Feast of the Epiphany - Homily

Children love stories, the more imaginative and explicit the details , the better. Adults enjoy telling children stories that capture their attention. That is probably why the Harry Potter Series is so popular. But as children age, they come to see those stories as fairy tales and life moves on.

This gospel is a wonderful story and it is easy to get caught up in the details, the star, the magi, the gifts, journey and the newborn King.

But like the children, we have to move on beyond the enticing details and get right to the challenge of the message St. Matthew is trying to get to, God chooses to manifest (Epiphany) Christ Jesus to the world and to us Too!

Matthew tells us of all the people (Herod, the Magi and all Jerusalem) now interested in this new born child. A King destined to Shepherd the people and guide them on their journey to God.

Matthew tells of the The Magi . They were people on a quest, looking for more in their lives. If they had been satisfied with the way things were, they would have stayed put.

Change began for them because God made the first move and showed them a light in their darkness. They didn’t have to follow that light, they could have chosen to stay put, satisfied with the status quo.

But they picked up and began a journey that eventually took them to Christ.
The same is true for us, we are all on our journey of faith. We search for Christ as well as manifest his presence for others. Our task-response is not only to search for Christ among us but also to manifest that divine presence.

In other words, like the Magi who have found the King, we must make him known to others.
The Magi have given the new born King great gifts, but the greatest gift of all was their presence to pay him homage.

Sometimes, we when celebrate great miles stones (birthdays, anniversarys, weddings) and even Christmas itself, we get so caught up in the size of the gift – what’s important is the gift of our selves.

After the lights are down, the trees recycled and the ornaments packed in the attic, our challenge is to live the mystery of Christmas each day. There will still be friends, family members, co-workers, members of our faith community who need to be touched by the light of Christ – we can give them that light by the gift of our presence, a visit, a phone call, a letterand perhaps, an email.

So as we continue to celebrate this great feast and reflect on the mystery of God living among us –
Like the Wisemen who encountered Christ for the first time, and went home another way, may we too be transformed to live in the light of Christ and making his divine presence known to others.