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Homilies are posted no later than during the week
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Epiphany
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http://www.st.ignatius.net/pastor.html
Epiphany
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Solemnity
of the Epiphany: The Journey
(Please note, in the United States and the solemnity of the Epiphany
has been transferred from January 6 to the Sunday after the Solemnity
of Mary, this year January 8th)
Who
were they, these three men we call magi? Were they kings?
Popular tradition refers to them as the three kings, and maybe they
were. Certainly, their gifts were those one king would offer to
another. The title “king” was used rather loosely in the ancient
East. They may have been more similar to the medieval counts or
dukes. The Hebrew prophets, particularly Isaiah, had foretold that
kings would flock to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. So, it would be
acceptable to consider them as kings. Sometimes they are referred
to as astrologers. Were they astrologers? Well, not
astrologers in the sense of Madame Take-your-money, who says whatever
people want to hear to keep her cash flow solid. But they were
astrologers in the sense that they studied the sky looking for the sign
that the Golden Age would begin. Perhaps, they were more
astronomers than astrologers. The ancient people believed that the
birth of the Great One would be accompanied by rejoicing in the
heavens. The Hebrew people also believed that nature would
respond to the momentous event. Recent studies have shown that those
east of Judea would have indeed seen a phenomenon in the sky, a star in
their sense of the term, right at the time of the birth of Jesus.
Were the three simply wise men? Certainly, they were wise, but
wiser than most men. They were willing to leave their lands,
their comforts, and journey to find the great King whose birth was
announced by the star.
And,
how about this King Herod? Who was he? He was to be known
as Herod the Great. His son, Herod Antipas, would be the king who would
put John the Baptist to death and mock Jesus. Herod the Great built up
much of Jerusalem, including the second Temple, a wonder of the ancient
world. This Herod was a fierce politician. His family came from
the Roman province of Idumea, and had been pagan themselves. They
became Jewish in order to rule in Palestine under the protection of
Rome. So Herod was always suspected by the Jews as being a Jew in
name only, but not committed to Yahweh. In 40 BC the Roman
Senate declared that Herod was King of the Jews. He spent most of
his reign trying to protect himself from being overthrown. His
own family was not safe from his paranoia. He sent his wife and
son into exile. When his young brother-in-law was becoming too
popular, he had a "drowning accident" in what archaeology has shown to
be a rather shallow pool. Herod also had three more of his sons
killed when he suspected them of plotting against him. Many
modern writers repeat the probably apocryphal story that the Emperor
Augustus remarked, "It is better to be Herod's pig than his son."
By the way, that was a pun, the word for pig in Greek was hios and the
word for son was wehous. Since the Jews did not eat pork, the lives of
Herod’s pigs were safer than those of his sons.
So
when the three magi called on Herod and asked where is the new born
King of the Jews was, all that Herod could hear was that once more his
power was being challenged. You can understand the phrase, “He was
greatly troubled and all Jerusalem with him.” That he would send his
soldiers to kill all the children born in the vicinity of Bethlehem is
in perfect keeping with how he protected his reign. This Herod
would die a year or two after the birth of the Lord.
Herod and the magi offer a study in contrasts. Herod was a man of
the political world, fiercely holding onto his power. The magi
were men devoted to finding the King announced by the star, even though
they did not know who this King was or exactly where the star would
lead them. Herod was a Jew in name but a pagan in all
things. The Magi were pagans in name, but acted like sincere Jews
seeking the One who was the summit of God’s Plan for mankind.
Sixteen centuries later, the mystic and doctor of the Church, St. John
of the Cross, would reflect on his own life in a way that was similar
to the lives of the ancient magi as well as the lives of all who seek
the Lord. In “Songs of the Heart....” John of the Cross wrote, “I
went without discerning and with no other light except for that which
in my heart was burning.”
And
so, we journey to the Lord. Where exactly are we going to find
Him? We really don’t know. He may be in marriage. He
may be in the priesthood or religious life. He may be in the life of
the single determined to spread Christianity. He may be in
children and Teens. He may be in a career. He may in our caring
for a sick spouse or relative. He may be in the outcast who reach
out for us. He is in all these and countless more places. If we
are wise, we will spend our lives seeking Him out, wherever He
is. And yes, we might get sidetracked. Yes, we might find
ourselves seeking Him in the wrong place, like in the palace of a
hypocritical King Herod. We may start a career that is wrong for
us. We may have to break a relationship that is unhealthy for us. But
if we are attune to God’s Word, He will set us straight and direct us
to the course we need to follow. We will all get to our
Bethlehem’s if we are open to God’s call.
“Where am I going with my life?” we ask ourselves. Ideally,
our answer should be, “I am going to Jesus, wherever He might
be.” “When will I get there?” we also might ask. And we
answer, “I will get there when the Lord decides that the journey of my
life is complete.” For none of us has arrived at the goal of
fully embracing the Lord. Bob Carlisle jokes in his song,
Mighty Love, “I am not going to tell you that I have found the Lord
when several times a day, I can’t even find my keys.” © ccli
2368115. We need to keep searching for Him throughout our lives.
After all, our lives are journies of love, There are always new
places to find love.
At
times the journey is difficult. We are called to be moral in an
immoral society. We are called to stand for life in a society of death.
We are called to embrace the joy of the Lord in a society that exalts
in diabolical hatred. It is easy for us to give up and to give
in. It is easy to take the drink that will destroy us, the drug
that will dull us. It is easy to go with the flow of an immoral
relationship. It is difficult to step away from all this and stay on
the path to the Lord. But we can stay on that path. We can, and
we must. The world is counting on us completing the journey of
our lives. For those who complete their journey reveal to the
world the Presence of its Savior. And so, we look towards the
great ones who have died, the great ones in our Church, the
universal Church and the great ones of the little church of our
families. And be they Blessed Mother Theresa’s or Blessed John
Paul II’s, or Fr. John LaTondresses or Clem Steins, spiritual rocks in
the history of our parish, or Sally Smiths or Fred Jones, their
lives give witness for us that the Lord is indeed among us.
And
we journey, not alone, but guided, guided by an interior star, the
voice of the One we love who calls to us deep within
ourselves. And we go “without discerning and with no other light
except for that which our hearts is burning.”
We
pray today for the wisdom to seek the Lord.
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http://stmaryvalleybloom.org/
* available in Spanish - see
Spanish homilies
Epiphany
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Where
the Sun Is
(January 8, 2012)
Bottom line: Where the sun is, the stars have no light. Astrology and
naturalism fade when one discovers Christ.
I'd like to begin this Epiphany homily by describing one of the most
beautiful sights a person can see. I admit I have rarely seen it
because it involves getting up very early in the morning - before dawn,
when there are still stars visible in the sky. The sun has not yet
risen, but you can see its light on the eastern horizon. Little by
little the stars begin to disappear. Soon there is only one left and it
is not a star. It is the planet Venus. Finally the light of the sun
overcomes Venus, the Morning Star.
Something like this happens in today's Gospel. Wise Men - also called
Magi or astrologers or The Three Kings - come from the east because
they have seen a "star." We don't know exactly what the star refers to.
The Chicago Planetarium once had an exhibit title "The Star of
Bethlehem." They reconstructed the heavens around the time of Jesus'
birth and speculated that the star may have referred to a comet, some
configuration of planets or perhaps the Morning Star itself. Whatever
it was, the star led to Jesus. But when the Magi found Jesus, things
changed. Jesus was like the sun rising at dawn. The Wise Men no longer
need stars and planets. They now had the bright, life-giving sun.
The poet Lope de Vega wrote a beautiful poem about this. It is worth
learning Spanish just to read this one poem. Its title is: La llegada
de los reyes magos. The arrival of the Magi Kings. Lope de Vega
describes how the star guided them in the dark night, but when they
found Jesus, the stars faded. Although it is difficult to translate
Lope de Vega's poem into English, let me try a few lines.
You Kings, who come from the East,
are searching the night sky
looking at the their beautiful lights.
Do not follow them now
for where the sun is
the stars have no light.
The Child shines upon you.
And where the sun is
the stars have no light.
Lope de Vega is thinking about the practice of astrology. It was
something that attracted him, but he realized that if he was going to
follow Christ, he would have to give up astrology. That could be hard
for many people - perhaps some in this congregation. The Catechism,
however, makes it clear that a Christian has to choose: "Consulting
horoscopes, astrology, (etc.) contradict(s) the honor, respect, and
loving fear that we owe to God alone." (2116) Where the sun is, the
stars have no light.
There is a more subtle way people want to put their trust the stars,
instead of Christ. A famous astronomer named Carl Sagan said, "we are
star stuff." That is a poetic phrase and it is true as far as it goes.
The matter that forms us was ultimately forged in the furnace of stars.
But, unfortunately, Sagan meant it in an absolute sense: We are only
star stuff. For him - and for philosophical naturalists - that is all
we are.* As Christians, we take a different view. We admit that we are
material beings, but we believe that we are something more. When we
encounter Christ, his light overwhelms even the stars. Astrology - and
naturalism - fade when one discovers Christ.
Today's Gospel tells what happened when the Magi Kings met Jesus. They
gave him their greatest gifts. Gold represents wealth and power.
Frankincense and myrrh had legitimate uses, but they were also utilized
in occult practices. The Magi placed all this at Jesus' feet. Then they
returned to their land, not guided by stars but more directly by God.
They had looked upon the sun and they knew that the stars - beautiful
as they are - are dim by comparison.
Do not follow them now
for where the sun is
the stars have no light.
The Child shines upon you.
And where the sun is
the stars have no light.
Aware that Jesus is the light of the World, we now listen to the
Proclamation of Date of Easter 2012:
Dear brothers and sisters:
The glory of the Lord has shone upon us, and shall ever be manifest
among us, until the day of his return. Through the rhythms of times and
seasons, let us celebrate the mysteries of salvation.
Let us recall the year's culmination, the Easter Triduum of the Lord:
his last supper, his crucifixion, his burial, and his rising,
celebrated between the evening of the fifth day of April and the
evening of the eighth day of April, Easter Sunday. Each Easter as on
each Sunday, the Holy church makes present the great and saving deed by
which Christ has forever conquered sin and death. From Easter are
reckoned all the days we keep holy.
Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, will occur on the twenty-second
day of February.
The Ascension of the Lord will be commemorated on the twentieth day of
May.
Pentecost, the joyful conclusion of the season of Easter, will be
celebrated on the twenty-ninth day of May.
And this year the First Sunday of Advent will be on the second of
December.
Likewise, the pilgrim Church proclaims the Passover of Christ in the
feasts of the holy Mother of God, in the feasts of the Apostles and
Saints, and in the commemoration of the faithful departed.
To Jesus Christ, who was, who is, and who is to come, Lord of time and
history, be endless praise forever and ever.
Amen!
(The deacon or lector – or priest – may read this
proclamation after the homily or after the Communion Prayer on Epiphany
Sunday)
**********
*Naturalism is attractive because of its simplicity, but it achieves
that simplicity at a price. For a consistent naturalist, good and evil
are subjective concepts and there can be no true freedom. As Richard
Dawkins wrote, "The universe we observe has precisely the properties we
should expect if there is at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil and
no good, nothing but blind pitiless indifference." In this view the
young woman here in King County, who on Christmas eve murdered her
parents, her brother and sister-in-law and their two children,
committed no evil act. Dinesh D'Sousa points out the logical
consequences of such a view:
"If we are purely material beings, then we should no
more object to a mass murder than a river objects to drying up in a
drought. Nevertheless we are not like rivers. We know that evil is
real, and we know that it is wrong. But if evil is real, then good must
be real as well. How else could we tell the difference between the
two." (What's So Great About Christianity, p 276)
In spite of his militant naturalism, Carl Sagan likewise knew that good
and evil are real. Take a look at the video where he confidently
explains that we are "star stuff." It shows pictures of primitive life
forms gradually morphing into a human (of course, a young woman). At
the conclusion he announces that "we are star stuff that has taken
destiny in its own hands." He offers no explanation how this leap has
taken place. He simply asks us to accept that it happened gradually.
Then, with no show of irony, he exhorts us not to "capitulate to
superstition, greed and stupidity." He urges us to make sacrifices for
future generation (who by the way have done nothing for us). :-) Well,
like most naturalists Carl Sagan is better than his philosophy.
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http://www.agreeley.com/homilies.html
Epiphany
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January
8th 2012 A.D.
The Epiphany of the Lord
Background:
This homily series rarely repeats itself, but there is only one story
that should be told on this festival and that is the magical story of
Babuksa
Story:
Once upon a time there lived in Bethlehem a woman named Babushka. She
kept the cleanest and neatest house in town and was also the best cook.
She heard rumors of three kings coming across the desert but paid no
attention to them because she had so much work to do. Then she heard
the sounds of drums and pipes and a cavalcade of riders. She looked out
the window and there were three richly dressed kings coming towards her
house. They told her that they had come to honor the little prince who
had been born in Bethlehem and they needed food and lodging. Babushka
cooked a wonderful meal for them, remade all the beds, and wore herself
out. The next morning the kings begged her to come with them so she too
might see the little prince. Babushka said she would follow after them
as soon as she finished the dishes. She cleaned the house again and
then took out of a cabinet the toys of her own little prince who had
died so long ago. She had no more need of them and would give them to
the new little prince. She put them in a basket and sat down for a
moment’s rest before she followed the wise men. Hours later she woke
up, grabbed the basket, and rushed into town. But the kings were gone
and so was the little prince and his parents. Ever after, it is said,
Babushka has followed after them. Whenever she finds a new born babe,
she looks to see if he is the little prince. Even if he (or in our days
she too) is not there, Babushka leaves a toy for the child. I think she
probably found the prince early on, but we still should learn from her
lesson: we should never let the important interfere with the essential.
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http://www.saintvincentarchabbey.org/sunday_homily
Epiphany
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Epiphany
Matthew 2: 1-12, Year B
Gospel Summary
The Epiphany gospel is a continuation of the Christmas story in
Matthew's prologue to his gospel (chapters 1-2). The prologue is a
theological masterpiece in narrative form through which Matthew
anticipates the major historical events he will present in his gospel
to explain the significance of Jesus for us.
The names of Jesus are revealed: Messiah, King, Son of David, Son of
Abraham, Emmanuel (God with us). As Son of Abraham, Jesus fulfills the
divine promise that in Abraham's seed "all the nations of the earth
would be blessed" (Gn 22: 18 and Mt 28: 10). The miracle of the
virginal conception heralds the beginning of the climactic end-time of
sacred history. The gentile nations as foretold by the prophet Isaiah
come to the New Zion with their treasures to praise the Lord. Jesus
will be rejected by many, will suffer persecution and death, but will
ultimately triumph through the Father's providential care in the
resurrection.
In today's gospel reading, Matthew tells us that when Jesus was born in
Bethlehem, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem looking for the
newborn king of the Jews so that they might do him homage. When King
Herod heard this, he was troubled, and asked the magi to bring him word
of the child's whereabouts so that he too could pay him homage. When
the magi found the child with Mary his mother, they did him homage and
offered him their gifts. Warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they
departed for their own country by another way.
Life Implications
The good news of Epiphany is that Jesus is the revelation of God as one
who offers himself to us in love. Jesus is the epiphany of the
invisible God in all the events of his life: as a helpless child lying
in a manger, as a young man dying on the cross -- the ultimate
revelation that God's glory is love. This feast reminds us that each
Sunday's liturgy with its gospel reading is an epiphany of the Lord to
be reflected upon in the quiet of faith.
As in every offering of love, the Lord awaits the response of our
heart. Will it be that of Herod who perceives it as a threat to his own
autonomy and power? Will it be that of the magi who perceive this
offering of love as the fulfillment of the human quest? Epiphany is the
revelation of the purpose of the Incarnation: that God and we, God's
creatures, might enjoy each other in the embrace of love. Who could be
afraid of a God like that?
The church anticipates the good news that the mutual exchange of divine
and human love is the deepest meaning of the Incarnation by giving us a
reading from the Song of Songs at an Advent Mass a few days before
Christmas. This "greatest of songs" is a love poem describing the
wonder and excitement of the divine-human exchange of love in beautiful
erotic images. The poem can help us realize a bit of the astonishing
mystery we celebrate. The Lord says to each of us: "Arise, my beloved,
my beautiful one, and come" (Song 2: 10). One is also reminded of
Christina Rossetti's lovely epiphany poem "In the Bleak Mid-Winter."
What can I give him, Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd I would bring him a lamb;
If I were a wise man I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give him Give my heart.
The epiphany of the Lord is actualized in every celebration of the
Eucharist. Jesus reveals himself and identifies himself as the bread of
life. One could not imagine a more powerful sacrament or symbol to
reveal that the ultimate meaning of Jesus is to give himself to us in
love. Bread has no meaning by existing for itself. Bread exists in
order to give life to those who receive it as food. The prayer after
communion for the Mass of Epiphany expresses this mystery of faith:
"Help us to recognize Christ in this Eucharist and welcome him with
love."
Campion P. Gavaler, O.S.B.
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http://www.christusrex.org/www1/mcitl/lowhome.html Meeting Christ in the Liturgy
Epiphany
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Solemnity
of the Epiphany
Isaiah 60, 1-6; Psalm 72; Ephesians 3, 2-3.5-6; Matthew 2, 1-12
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
MERRY CHRISTMASTIDE. By longstanding sacred tradition Christians
celebrate Christmas as a season, with the twelve days between Christmas
and the Epiphany as one long "Christmas day." The season ends with the
Baptism of the Lord. Christmas celebrations with friends and family,
decorations, and all of the other means of rejoicing, should continue
throughout the season. We can never rejoice in the Lord's birth too
much. As Christians, we will very often find ourselves living in
contradiction to the styles and preferences of the present age. We
should get very much used to the fact that we will face conflict among
friends, and even at times within families, as we seek, more generously
and more regularly, to live out and celebrate the mysteries of our
redemption in Christ Jesus.
Jesus is conceived by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary's womb because
he is the New Adam, who inaugurates the new creation: 'The first man
was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.' (1
Cor 15:45, 47) From his conception, Christ's humanity is filled with
the Holy Spirit, for God 'gives him the Spirit without measure.' (Jn
3:34) From 'his fullness' as the head of redeemed humanity 'we have all
received, grace upon grace.' (Jn 1:16) (CCC 504)
"Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has
risen upon you."(Is 60:1) Isaiah the prophet describes the glory of
Jesus Christ, who is "full of grace and truth; we have beheld his
glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father"(Jn 1:14), our Messiah.
The prophet also foretells the reality of those first three wise men,
who represent the kings and the peoples of the whole earth, all of whom
are called to realize their full dignity as sons and daughters of God
in worship and praise of him for his glory and goodness. "Above you the
Lord now rises and above you his glory appears. The nations come to
your light and kings to your dawning brightness." (Is 60:2-3)
The Father's only Son, conceived as man in the womb of the Virgin Mary,
is 'Christ,' that is to say, anointed by the Holy Spirit, from the
beginning of his human existence, though the manifestation of this fact
takes place only progressively: to the shepherds, to the magi, to John
the Baptist, to the disciples. Thus the whole life of Jesus Christ will
make manifest 'how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit
and with power.' (Acts 10:38) (CCC 486)
You and I, and all of mankind must, like the shepherds, the magi, St.
John and the disciples, come before the Lord in his humble birth at
Christmas, and worship him with all of our hearts, minds, souls and
strength.
You and I will be seen as acceptable and pleasing to God to the extent
that, in Christ, we grow in our praise and worship of him, generously,
with our whole being. How do we praise and worship God? Christ is our
model and our means. Christ has set down through example and precept
the ways in which we live the Christian life.
The ancient "way" of Christian life is repentance and belief in the
Gospel, practically and profoundly realized in the sacramental life.
The sacraments are the "Epiphany" or manifestation of the Lord for
every human being. In the sacraments the whole "glory" of Christ
"shines out" so that all nations may fall down in praise before the
Lord. Christians, from the first foundation of the Church, have met and
known Christ through the words of forgiveness in Confession: "Go, your
sins are forgiven you." And from the beginning, as we do today,
Christians have met Christ in the gift of His body and blood in the
Eucharist, and have fallen down in worship of Him, our God. "This is my
body...this is my blood." This is the greatest of all the sacraments,
the Most Blessed Sacrament.
Let us be ever more generous in our expressions of reverential worship
of the Lord. Do we approach Christ at communion with all the reverence,
love and worship due to God? Do we observe appropriate silence in
Church so that a spirit of prayer may be fostered? Are we distracted,
or a source of distraction for others, during Mass? Do we observe the
proper postures and practices of the liturgy? Do we chew gum in Church?
Do we observe the hour-long fast prior to receiving Communion?
We prepare for the joy of heaven, where will live as the praise of
God's glory forever and ever, by the way we approach the Lord as he
manifests himself in the "Epiphany" which is every Mass.
I look forward to meeting you here again next week as, together, we
"meet Christ in the liturgy", Father Cusick
(Publish with permission.)
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http://www.ctk-thornbury.org.uk/
Epiphany
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Feast
of the Epiphany
We celebrate today the Epiphany of the Lord —by which we mean the
Manifestation of Christ to the World.
We commemorate the arrival of the Three Wise Men at the stable in
Bethlehem. It is in some way curious that Christ does not go to them or
reveal himself to them at some later stage when he is more able. No,
they find their way to Christ unaided by him when he is but a tiny
child.
Matthew in his Gospel presents us with two contrasting approaches. God
reveals himself through the Scriptures and in the words of the Prophets
to the People of Israel but he also reveals himself through natural
phenomena such as the star the wise men followed.
Ironically God’s direct revelation is ignored by those who should know
better. Yet his very indirect and almost tenuous revelation through the
star is noticed by the wise men who undertake a laborious journey to
find the Christ Child.
These things are not confined to ancient times but are just as relevant
to us today.
It is sad how many people who know the scriptures, and who have had the
Good News explained to them in great detail throughout their childhood,
manage to drift away from their faith.
This is a problem we face every day in the church and in our families.
God gives us the great privilege of being brought up in a practicing
family and reveals himself to us in all kinds of ways and yet this is
not sufficient to bring some of us to faith.
And on the opposite hand we see these Wise Men who go to extraordinary
lengths to find faith and give due homage to the Christ Child.
I have often conducted classes for those who wish to become members of
the Church and have sat in amazement as I listened to wonderful stories
of how people have been gradually but irrevocably drawn to Christ over
a period of many years.
They have frequently undergone all kinds of difficulties and overcome
extraordinary obstacles to finally get to the point where they can
profess their faith in God and find their true home in the Church.
Each one of us has a story of conversion. For some it might be simple
and straightforward, for others it might be very convoluted. But all
our stories have at their foundation the simple fact that God is
calling us to faith in him.
We come by different routes, some of them very curious, some of them
very painful. But we are all being led through life on a great
pilgrimage of faith sometimes despite ourselves. And the destination of
that pilgrimage in not the pew in which you are sitting now but that
greater seat that awaits us all around the banquet table of heaven.
This Feast of the Epiphany with its marvellous story of Wise Men led
first to Jerusalem and then on to Bethlehem and their avoidance of the
trap laid by King Herod is not something just for the history books.
Nor is it merely a fable to demonstrate Christ’s openness to the
Gentiles from the first moment of his presence in the world.
No, it is also a challenge to all of us. It underlines just how
important it is that Christ came to reveal the Good News of the Kingdom
to absolutely everyone in the world. And we who are his disciples are
commissioned to spread his Good News to the ends of the earth.
That does not mean that we need to rush out and buy a ticket for some
poor benighted place no one has ever heard of in order to preach the
Gospel to its natives, though this should never be excluded.
There are plenty of people living right around us who have never heard
the Gospel, or while they might have heard it never really understood
what it meant.
Often enough, we don’t even have to step outside our own front door to
complete this mission. Our task might even be restricted to within our
own families.
The symbolism of the star should not be overlooked as we celebrate this
feast in which it plays such a significant role. The star represents
the Light of Christ which drew the Wise Men to the truth.
Christ is indeed the Light of the World since he came into our world to
bring light into darkness, knowledge to dispel ignorance, hope to
overcome despair. He is indeed the one who all sincere searchers are
seeking.
In Ancient Times this Feast of the Epiphany was considered more
important than Christmas and indeed still in the East it is kept as a
higher ranking feast. It achieved this status early in the history of
the Church surely because the many converts from paganism saw in the
story of the wise men their own story.
These wise men were guided by a star; they were led by God to the
stable in Bethlehem where they offered the Christ Child their gifts and
paid him homage.
The early converts to Christianity, like any convert today, realised
that like those Wise Men they too were guided by God and led on a
journey of faith and brought to belief in Christ. When they finally
encounter him they place all they have at his disposal and worship him
as the Son of God and the one true Saviour of the World.
They may not be rich like those Magi, but they know that they have come
to the knowledge of the greatest treasure anyone could possess—belief
in Jesus Christ.
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These
homilies may be copied and adapted for your own use;
however, they may not be commercially published without permission of
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