One way to reflect on this great story of the Epiphany is to see it as the three movements of the spiritual life: the journey to Christ; the realization that we are in the presence of Christ; and what happens to us after we meet Christ.
I think this great story sums up the whole Gospel and it says that the first movement of the spiritual life is to seek Christ. That’s what life is all about it. Like the three wise men, we’re on a journey, a holy pilgrimage throughout our lives to find Christ. The wisest thing we can do with our lives is to seek the holy Christ. And from the start, we read that the spiritual life, the journey to Christ, the pursuit of truth, has political implications.
The Magi journeyed in faith. The Magi certainly left behind very precious things as they decided to travel – comforts, families, possessions. They also faced many uncertainties ahead – dangers, sickness, troubles along the way. But because of faith, they were open to all possibilities that God prepared for them. In our own life, when we embrace faith, we also offer to the Lord many things. There are fears and anxieties, difficulties of all sort. But we are inspired by the presence of the Star, pointing to Jesus, assuring us that God is present with us even as we travel through life.
The wise men meet the horrible King Herod who is “greatly disturbed along with all of Jerusalem” about a rival king, and he summons them and asks them about the star and the holy child and pretends to be religious and interested in God, and like all rulers, he tries to coopt the religious leaders and keep the religious community under control. But the difference here is that the wise men are determined to seek Christ, so they go ahead with their journey and follow the star, and that’s what we have to do: decide that no matter what anyone else says, we are going to seek Christ and worship him and do what he says and live our lives according to him and his Gospel.
The second movement of the spiritual life comes when we suddenly discover that we are in the presence of Christ, when we recognize Christ in our midst. That’s an epiphany, that dramatic, sudden realization of God’s presence. Like the wise men, at some point, each one of us has had an epiphany moment when we realized we were in the presence of Christ, when our hearts were filled with joy and we gave our gifts to Christ. I think the point of life is to seek Christ and to be ready for those epiphany moments, to be on the lookout for Christ and to prepare for epiphany moments!
The Magi presented Christ with gifts. They did not leave home empty-handed. They knew they had something to share with God and with other people. Like them we realize that in life, we are also capable of gifts. And life becomes more meaningful when we begin to share our gifts to Jesus through other people. Let us discover our gifts, celebrate them and share them. When we do so, we find that we receive more than we have given.
The third movement of the spiritual life according to our story is how our lives change after we meet Christ, how like the three wise men, we go home a different way. Once we meet Christ, like the three wise men, we no longer cooperate with the empire or the rulers or King Herod. Once we meet Christ, like the wise men, our lives are permanently changed. From now on, our allegiance is to Christ. As people of wisdom, we are going to worship Christ and do what he says, not what anyone else says. Just as St. Paul says: we have to obey God, rather than men. This disobedience infuriated Herod, who like all rulers, wants only to kill his rivals and maintain his imperial power.
Today, we face a different Herod. Our faith is challenged? Many refuse to honor God. Prayers are outlawed and a mention of God in public place becomes uncomfortable. For years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred and violence.
And being the gentleman He is, He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?"
How simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. We believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says.
Notice how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.
We believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are. The real villain lies within our own hearts. Political posturing and restrictive legislation are not the answers.
There is a spiritual awakening taking place that will not be squelched! We need a change of heart just like the Magi and a humble acknowledgment that this nation was founded on the principle of simple trust in God!
Today the Gospel asks us: where are we in the epiphany story? Are we on the road to Christ, are we meeting Christ, or are we going home in a new direction? When did you meet Christ? How has your life changed because you have met Christ?
As we celebrate the Feast of Epiphany, let us pray that our journey to Jesus will not end. May our daily lives be filled with faith in God and in ourselves. May we continue sharing our gifts with those around us, especially the needy. In this way we will receive more than we have given, more than we expected from the God who is forever with us on our pilgrimage of life.
Right now, we’re going to break bread and pass the cup and I invite you to experience this moment as an epiphany, to realize that we are in the presence of Christ. So let’s give him our best gifts--our very hearts and lives.
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