[1]Years ago, when our daughter was in her mid-teens, we got on the conversation of family and naming children. Before I go much further, I feel the need to set the stage with some background knowledge. Our daughter, then and now, has her own ideas and often expresses them in a polite, yet sarcastic, way to let you know she is does not see life the way her parents see life. This is why she roots for the New York Jets instead of the Buffalo Bills like her parents. I think she was trying to encourage some inter-divisional rivalry.
Back to the family and naming children. During our conversation we explained how we agreed on her and her brother’s names and how our family birth history tends to be a girl is born first, then a boy. Then we curiously asked her, what would she name her children? Without a moment of thought she exclaimed, “I’m naming the girl Epiphany Revelation!” Acknowledging the challenges existing in our faith walk at the time all we could say in response was, “she certainly will be.”
Epiphanies are manifestations of a divine or supernatural being. The Epiphany of the Lord manifests the light that God shines on our world, a loving light that is utterly inclusive.[2] The first Christians, like Jesus, were all Jewish. As God’s chosen people, they had been taught to keep themselves separate from the Gentiles. So, when Gentiles wanted to join the early church, they didn’t know what to do; it was a hard decision to make. St. Paul, in today’s reading, assures the Jews that “the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and co-partners in the promise of Christ Jesus through the gospel.” (Eph 3:6) Matthew makes the same point in his own way. He tells of “magi from the East”—the non-Jewish world—coming to worship the newborn king. They have seen the light! The lesson is clear: Jesus is for everybody.[3]
Remember, the Jewish people, no different than some Catholic people, thought they were the only ones that mattered and are the only people that God loves. They believe they are the only people having the one true religion and all other people were hopelessly lost. Yet, here we have three people, clearly shown to be non-Jews, foreigners, pagans, yet called wise men, why? Because they had the big picture. They could see beyond tribal thinking of groups, nations and even religions. All they wanted was the truth, and when you want truth bad enough, you don’t really care who is saying the truth or where the truth is to be found. It doesn’t matter if the truth is beyond your group, your country, or your religion. Even if it means following a star and a dream.
What the story holds for us is, we all have to believe; we are special, we are chosen, we are beloved children of God whom calls us to himself. We also must be open to realize that the God we worship is utterly inclusive. He calls and invites ALL into His light. He calls and invites ALL to the Eucharistic feast; man & woman, rich & poor, whole & broken, saint & especially sinners.
How is it that the Magi could see something unnoticed by so many others? Matthew teaches through the Magi’s experience, that God is not found without leaving our routines and may include following something as tenuous as a star and a dream. Before we can follow the star, we need to recognize it. A characteristic of God’s signs: they are only visible in the dark. At night, when the noise of words diminishes, when the frenzy is calm, when the business slows down, then God manages to speak to our hearts. The night strips us of certain pretensions and protections, disguises and distractions. The prophets stress: God speaks in the silent crackling of a burning bush or in the delicate eloquence of the gentle breeze.
Yet even the Magi, thinking they arrived to their destination, Jerusalem, lost sight of the guiding star and needed to ask for directions. A request that “greatly troubled [King Herod] and all Jerusalem.” (Mt 2:3) The Magi were far from being self-assured, the search made them wise seekers. Leaving the palace, they joyfully see the stars reappearance and their finding made them more humble. It was in the stillness of the night, when everything was quiet, that they discovered the child with his mother. They arrived because they had been led by a star, because they had taken the road with simplicity of heart, which allowed them to recognize in the child God’s presence in the world.
The feast of the Epiphany shows us God is revealed wherever people are searching for love, light, and truth. We can find sincere, loving and generous hearts in every community, country and in every religion. So, as we begin this new year, let us challenge ourselves to be wise seekers on the journey, with eyes searching to see the light, the truth, the love and goodness of God in our ordinary daily lives, even if it means following something as tenuous as a star and a dream.[4]
[1]
New American Bible, Saint Joseph Edition © 1986. Scriptures: Jeremiah 33:14-16; 1 Thessalonians
3:12 - 4:2; Luke 21:25-28, 34-36.
[2] Living the Word, Year of Luke © 2018 by Laurie
Brink, O.P. and Paul Colloton, O.S.F.S.
[3] Sundays with Jesus,
Reflections for the Year of Luke, James DiGiacomo, SJ © 2006.
[4]
Hungry, and You Fed Me:
Homilies & Reflections for Cycle C. by Fr. Richard Rohr, O.F.M. ©
2012. Clear Vision Publishing,
Manalapan, NJ
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