Homily for the Week of January 5, 2014

HOMILY:  EPIPHANY,2014  (little Christmas)

Isaiah 60: 1-6, Ephesians 3: 2-3, 5-6,Matthew 2: 1-12        

         From the beginning of time or history men and women have been travellers and walkers on the earth. For as far back as we can determine we have had the desire to go to another place, whether for food, for protection, for a home, for adventure, for shopping, or just to find out what lies beyond the next hill. We seem to be explorers by nature. We have a vision that we want to make real and a hope that we want to fulfill. 

         Think, for instance, of some of the classic travellers of our own times: like Lewis and Clark making their way across the vast wilderness of the United States reaching the Pacific Ocean. They travelled a total of about 8,000 miles across the Rocky Mountains, and down the Columbia and other rivers to the Pacific coast. Or 160 years ago the Irish coming across the ocean to settle in what is now Cadyville and built this Church with their own hands.  Think even of the astronauts of our own day, risking their lives in order to put a foot mark in the dust of the moon or Mars. All these people were visionaries. They had no idea whether they would ever reach their destination, but they were willing to travel in order to find out whether their hopes could be satisfied.

         So, today we just heard of some men from Persia who saw a star and decided to follow it. They travelled over a thousand miles over rugged desert.  The story contains something of what I have just been describing. It is a story of some individuals whom we call Magi, who saw a star and decided to follow it. While we do not know how many Magi there were, there were at least three since they gave three gifts to Jesus. The magi were a type of astrologer. Chinese astronomers have verified that on the day and month of the birth of Jesus a long tailed comet hung in the region of Bethlehem for more than 70 days. This comet would have been visible in the skies over Persia, home of the Magi in the hours just before dawn. Its light would have been directly in front of the Magi as they travelled towards Bethlehem. So they truly followed the star.

         When they got to Bethlehem where the star led them it was normal that they would stop by the home of the local leader to find out exactly where this birth had taken place. Herod was the Roman ruler. The jealous and furious Herod calls together his religious advisors to find out where this new born Jesus was. They tell him that 700 hundred years before there was a prediction that in Bethlehem of Judea would be born a person who would be the shepherd of the Jewish people. The magi got no information from Herod other than to come back and tell him where they found the baby so he could come to worship him. The magic saw through Herod’s hypocrisy and never returned.

         The magi are important, but the gifts they presented are more important for teaching us about Jesus.  Amazingly, the Magi carry treasure chests filled with gold and the sweet smelling tree resins myrrh and frankincense.

         The Magi are surely symbols of ourselves. They were clearly seeking after something. And their persistence led them to find just what they were seeking. They could have done nothing about their great longing. They could have tried to just ignore this painful desire. But instead they set-out on their journey. It was to be a journey full of uncertainty and danger. Finally, they found the Lord.  God’s plan always has the unexpected/

         Our journey towards God can often be very difficult. For many of us it is not on a well paved road.  It has detours, bumps, holes, low shoulders.  It is a road that is often filled with garbage and left overs. Sometimes it takes a person many years to even find the right road. There is a saying that says: IF YOU DO NOT KNOW WHERE YOU ARE GOING ANY ROAD WILL TAKE YOU THERE.  Why would we want to find God or Jesus if we have never heard of God or Jesus? 

         Because God has written on our heart a desire to see him and to know him. There is a built in longing for God.  There is a built in longing for love and for happiness. That desire is there even when we ignore it. In each one of us here is a thirst for God and for happiness. So often we try to satisfy that thirst for happiness and love by loading ourselves with possessions and clutter. It is not that possessions are bad. The problem is that they are not good enough to give us love and happiness.

         Silence and prayer are two sure paths for finding God within. There can never be an excuse for not making the journey within ourselves. A certain place to always find God without ourselves is in the poor and in the weak -- an elderly parent, a sick friend, a depressed neighbor. Our own weakness, is the very place where God can most powerfully enter our lives.

         Like the Magi, our road to God is or change and a willingness to strike out into unknown territory. The star of Bethlehem is the light that will light up the road for us and guide us home.

         The Magi did not just visit, but they also brought gifts. We too have the opportunity to offer God some gifts of our own. Are the gifts we give God because that is what we are supposed to do?  Do we give God what seems sufficient, or do we give a loving sacrifice?  There are gifts we value not so much because they are appropriate for us but because the one who gave us the gift has put so much love into it. Think of a young child offering his or her mother a dandelion, or an older child who carved their initials in a wooden paperweight. In the same way God is delighted when we offer God what no one else can give; when we offer God ourselves. Friends often tell each other: I love you with all my heart. Let us often tell God that same expression of love and affection.