Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Another Way to Follow


(The following is a homily given on the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Enid OK, 1/3/16)

Reading 1 Is 60:1-6
Responsorial Psalm Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13
Reading 2 Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6
Gospel Mt 2:1-12

The Epiphany of the Lord is an event for which all of us here should be grateful.  It marks the time in which the Lord made known to the world that his Gospel was not simply for the Jewish people, but for every single human being.  

As Christians, we take joy in the fact that the darkness of sin and ignorance has been overcome by the LORD because he has given anyone who choses him the ability to carry his light (see 1st reading).  In our first reading, the LORD tells the Jewish people through Isaiah that His light has come to dwell within them, making them beacons for the world around them to follow.  Because the LORD has shown on them, “nations shall walk by [their] light”, becoming like sons and daughters following the guidance of their parents.

And has this not been the case?  Did not our own ancestors, who came from the different regions of the world, not end up following the light first kindled in the Jewish people?  Indeed, as the Psalmist tells us today, “every nation [has come] to adore” the Lord (see Res. Ps.), and it is because of the Love of Christ. 

Our second reading gives us the great consolation that everyone – Jew and Gentile – are meant to be “coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the Promise of Christ” (see 2nd reading) through the Good News.  This is the importance of the Magi for us.  They show us that God became Man to save men and women of every time and place.  They give witness to what it takes to receive his gift of salvation. 

In the Gospel we hear that these men – of noble birth and of great importance within their own time and place, “prostrated themselves and did [Jesus] homage.  Then they opened their treasures and offered” them to Jesus (see Gospel).  In humility and sacrifice, they not only pay homage, but give allegiance to the King of Kings.  The actions of the magi uncover for us the price of redemption. Our ability to receive the gifts God has so lavishly set before us is contingent upon our willingness to bring to the Lord what we hold onto in exchange.  That means that we must be willing to let go of our treasure of prejudice, our wealth of fear, and our abundance of sins.  Until we let go of these things, we will be unable to grasp God’s love for us.  We will instead use the tools we have in our hands to see the world. 

We will judge the worthiness of others to be loved; we will fear the power of others; we will fall prey to the temptations that surround us.  In so doing, will inherently judge our own worthiness of love; we will fear our own weakness; and we will perpetuate the conditions needed for our temptations to thrive. 

My brothers and sisters, we must let go of the things which bind us to this place of sin and death.  We must trust in God’s ability to show us another way to follow, and so come to live in a different and better place – our true homeland which has been prepared for us as Children of God, and so coheirs with Christ. 

May this Epiphany of the LORD awaken within us a greater love and appreciation for Him who has paid the price for the redemption us all as well as a burning desire to follow His path, not ours.  May we use that same drive allow Christ to bring everyone into God’s loving embrace.




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