Scriptures: Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6; Matthew
2:1-12
"One night there went out over the stillness
of an evening breeze, out over the white chalk hills of Bethlehem, a cry, a
gentle cry. The sea did not hear the
cry, for the sea was filled with its own voice. The earth did not hear the cry, for the earth
slept. The great men of the earth did
not hear the cry, for they could not understand how a Child could be greater
than a man. "There were only two
classes of men who heard the cry that night: Shepherds and Wise Men. Shepherds: Those who know they know nothing. Wise Men: Those who know they do not know
everything. The Shepherds found their
Shepherd and the Wise Men discovered Wisdom. And the Shepherd and the Wisdom was a Babe in
a [manger]." ~ Archbishop
Fulton Sheen
“The word “epiphany” which means a shining forth of
light, has slipped from its religious use into secular usage to indicate any
sudden flash of insight. First used in
this sense by the writer James Joyce, the term has degenerated to the point
where “Epiphany” is even the name for an integrated suite of customer relations
management software. Presumably using
this software will give one striking new insights into how to manage one’s
customer relations.”[1]
Throughout the Advent & Christmas seasons Fr.
Jeremiah has been encouraging us to re-appropriate/reclaim our Christian
traditions from the secular world. For
me, this also means re-appropriating our sacred language. For the distance between the secular usage of
the term “epiphany” and what we celebrate on this feast can be seen in the fact
that we do not celebrate a flash of insight, but the shining forth of God’s
light in our world through the person of Jesus.
It’s about having a forward seeking vision.
Having vision is powerful. But how do we overcome the inertia of existing
perceptions, patterns and ways of being? How do we get beyond fear, doubt and
resistance? You’ve got to have a God
type vision.
Let’s return to Isaiah’s Advent message of faith, written
during Israel’s Babylonian exile. Isaiah
is communicating a vision of the dreamed Jerusalem. It is a big picture vision that gives the
people hope to perceiver during their current situation. Today’s readings were written when the nation
of Israel returns to Jerusalem, but the glorious city envisioned is not yet to
be realized. The exiles will have to
rebuild the city and the temple. Isaiah
encourages them by sharing the vision that one day Jerusalem (and they as a
people) will rise up in splendor, for the glory of God shines upon them.
The Gospel message communicates a vision bigger
than just the nation of Israel. It
communicates the vision that Christ came for all people. It is no mistake that the birth announcement
of Jesus is given to the shepherds: Those who know they know nothing and the Magi,
wise men who know they do not know everything. Each “… saw his star at its rising and have
come to do him homage.” Knowing something
significant has entered the world, which set them aglow with a vision to the
great things to come.
Christmas is a time of giving gifts and for the
most part we have that down well. We
even stress over having the right gift to communicate we know and care about
the receiver. December is the time of
year that charitable contributions are at their peak; toys, food, clothing,
money flow into not-for-profits assisting the poor. Unfortunately the needs of the poor are year
round. We live in one of the world's
wealthiest nations. Yet 14.5% of U.S. households—nearly 49 million Americans,
including 15.9 million children—struggle to put food on the table. In the United States, hunger is not caused by
a scarcity of food, but rather the continued prevalence of poverty. More than one in seven people in the United
States lives below the poverty line, nationally, more than 44% of children live
in low-income working families (families who earn less than twice the poverty
line). Both issues must be addressed in
our continued efforts to help those Jesus called "the least of these"
(Mt 25:45).[2]
We need to “Have a God Type Vision” to respond to
these needs. God wants us to go beyond
charity and give one another the gift of justice. Both charity & justice are
necessary. Charity to assist in
immediate crisis needs, justice asks WHY?!
Why are there people begging in the church parking lot, why do we see
the same families regularly at St. Vincent DePaul, why is it that in the land
of plenty people going hungry?! The gift
of justice means making a conscious choice to act!
- Like Mary, we need to open our eyes to see what is going on around us, especially to the needs of the poor and invisible people and contemplate them in our hearts.
- It is assessing our God given gifts and making the conscious decision to put them to use for the good of others;
- It is engaging the poor and invisible people, treating them with dignity and respect. It is getting our hands dirty and “having the smell of sheep on us” as Pope Francis puts it.
- It is looking beyond the quick/temporary fixes that form dependency and questioning the systems that create barriers for the poor desiring to climb out of poverty; and
- It is educating and cultivating the next generation, our children and grandchildren, to be socially conscious citizens.
Years ago, Dr. Howard Thurman,
theologian, civil rights activist, and Dean of the chapels of Howard and Boston
Universities penned these beautiful lines:
When the song of
the angels is stilled,
When the star in
the sky is gone,
When the kings
and princes are home,
When the
shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the
lost,
To heal the
broken,
To feed the
hungry,
To release the
prisoner,
To rebuild the
nations,
To bring peace
among brothers,
[1] Living the Word. Year
B. by Laurie Brink, O.P. and Deacon Frederick Bauerschmidt © 2014. World
Library Publications, Franklin Park, IL.
[3] Sick, and You Cared For
Me: © 2014 “The Epiphany of the Lord” by Fr. Richard G. Malloy, SJ. Clear Faith Publishing LLC. Princeton, NJ
