death of king Herod, Jesus had to be born at least 4 years earlier than established by the present calendar.
When king Herod heard that a King was to be born among the Jewish people, he panicked and called together all the chief priests and scribes. He panicked because he was afraid to lose his throne. After consulting the chief priests and scribes, king Herod learned that it has been prophesied that the King would be born in Bethlehem, the land of Judea. [Mic. 5:1-5] Bethlehem of Judea was the birth place of king David.Next, we heard that king Herod told the wise men to continue their journey and when they find the Child Jesus, to report back to him so he too can go and pay homage to the King of the Jewish people. As we know, king Herod had no intention whatsoever of paying homage to the Child Jesus.And so the magi continued on their journey. The next thing we heard during the reading from the Holy Bible is that the star led them, not only to the town, but also to the house where Jesus dwelled. When the guiding star stopped over the house, the magi were overwhelmed with joy.As the story of Christmas tell us, when the magi found the house, they entered it and found the Child Jesus with Mary His mother. They knelt before Jesus and presented Him with gifts of "gold, frankincense and myrrh" [Mat. 2:11] as prophesied in the Old Testament. [Ps. 72:10; Is. 60:6]
D) The meaning of Gold, Frankincense and myrrh. Have you ever wondered why the three magi offered gold, frankincense and myrrh to baby Jesus? Surely, they could have offered something more valuable such as diamonds, platinum and gold. Now that has value! Obviously, it was not the goal of the three magi to offer baby Jesus valuable items. Their goal was to offer symbolic items.
Gold is a gift that is fit for a King. The magi did not perceive Jesus as their equal but rather as their King. Among ancient people gold was regarded as the king of metals. It was therefore an ideal gift for a king. A king is above all a leader.
Frankincense is a gift fit for a priest. We use frankincense in the religious worship. The aroma and smoke spiraling upward to heaven speaks to us about god and the divinity. The gift of incense is symbolic of the divinity of Jesus. The magi perceived Jesus to be a priest, one who is an advocate between God and man.
Myrrh is used to embalm the dead. It is used to prepare the dead for burial. For example the women brought myrrh to the tomb of Jesus. Therefore it is an ideal symbol of human vulnerability. Therefore the gift of myrrh is symbolic of the humanity of Jesus. It speaks to us Jesus’ human vulnerability. Like us he experienced the whole range of human emotions: joy, sorrow, fear, frustration and loneliness. He is like us in everything except sin. While the magi perceived that Jesus was their King and a priest, they also perceived that He would die for the salvation of mankind.As we enter the New Year, this provides us with a great opportunity to review our status before God. Are we faithful to God or do we have other gods? Are we preoccupied with pride, having elevated ourselves above God? Is there an obsession with food in our lives? Is there an obsession with wealth to the extent of having become uncharitable towards others?Are some of us over-weighted and exposing ourselves to medical conditions that can affect our proper functioning in society? Is there an addiction to illegal drugs, prescribed medications or alcohol? Is our faith place in astrology, Bingos, VLT's, Casinos or other forms of gambling? All of these bad habits are detrimental to our spiritual growth, alienating us from the true God, the Lord Jesus.As the Magi knew the true God, let us also remind ourselves of this truth. With the beginning of a new year, now is the time to make a resolution to overcome one of our bad habits. Naturally, we cannot do it alone. By the grace of the Heavenly Father and the power of the Holy Spirit, in the Most Holy Name of Jesus, we can overcome all ailments that impede our spiritual growth.Today, yes today, not tomorrow, let us review our spiritual needs and commit ourselves to overcoming one of our weaknesses so the glory of God may shine through us more effectively. May the grace of God strengthen each and every one of you in the days, the weeks and the months to come?The same Jesus who was placed in the manger will soon be placed in your mouths or in your hands. The Eucharist is the pearl of great price, worth selling everything we have to obtain. The Mass is the continual manifestation of God, the on-going Epiphany. It is the new Bethlehem. This is where the new wise men and women, young and old, come with joy. This is where the new wise men and women must
