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 Solemnity  of  the Epiphany of the Lord

READ: (Isa 60: 1-6; Eph 3: 2-6; Matt 2: 1-12)

REFLECT:  Seek the true light, offer what we can and accept the direction of God…

Dear friends, we celebrate the feast of Epiphany, the manifestation of God to the universe. We all of us make a journey. We carry with us lots of things or quite a few things, depending the days of journey we make or depending on the people who we meet. However, we carry something special and precious to the one, who we like, appreciate, value, honor and love. The feast of Epiphany is one such celebration that invites each one of us to journey to meet Christ and give our special gifts of love, commitment and service. As We read in Heb 1:1-5, “Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various way by prophets but in these last days he has spoken to us through his son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he created all things, He is the reflection of God’s glory, He is the exact imprint of God’s being, and he sustains all things by his powerful deeds.” Yes! This is what exactly the Epiphany all about the “divine manifestation of Jesus,” the manifestation of Jesus’ humanity in the face of a little child born in Bethlehem.

The reason perhaps, why God has to manifest himself to pagan kings or wise men are to show that they too are part of the kingdom of God. Because the Jewish people were thinking of themselves as purely chosen one of God and others were not privileged ones in the sigh of God. To prove this God has manifested to Gentiles. Therefore, the feast of manifestation of God is not only for few people but for all wherein the universality of salvation come to play a vital role. The wise men rejoiced at the manifestation of God’s love for them. Today we represent the wisemen, to seek God and find joy and solace. How can we manifest God in our lives? it is by seeking the true light, offering what we can and directing to the road that leads true happiness in life. So based on the liturgy of the word, I would like to share with you three points of reflection;

1. Seek the true light:

The light shines for everyone who lights the candle or who moves or looks at the sunshine or moonlight with faith or eyes opened. But most of the time we don’t see the light or open our eyes exposed to the light. Because, sometimes we are afraid of being exposed to the light or we are happy to be in the dark so that no one could see what we do in the dark. But the magis or wise men who are known for their studies in the constellation of stars understood that the star appeared in the sky is something new and special and it has a meaning. Therefore, the star which they followed was not a star that could deceive them, not a star that could mislead or misguide them, not a star could disappear immediately, not a star that could scorch them by its light. But it was a star that guided and led them to see the true star, true light “Jesus Christ” Himself. So we need to make efforts to seek the true light Christ in our lives in little ways that we do or experience.

Today many of us are searching for true light. Some of us try hard and succeed, some of us try and meanwhile give up, and some of us never try to seek the true light. But we are reminded and assured today that the one who seeks the true light will never be disappointed, afraid, disgusted rather will be full of cheer and joy to go forward. That’s what we find in the journey of Magi, they saw the light appearing on the sky and they sought after true light Christ Himself. The journey of life in God that we have begun to live should never stop us rather it should continue even if we get caught up with the vicious circle of this world that could mislead or misguide. That’s what the magi too did. They were stopped in Jerusalem by Herod with his cunningness and shrewdness to put an end to the little child born in Bethlehem, they were alarmed when they could no more see the star after entering Herod’s palace. But they did not give up; they continued to seek the light. It was their search and desire to see the light that the star appeared to them again and took them forward to see the true light Christ.

That’s what Pope Francis, says, “They were not without their trials and tribulations along their way, though even in the face of great temptation – by worldly wisdom, riches and power, and by simple human frailty – the Magi never failed in faith. “Led by the Spirit,” “they come to realize that God’s criteria are quite different from those of men and women, that God does not manifest Himself in the power of this world, but speaks to us in the humbleness of his love.” Yes, we all of us face hurdles in our search for the true light Christ, but if we have the desire and wish to seek the light, God will somehow show and take us to the light that shines for all. So let’s believe that God is ever ready to come to our rescue provided we try to seek him, the true Light. When we seek the true light we need to be meek. Let us with meekness search for Christ, the true light in our lives.

2. Offer whatever we can:

Offering what we can would mean that we give what we have with us without any grudges or complains but willingness and joy. The feast of Epiphany reveals that the Magis from the east offered to the Lord as a sign of love gold, frankincense and myrrh. The gold symbolizes that Jesus a King, frankincense symbolizes Jesus a priest and myrrh symbolizes the anointing of his body. The magis offered to God what they could. Similarly, we are also called to give to God what we can afford to give, thereby, it is not obligatory that we have to meet the Lord with gold, frankincense and myrrh rather we can offer God ourselves with a child-like heart with deep love and longing, the holiness of life and the purity of life itself. Once we offer to God the essentials of Christian living and Christian giving, the Lord assures of us his giving in abundance.

Today, some may have different ways or forms of giving to God. Perhaps for some it may be money, it may be a bit of sacrifice of their desires to serve the poor in the name of the lord, for some it may be to spend time with God, for some it may be to go for a pilgrimage, for some it may be offer themselves to God. All these are right attitudes and praise worthy promises and deeds. But nothing can compromise our self-offering to the Lord, if we have not offered our hearts unto God for living a new life, a new life in Christ. If we have not offered the Lord our hearts then our offering would be considered a vain offering or an empty offering. Therefore, whatever we can offer to the Lord, let us offer it joyfully but primarily offering our very selves, our hearts unto God to be in complete control of God and to become a new creation in Christ.

Offering whatever we can does only mean that we offer to people whom we like and don’t offer whom we dislike, but offer it to all. Very beautifully, the second reading from St. Paul’s letter Ephesians says that the mystery of God has been made known and the mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel. Yes, the mystery of God is made known to all without any bias or partiality. Today our offering becomes unacceptable to God, because we don’t offer selflessly rather with a selfish mentality. God has offered the mystery of salvation to all and why do we offer it limitedly to people only whom we like. Let our offering be for all. I am sure the Lord, who sees the heart will accept our selfless offering and bless us in abundance..

3. Accept the direction of God:

We all of us search for or feel the need to have right directions and right diversions in life to lead the road to happiness and peace. We see that the wise men after having learnt from a dream through the angel of God, they changed their direction to move towards the happiness and the fullness of life. The direction was given by God and they accepted the directives to move ahead joyfully in life. We also need a diversion of direction in life from God to find joy in life. Most of the times, we don’t find joy or happiness, because we rely only in our own directions, they are faulty and misleading. Therefore to be directed under the guidance of the Lord we need to realize the light that has come into the world and the light present in ourselves, Jesus Christ, true light. The first reading from prophet Isaiah gives us all a clear direction to move towards the light that has already shone, “arise, shine, for your light has come and the glory of God has risen upon you… the Lord will arise upon you and his glory will be seen upon you.” Yes, the light is already arisen and the light of Christ is with us and in us, we need to realize and make Christ manifest by illumining brightly for all to see and bring them closer to God.

Pope Francis very beautifully points out, “Once we lose the sense of worship, we lose our direction in the Christian life, which is a journey towards the Lord, not towards ourselves.” Yes, the focal point of the Magi’s or wise men’s journey was to worship the baby in a manger, Jesus Christ the Lord. They were guided by a star and moved by the direction of the star that appeared on the sky. Definitely, it was a direction and guidance of God through the star. All the more, after worshipping Christ the Lord and paying homage to Jesus, they moved under the direction and guidance of God to take a different way altogether. Therefore, they believed in the direction of God, accepted the direction of God and diverted their attention from trivial issues of life.

Today all of us face this issue of replacement and misplacement concerning persons, places values, aptitudes etc. when there is a mistaken replacement of who we are not and what we are not supposed to be, it just becomes purposeless and meaningless. There is a diversion of direction and a change of focus. Once the direction and focus gets changed, we would land up in worshipping goods and commodities, nature and places, persons etc. Let us always remember that true realization of worshipping and adoring God come to play, when we allow God to intervene our lives and accept his intervention for a direction of life. Therefore, it is God, who is to be worshipped and adored and not the persons, places, things, posts or powers that one holds.

Both the wise men or Magi and King Herod had the desire to worship baby Jesus. But they differed in their worship style. The wise men were really interested in the true worship Jesus, to pay utmost homage to the Son of God whereas King Herod’s worship for Christ was only a deceptive deal and a pretentious feel. King Herod for want of power, being jealous of the newborn King and saviour of the world Jesus, Herod wants to put an end to the life of Jesus. Yes, this is exactly the replacement and misplacement issues. King Herod replaced and misplaced his powers with Jesus. He matched his power with the power of Jesus, not knowing or understanding the power and glory of Jesus. Therefore, he experienced jealousy, selfishness, fury and restlessness for power. Something similar can happen to us too, when we replace or misplace our powers, attitudes, approaches which are not right and true, which are not ours or which not our due is. Although the wise men had their own powers, they did not replace or misplace with themselves or someone else or in something else rather they placed their focus on right person (Jesus) and right place (kingdom of God). If we wish to be on the right person and right place to reach, we need to allow the Lord to direct us, guide us and move us to experience in life. So let us be open to the direction of God, accept his directives and follow them in our lives to lead a road that leads to happiness and peace.

RESPOND:

Do we seek the true light Christ who is in us and in others?

Do we offer ourselves primarily to God and that offering of us to God and others without any bias or partiality?

Do we accept the direction of God to move on the road that leads to happiness and peace and do we allow God for a right diversion and direction that’s required in life?

Let us seek the true light Jesus Christ, offer whatever we can selflessly and accept direction and diversion to the road that leads to fullness of life in God. Amen.

God bless us all... Live Jesus!

Fr. Ramesh George MSFS