The Epiphany of the Lord
The Epiphany of the Lord
Lectionary: 20
Epiphany is a strange feast.
The feast is older than Christmas, and the date has been January 6 longer than Christmas has been December 25. Now, it is supposed to be the twelfth day of Christmas, but we move it to a Sunday so that nobody has to go to church twice in the week. At some times in history, the feast commemorated the birth of Christ. Other times, Epiphany commemorated the visit of the magi, the childhood of Jesus, his baptism, and his first miracle at the wedding of Cana. It was once the day that the date for Easter and other movable feasts were announced. The eve of Epiphany was the time when adults were baptized. It was a rich and important feast.
Perhaps because of its complicated history, Epiphany has been reduced, and is now only the mass where we remember the visit of the magi. But, even this is rich. Magi. Wise men. Some traditions call them kings. Scholars argue about who they were, where they came from, and why they brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
But, one thing is clear. We are called to be like the magi.
The chief priests and scribes knew where to find Jesus, but they were not seeking him. The magi arose, and sought Jesus. Will we sit around, waiting, or will we seek him? He may not be where we expect. The Magi expected to find him in the king’s palace, but he was not there. What will we do when Jesus is hard for us to find? What will we do when people say “he is here,” but we cannot see him? Will we ask for help? Will we continue to search? The magi did. They arose. They sought Jesus. They asked for help, then they continued their search.
And with the help of God, they found him.
And what did they do, when they found him?
They entered the house of God, and saw the child, with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves before him, worshipped him, then offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Herod the Great sought the child, also, but his reasons were selfish. Are we like this, sometimes? I do not suggest that we are as bad as Herod, but why do we come to church? Some people do not often come to church. When we ask them why they do not come, it helps us understand what they were expecting when they used to come. Often, they say “I don’t get anything out of it.” Or, “I was not being fed.” Or, “the music is bad.” Or, “I can’t understand their <spanish, english>.” Or, “the homily is too long, too short, too boring, too complicated, or too simple.”
These responses all point to the same problem. Sometimes, we come to church for the wrong reasons, and with the wrong expectations. We come to get something, or to experience something. When we come with this attitude, we are a little bit like Herod. We are coming for our own benefit. We are coming to receive.
The magi did not come to receive. They came to give. They came to give worship, and to present their gifts to Jesus Christ.
How can we be like the magi?
Pope Francis tells us that the Gospel gives us a little “gift list”: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Gold is the most precious of metals, and a gift for kings. God has to be granted first place in our hearts, and to be worshiped. Frankincense is incense offered to God. It is our prayer, which like incense rises up to God. Incense must burn to give its fragrance, and we need to “burn” a little of our time to spend it with the Lord. Myrrh reminds us of the body of Jesus, taken down from the cross. We can offer him myrrh when we “care for bodies racked by suffering, the flesh of the vulnerable, of those left behind, of those who can only receive without being able to give anything material in return. Precious in the eyes of God is mercy shown to those who have nothing to give back.” Although Christmas is coming to a close after this week, we can still offer these precious gifts to our king.
After they found Jesus, the Magi left by another road. We, too, when we meet Jesus in word and sacrament, are invited to leave by another road. However we come, we can leave better. We can choose a road of love. We can take a road of forgiveness. We can walk a road of humility, and patience. We can be radiant with the light of Christ, and shine that light upon all nations.
