Epiphany 2015

There are two definitions of Epiphany in the dictionary.  The first definition is “a Christian feast commemorating the manifestation of Christ to the nations.”   The second definition is “ a sudden revelation.”   Both these definitions apply to Matthew’s Gospel story today.

  Since Matthew wrote his gospel primary for Hebrew Christians, those who had accepted Christ as the Messiah, his intent was to show them that God’s plan of salvation would be open to anyone and everyone.  The Magi who travel from the east and follow the star represent the non-Jewish world,   By telling this story, Matthew shows his audience that the presence of God among us is not limited to the chosen people.  God’s love is a gift to all.  Matthew confirms in his story what Isaiah prophesied in the first reading today.  “The wealth of nations shall be brought to you.  Caravans of camels shall fill you...from Midian and Ephah...bearing gold and frankincense and proclaiming the praises of the Lord.”   Fits the description of the Magi perfectly.  They came bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh and praised the Lord.  This is the feast of the Epiphany that we celebrate.  That God’s ultimate gift of love...his actual presence among us...is a gift to each and every one of us whether we choose to accept it or not.  Because of this gift we can be free of the sin that holds us back and start to become that which our loving God wished for us to be in the first place.   Christ coming to us is half the story.  The rest of the story is our response to his presence.

Which brings us to Webster’s second definition of epiphany.  Epiphany is a moment when one suddenly sees and understands something clearly.  We sometimes call this an “ah-hah!” moment, as  in “ah-hah, that’s how this thing works!”  In other words “I can see!”

Well, the Magi had an “ah hah” moment.  Magi is the Magus, which is defined as a member of the priestly order of Medes or Persia.  

So these three were priests of some other order of worship, which would mean that they were intellligent and learned men of their age.  Their studies and curiosity led them to follow the star.   When they came to Jerusalem they asked Herod “Where is the newborn King of the Jews?”  They did not say where is the Messiah, or where’s the Saviour of the World, but  “the king of the Jews.” They said nothing about a Messiah.  

The  Magi  following the star would be like us following our natural desire  to find God in our lives.  The Magi had a limited vision of who they looking for...the king of the Jews.   When we look for God, our vision is limited as well.  We have an idea of what we are looking for, but may not be very clear in our vision.

Herod’s vision of God, by the way, is completely blacked out,  totally blocked by his pride, envy, jealousy and fear.  He sees only a potential competitor for the very limited earthly throne while the Magi seek something greater.  Herod was a victim of what Paul calls the slavery of sin,  and he continued to choose that slavery when he lied to the Magi and  told them, in effect,   “Call me when you find him so i can honor him too.”  

The Magi do find the Christ.  And they had their epiphany moment.  Matthew tells us this when he says they prostrated themselves before him.  These were three men who were used to having people prostrate before THEM!  And since they were learned men of a priestly order, they

were  able to recognze whose presence they were in, through the grace of God.   They had their epiphany moment in the presence of Christ.  We have proof that they understood when the angel instructed them to take an alternate route home and not go back to Herod.  Seeing clearly now, this is exactly what they did.  They changed the course of their journey.

 

We have or can have our epiphany moments as well,   We can clearly recognize the presence of Christ in our life in the Eucharist, through consistent prayer, through reconciliation and the way we live each day.  By doing so, we live in the presence of Christ,  and we have those times when we “see” him more clearly as we continue on our own pilgrim journey.  The more we see him, the more we change the course of our own lives, as Paul says, in Him.  As the Eucharistic prayer says, we now can live through him, in him and with him.

We are coming to the conclusion of this beautiful season of  the birth of Christ, the presence of God with us, and our ability to see him and know him.  The Epiphany is for all of us, in both definitions of the word.   Jesus does love each of us, and wants to be in us and lead us

by another route, a route away from sin and death to the eternal life that is ours because God has entered into our life.  The Gift of the Magi is our response of love and living in Christ.  The Gift of Christ is the eternal life of love that comes from being in him.

Christ the King

Christ, King of the Universe."   It is not a very old solemnity in the Church calendar, relatively speaking.  It cameThis last Sunday of the Church year is commonly known as Christ the King Sunday.  The actual name of the day is "Our Lord Jesus about in 1925 from Pope Pius XI, at a time after World War I when monarchies were in decline and communism and fascism were on the rise.  Much like today, people were questioning the relevance of the Church, linking it to a time in west when monarchies were in full flower.  The Pope worked to establish, or re-establish, the truth that  The Kingdom of

What does mean for you and me.  Well, the obvious is the literal, physical tending to the needs of men and women who need our help.  We feed the hungry, we clothe the naked, we give the thirsty drink.  Look at all the social service activities of the Catholic Church, the biggest non-government provider of social services in this country and around the world.   Each of us does our part by supporting these efforts in any way we can.

But let's go one step further. We are disciples of Christ so we need to be living in the love of Christ in a way that others who are hungry, thristy, naked  or imprisoned in their lives can see the way of life they hunger and thrist for.  And when we go out into the world each day, no matter what we do or where we work, we act in love to those around us.  Pope Francis, in a homily earlier this week, spoke of this.  We become aware of the times when perhaps we gossip and we make the choice not to.  We see the chance to maybe be nice to the person at work who we think is a real jerk and we act on that.  That’s being a disciple.  Then we pray, we pray more, we regularly pray at Mass and revcieve the Eucharist,  we go to confession, and we continue to try to act in charity each day.  The love of Christ grows in us, and begins to overflow, and we continue to move deeper and deeper into this life of love.  

This is the citizenship model of the Kingdom of God.  Jesus gave us the simple commandment to love each other just as He loves us, completely.  This is the way thre truly humble person lives, trying everyday to love others as Christ loves. They draw their strength on prayer and sacraments, because they need Christ with them on this journey and he’s always ready to travel with them.

Jesus used the analogy of sheep and goats because people of that time understood that sheep were stroGod was unlike any earthly kingdom,  political movement, or form of government.  Through Christ the King of the Universe, the kingdom of God had restored eternal life to mankind, and all mankind indeed is welcome to come into the kingdom.

This, of course, is the Good News of the Gospel.  There is but one kingdom, a kingdom that will never end, a kingdom that will free us from evil and restore us in all that is good.  There is no other kingdom like it.  There is no other kingdom that would come close, because any kingdom that is not fueled by the love of God could not stand.  

The love of God is what separates this kingdom from all others.  

The judgment story in Matthew’s Gospel can do one of two things...it can cause us concern, or it can give us hope. It all comes down to how in your life you respond to God’s love.

Listen to what Matthew tells us. “When the son of Man comes in his glory...he will sit upon his glorious throne and all the nations of the world will be assembled before him.”   Nations, groups of people.  Matthew is saying all other nations are done.  There is only one from this point forward.   Matthew continues “And he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

The sheep represent those who, through their lives of faith, hope and especially charity, have already taken up resiidence in the Kingdom of God.  Those who are sheep live in the love of God.  Those who are goats do not.

Now we get down to the criteria. What does Jesus say about the sheep?  They are chosen because "when I was hungry you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, in prison and you visited me."

When,they ask, did we do this to you.

"Whatever you did for the least brothers of mine, you did for me."

Now  you know what it means to live in Christ.  This is the life of the true disciple.  This is how one who receives the love of Christ lives in that love, by giving it to those around them, by taking care of the thiisty, the hungry, the poor, the prisoner, the naked and the sick    

nger than goats.  At night, the shepherd would seperate the sheep from the goats and shelter the goats because they could not endure the night cold the way sheep could.  Sheep endured.   We endure in love, moving forward on this journey.  You really do want to be one of the sheep, and Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, will help you if you let him