"Then they opened their treasures"
Matthew 2: 1-12
O God, who on this day
revealed your Only Begotten Son to the nations
by the guidance of a star,
grant in your mercy
that we, who know you already by faith,
may be brought to behold the beauty
of your sublime glory.
(Collect of Feast)
A recent homily source from the Jesuits of St Louis made a wonderful observation about today’s beautiful Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord. They noted that it is safe to say that all those who attend our Sunday Masses in our parish Churches are overwhelmingly Gentiles who are expressing their faith in Jesus the Christ, the Messiah of Israel and our own Lord and Savior. That being said, though maybe obvious but not a conscious awareness necessarily, we are reminded on this Feast about our direct connection with the people of Israel, the Jews.
The Catholic Church has come a long way in its understanding of this fact. The Second Vatican Council in its Document on the Churches relationship with non-Christian religions, that the Old Testament was revealed to us by the Jews and that we receive “nourishment from the good olive tree onto which the wild olive branches of the Gentiles have been grafted.” The legend of the Magi, those from the wider Gentile world beyond the small confines of Israel, who come to find the light of a star and a new king born are a wonderful representation of ourselves who gather to profess our faith in that same king honored by the Magi but feared by Herod. They represent not the simple and ordinary, as the shepherds, but the high learning and science, star gazing, search for meaning and truth of the time – and by association this time in which we live.
So the seekers this Sunday; the Magi begin a journey because they knew something more was out there and they were determined to find it. They approached their journey with humility and open hearts and minds. It began by interpreting what they did best – the movement of the stars and planets to which they gave a meaning - a new star, a new king.
They were in search before they arrived in Jerusalem: “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising . . .” they tell Herod. So, our Feast this weekend, the Epiphany reminds us that we Christians, we Gentiles which fill our Churches, have a direct connection to the ancient Jews through their traditions, prophecies and the birth of Jesus himself within the Jewish tradition.
Therefore, we might say the Epiphany is probably among the most ecumenical of all Church feasts. In a sense we might even say it is the most “Catholic” of all Christian feasts due to its universal inclusion of the Gentile world. As the Magi come to symbolize the greater world beyond ancient Bethlehem and Jerusalem we see ourselves reflected in them. To follow the signs of nature in the bright star and to interpret a deeper significance in the shining light, the Magi laid aside all other attractions in their lives and saw in this new young child a greater King; a person of higher rank than themselves and deserving of honor, which they offered in a humble spirit. What moved them to see in a baby, or more likely a two year old child with his mother, this greatness? A hunger, a desire to discover, a humble submission to the truth before them.
The Magi represent the intellectual world; the higher ranked ones; the kind of elite and wealthy whose knowledge not only about their own study of the stars and planets was great but also their knowledge of what the ancient Jews believed about the Messiah. They represented an open mind and set out on a journey to ultimately find the truth; something and someone who represented more than what they knew.
So, it’s clear that they were on a search and staying in Jerusalem was not on their agenda. Once they were led to Bethlehem by the light of a star they found the one they searched for and laid down their gifts. They saw not in the powerful and the learned the fulfillment of their hopes; someone like themselves but in a small child with his mother. Something more was at work in this event that led them to a deeper awareness that something far more is outside them. Their faith was changed. Once they returned to their country we can only imagine what they might have told others about their search.
So, the Epiphany is an opportunity to recognize those moments in our lives when we have come to a deeper understanding of our faith and to acknowledge from where we came; from the chosen people on whose vine we were grafted. So, we may be tempted to look at this Epiphany story as a kind of passive event. The Magi journey, they find their way to Jerusalem, have a questionable encounter with King Herod, go to Bethlehem, find the child, present their gifts and go on their way.
But today we hear in Isaiah of God’s effort to reveal his Son and show to humanity our value, our dignity, and his obsessive love for us all: “Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you!” No longer do we need to wander aimlessly trying to fulfill ourselves in limited pleasures and pursuits. All we need is found in this child, this God-Man in our midst. More than just love to see in Jesus a light which leads us to the truth of God and cuts through all that isn’t him; everything we go in search of thinking that will fulfill us. It’s plenty: money, position, power, fame, technology, the latest and the brightest. Everything the world says we need to have a meaningful life.
So, though our gift giving may be ended for this season, or if maybe you give on today’s Epiphany, the ultimate gift is one that God gives us; the gift of himself in his Son and like the Magi we follow the path to him. We meet him on his terms, not on our own. The Magi returned to their Country by another route not only because they were warned to do so but more because they were forever changed.
The Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord is filled with the image of light. As we draw life from ancient Israel we are called to lead others on their search from darkness to a new light. What kind of light do we bring to others?