Last Sunday, we celebrated the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God where we highlighted the greatness of Mary as the Mother of all mothers; how to be “mothers” like her – contemplating everything in our hearts; and how to be her children by imitating her virtues. Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord. When we use the word epiphany, like for instance, “I had an epiphany about using certain items on my phone,” we ordinarily mean, a sudden realization of something. However, the word epiphany comes from the Greek word, epiphania, which means, a divine manifestation. To celebrate today’s feast is therefore to celebrate God’s manifestation to humanity in the person of Jesus Christ. If God is our Father who created us to love Him and server Him, He would reveal Himself to us so that we might know Him, love Him and serve Him. Today’s feast makes clear the fact that God has made known Himself to us. Traditionally, the Feast of the Epiphany comprises three manifestations: the visit of the Magi, the Baptism at the Jordan, and the Wedding at Cana. In each of these manifestations, a particular aspect of our Lord is highlighted: in Bethlehem, as the Savior of the whole world; at the Jordan, as the beloved Son of God; at Cana, as the true bridegroom of the Church. Focusing on today’s manifestation to the Magi, I would like us to meditate on how God has revealed Himself and what that means for us.
God reveals Himself to us through His creation
God reveals Himself to us as a King, Priest, and Prophet
Man’s Proper Response is Obedience
God reveals Himself to us through His creation
The Gospel relates that the magi came to find Jesus by following a star. God is light and His light is in all of His creation and by means of His light in all things, He leads us to Himself. I know a priest who came to know his vocation through quantum physics as he came to realize that at the ultimate analysis, every particle is reducible to a light wave. One could say, without any fear of contradiction, that the magi were scientists who used their scientific wisdom to follow a star that led them to Light of the world. The point here is clear: Science is not an obstacle to God, but rather a tangible means to God. Faith and Reason are two paths to the same Truth, to the God of all creation
Also, that they were led by a star is reminder that stars are seen only at night. In the night of our lives, there is a star the Lord has placed to lead us to Him. As someone has said, “I cannot fail; if I do not win, I learn.” However, we must take our time to discern what that light, that lesson is in order to arrive at it.
By revealing Himself through His creation, to men from the East, today’s feast reminds us that the Savior born is not just for the Jews but for the whole world. Such is St. Paul’s message in the second reading when he tells us that the mystery was made known to him by revelation … that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.
Jesus reveals Himself as King, Priest, and Prophet
When the Magi arrived Jerusalem, we are told they asked: “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” When they opened their treasures, they gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Gold signifies the splendor and superabundance of the king; frankincense, the symbol of prayer and sacrifice of a priest; and myrrh, symbol of death, the lot of the prophets. As King, we can go to Jesus for all we need; He is our priest who perpetually intercedes for us by His prayer and sacrifice; He is our prophet who is the way to God.
By virtue of our baptism, we too are kings, priests and prophet. These three need to be integrated for us to radiate the beauty of who we are, as sons and daughters of the Son of God. Permit me focus on the aspect of bring a King like Jesus. A king is one who is comfortable and confident in Himself and not saddened or threatened by his subjects’ success. Rather, he seeks to harness everything for the good of all. To be kings after the heart of Christ, we must renounce envy in our lives and be content with who we are not by what we have but by the gift we have been given as God’s beloved children. To be kings after the heart of Jesus we must make His motto ours: to serve and not be served.
Man’s Response to God’s Manifestation
The magi obeyed not only God’s revelation to follow the star leading up to Jesus the light of the world, but also when they encountered Him, they obeyed His directives in a dream by taking another route as they had been instructed. That God revealed Himself not only by a star but also in a dream is not insignificant. Just as a star is seen only at night so also are our dreams. We can either curse the darkness or light a candle in the night. Dreams are born in our darkness. The greatest dreamers have been born in the darkest moments of our civilization as a human family. This was true of Nelson Mandela during the apartheid in South Africa; as it was the case with Mahatma Ghandi in India, as it was the case with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr here in the USA during the civil rights movement. God had a dream for Mother Teresa of Calcutta when he whispered in her ear on a train ride to take care of the destitute in India; He had a dream for the clarity of the faith when He inspired Pope Benedict XVI and the church Fathers to come up with the catechism of the Catholic Church in a time of secularism and relativism. He has a dream for us when He inspired Fr. Mike Schmitz to do the Bible in a year and now The Catechism in a year. I hope we join in. The truth is God has a dream for each and every one of us in those dark moments of our life. To follow God’s dream, we must give up our own perception. The magi wanted to go back to Herod. Herod is a symbol of evil, of the false king who is threatened even by a baby because of his greed. We must not go back to our former ways but let our hearts be ever transformed and renewed by God’s grace.
Jesus is the light of the world where every light stops and takes on a new illumination (the buck ends here!). To celebrate today’s feast is not only to see the splendor of God who comes to save us all as our King, priest and prophet, but also how to be His light in the world. To come in contact with Jesus, we must take another route. We cannot return to Herod, nor to Egypt. Obedience to God’s voice in our dreams is the way to go. The question remains: What is your intention of how you would like to go about the things that are currently going on in your life? What do you think is God’s dream for you at this moment in your life?
As we receive Jesus in the Eucharist today, may He illumine us and strengthen us to follow the path He has in mind for us as the best way for our salvation and the good of others as we pray: Lord show me the way!