Feast of the Epiphany
Cycle A
January 8, 2017
4:00pm at Saint Mary Parish, Pylesville
11:00am at Saint Matthew Parish, Baltimore
Following a Star
This
morning my attention is caught by the star in the gospel story.
We
are told that these magi from another country follow a star and find the child
Jesus in Bethlehem. So, I am thinking
that each of us has a star that we follow.
What
I mean is that each of us has something drawing us or leading us, usually from
inside ourselves, but sometimes from outside ourselves. And this something, this star moves us to
seek something beyond ourselves, something we do not have.
Now
– and this is important – I am thinking of things like self-worth – a feeling
that we are okay and even good as God says in the act of creation. Or maybe it is peacefulness – a sense of
settledness within ourselves and with God.
I
am thinking of things like forgiveness – forgiving ourselves of something in
the past and feeling assured that God has also forgiven us. Or maybe it is community – being part of a
family or a group and just knowing that we are at home here.
So
– and again, this is important – I believe that underneath all of our financial
goals and job goals and ownership goals, these are the real goals that drive us
in life. And there is a star – something
within us, or maybe something or someone outside of us – there is a star that moves
us to seek these deeper goals.
If
we go back to today’s gospel, we see the magi already have a lot in their lives
already. They are wealthy and they are
regarded as knowledgeable – as “wise” persons, but still, something, a star is
drawing them beyond themselves.
They
want something or someone more. So they
follow this star and find what they want – in the infant in Bethlehem, in Jesus,
in Emmanuel, God with us on this earth.
Giving of Ourselves
Now
let’s notice what the magi do as a result of following their star.
They
give gifts to the child Jesus. Their
gifts are expensive.
And
that is appropriate because the magi apparently are wealthy. So, the magi follow their star and end up
giving gifts that express where the star has led them.
I
recommend that we are to do the same. We
also are to give gifts as a result of following our star.
So,
if our star has led us to a sense of self-worth, then we are to give the gift
of esteem to others by treating them as persons of worth and value. If our star has led us to peacefulness, then we
are to bring a sense of calm to our relationships.
If
our star has led us to forgiveness, then we are to give the gift of forgiveness
by at least not wishing harm to to someone who has hurt us. And if our star has led us to community, then
we are to be inclusive of others regardless of how different they are from us.
The
truth, I believe, is that we all have a star, something within us or someone or
something outside of us that leads us to seek something else, to those deeper
goals that I talked about. And these
stars do for us what that star long ago did for the magi – they really lead us
to Bethlehem, to Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us.
We
may need patience and we may need to travel a distance, maybe not
geographically as the magi did, but maybe within ourselves and in our
relationships. But if we follow our
star, we too can come to personal wholeness and spiritual holiness.
