2013-01-06, Epiphany, The Mirror on an Airplane

Just two weeks ago today, on the 4^th Sunday of Advent, we began our final preparations for the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  And we heard about Mary’s visit with her cousin Elizabeth before the births of Jesus and John the Baptist.

– And Christmas came and went –

If we look back in reflection, we might ask ourselves:

“Were our empty hearts hung on the fireplace for Jesus to fill with His love and hope,
or was it just our socks?”

“Did we fill our souls at that banquet of the Christmas Mass,
or just our tummies at Christmas dinner?”

“Have we changed for the better in any way, today, these two weeks later?

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Then, just one week ago, we celebrated the special Holiness of Jesus’ Family; and the special holiness of our own families.  We discovered that, together as family, with Jesus in our lives, we can endure:  desert journeys, Inns with no rooms, work with no pay, and even persecution, just as the Holy Family did.

– And the dawn of a New Year came and went –

And if we reflect again, we might ask:

“Is Christmas now all packed away in a box and forgotten for another year,
or can we still find Christmas alive in our hearts?”

“Can we keep the love and hope of Jesus thriving within us every day,
despite the hardships?”

You see when we reflect on the past, we come to realize that time really does fly by.
And then we might wonder if we actually made the best of that time.

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And then today we heard the story of three Kings.  If we look close enough, we just might find one, or all of them, living within and ruling us.

The first King was Herod.  As the Roman ruler of Jerusalem, Herod was a great builder.  He built cities and amphitheaters, and even the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.

And yet, as hard as Herod tried to get the Jewish people to like him, nothing mattered more to Herod than his own pride and ambition.  Any threat to that pride or his position, whether real or just perceived by Herod, was dealt with by death; from the murder of his own wife and sons, to the crucifixion of the Jewish zealots and the slaughter of the innocent children of Bethlehem after the birth of Jesus.  Herod was ruthless and bitter, because everything in his life was centered on himself.

He was a sad and lost king, and one, we pray, the likes of whom will never rule us.

The second King, or set of Kings, in today’s story, were the Magi.  These great astrologers were the Indiana Jones’ of the first century BC.  To start with, they were very wise.  And even though they were not Jewish, they knew the Scriptures inside and out.  They knew the signs of nature. They knew the trees and the birds, the deserts and the stars.  And tying them all together, with the help of the Holy Spirit, these Magi discovered a treasure that was so great, that nothing could keep them from searching it out; not the long desert journey, nor the highway bandits.  Not even a ruthless and bitter King could stop them.

You see, the wisdom and perceptiveness of these Magi led them to believe that if they could find this Jewish Messiah, He had the potential to change, not only their lives,  but the lives of their families, and everyone they knew back home.  For unlike Herod, the Magi were not self-centered, but instead, they had a genuine concern for other people.

And knowing that, we can now understand why the Gentile – Magi brought gifts for the Jewish – Savior.  And those gifts were no “stocking stuffers” either!  As a matter of fact, we just might call the gifts themselves, “the Epiphany of the Lord.”  For those gifts reveal to us the very Mystery of the Incarnation itself: God has become man.

You see, the gift of Gold represents the Royalty of Jesus, His kingship, His wisdom, shining like gold in our lives.

And the gift of Frankincense represents the Divinity of Jesus; the One whom we worship and adore, with the burning incense of our prayers and love.

That third gift of Myrrh represents the Humanity of Jesus, a person just like us, who would live, and suffer, and die.  And with that fragrant myrrh, we too can offer all of our sufferings for the love of Jesus, and for one another.

Yes, these Magi were quite extraordinary.  They were wise, adventurous, sensitive and obedient; an obedience to God’s Will that eventually, even saved their lives.  And to say that our lives are, in part, ruled by characteristics like theirs, would certainly be admirable.

The third King of course, is Jesus himself.  Yet, who are we to call this Jewish Messiah ‘our King’?  St. Paul answered that question for us in his letter to the Ephesians, when he said: “the Gentiles are co-heirs, members of the same body, and co-partners in the promise in Christ Jesus”  Eph 3:2-6

You see, Jesus Christ, our Lord, Savior and King, offered His entire human life for all
of us, both Jews and Gentiles alike.  And He did that not out of selfish pride or ambition, like Herod, and not out of wisdom, adventure or sensitivity, like the Magi; but Jesus offered His life, out of His unsurpassable love for us, in order to both: reunite us with God our Father, and to redeem us from our sinful nature.

It is this redemptive suffering and love, that we remember every week, here at this Eucharistic Table, where Jesus gives Himself to us, and we to Him.  And that is the ultimate, the very best Christmas and New Years gift, of ALL time!

 jmp 01-06-13

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Scripture Readings for the Mass of 01-06-13
The Epiphany of the Lord, C

First Reading:  Is 60:1-6

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