Homily: The Epiphany of Our Lord

Readings: Is 60:1-6; Ps 72; Eph 3:2-3a,5-6; Mt 2:1-12 

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I can recall, as a child, not knowing quite what to make of the Magi, the three kings or wise men as we called them. To me they were romantic, mysterious figures -- dressed in their finery, perched high on their camels, and bearing those interesting gifts. I knew what gold was, and assumed that frankincense was something similar to the incense we used at High Mass. Of course, myrrh was a bit of a mystery, and to some extent remains so to this day.

It wasn't until I was in eighth grade, when Sister Francis Jane had us read T. S. Eliot's "Journey of the Magi," that I came to a clearer understanding of the men and their mission. The opening lines of this poem dispelled my earlier romantic notions about how the Magi came from their distant homelands to greet this unknown King.

A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a Journey, and such a long journey;
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.

What caused them to make this difficult journey to Bethlehem? Why did they, and apparently no one else, recognize the signs and feel compelled to make this remarkable pilgrimage? And who were these men? Well, one thing we know for certain: they were Gentiles, not Jews.

Were they kings? Probably not. Were they astrologers, as has often been claimed? Also, probably not, at least not in today's superstitious sense. More likely, the magi were the sages of their people -- men committed to the propagation of wisdom; men committed to finding the truth.And it’s this search for truth that brings them to a stable in a cave in the nondescript little village of Bethlehem.

The Hebrew Scriptures, what we call the Old Testament, was not unknown among the people of the ancient middle east. And as true "wise men," they were probably familiar with these Scriptures, and with Micah's prophecy of Bethlehem as the birthplace of a great King from the House of David.

Armed with God's Word, they go, unknowingly, to meet the Word of God Himself. Spurred on by a sign in the heavens, they encounter the One Who will proclaim the Kingdom of Heaven. And led by the Holy Spirit, they find Him to Whom the Spirit always leads.

These wise men came to Bethlehem in search of the truth. And at the end of their journey, they have a revelation. They discover that the Truth is not a something, but a Someone. "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life," Jesus tells us. When we follow His Way, we are led to Him, the Truth; and the reward is eternal Life.

But along that Way we will always encounter the Cross. The Magi bring gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh -- symbols of royalty, priesthood, and suffering. For the Cross is there, even in the stable at Bethlehem. It is in their encounter with this Truth that the Magi come to realize that Jesus is not just a king in the worldly sense, but that He wants to become King of their hearts -- and that enthroning Him in their hearts requires a change in their lives -- a conversion. They came to admire and to honor a new king, but before they return home, they are to be changed in the very core of their inner being.

Later in his poem Eliot describes the shock of this recognition as the Magi realize that they must die to a life that does not include Jesus.

…were we led all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly,
We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
 

Yes, the Magi realize that this Jesus is not a king just for the Jews, but that as St. Paul tells us is today's second reading: "…it has now been revealed…that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel."
 

It is this promise that the Magi sense -- a promise that brings life, but at the same time requires us to die to ourselves and to the world. And so the Magi discovered that they had to face something called death at the very moment in which they witnessed a birth. But in doing so, they became among the first proclaimers of the Good News. And today, here in this church, on this altar, we do the same. From this manifestation of Jesus to the Magi, to the world, we’re led to the celebration of the Eucharist, the living memorial of the sacrifice of Christ, His death and resurrection. We make a leap in time from the simple, precious days of Jesus' birth to that awesome moment when He offers Himself on the Cross for the salvation of the world.

"…and the Word became flesh." Jesus became man, and this meant that He would die. Our re-birth through Baptism requires that we must die with Him by our sharing of the Eucharist, in which Christ is truly present once again on the Cross at Calvary. For this is the reason Jesus was born. He came into the world to witness to the truth that God the Father wants each of us to be saved through the willing sacrifice of His Son, a sacrifice that we are privileged to share in at every Mass.

In his Gospel, St. Matthew doesn't tell us what happened to the Magi afterwards, but as we read the final words of Eliot's poem, we're allowed to speculate on the outcome:
 

We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death.

And so we are left with a choice.
 

We can be like the pagans and continue to clutch our gods of sinfulness. We can be like Herod and, rejecting the presence of God in our midst, fight a losing battle that leads not to life, but to death. Or like the Magi, we can accept the universal call of Christ. We can turn to the Truth and carry His message of salvation to the world. For this is what Epiphany is -- a manifestation, a showing. And as Catholic Christians, we are called to manifest Christ's presence in the world by our faith and how we live our lives.
 

In the words of the Solemn Blessing at the end of today's Mass: "The wise men followed the star, and found Christ…May you too find the Lord when your pilgrimage is ended."