Feast
of the Epiphany
Cycle C
January 6, 2013 7:30
and 9am
Saint Margaret Parish, Bel Air
A Star
I
think each of us has some star in our lives.
What
I mean is that each of us has something leading us from inside ourselves or
drawing us from outside ourselves to some goal.
Today’s gospel passage tells about the magi from the East following a
star.
The
star they follow is leading them to the newborn Christ. The question is: what star are we following?
Maybe
it is the star of getting as close to Christ as possible as we age and realize
that our time for going home to God is getting closer. Or maybe it is the star of a college student
pursuing her dream of becoming a physical therapist.
So
what is our star? And, like the star
that the magi are following, will our star lead us to God or in some way give
glory to God?
Journey
Now
these magi or wise men are on a journey.
The
passage says that they come from the East, maybe present-day Iran or Iraq, and
arrive in Jerusalem. They have left the
comfort of home and are on a journey to see the newborn king.
A
good way for all of us to understand our lives is as a journey. And a journey makes some demands on us.
It
may mean that recent graduates from high school leave home for college to pursue
their education. It may mean that a
young man and woman take the risk of commitment to one another in marriage.
Seeing
our lives as a journey is challenging, but also life-giving. So the question is: what journey are we on
right now?
Hurdles
The
magi are wise enough to detect a hurdle on their journey.
Their
hurdle is King Herod. Herod pretends to
be interested in this young child, but the magi sense that in truth Herod is
threatened and wants to do violence to the child.
There
will also be hurdles for us as we journey and follow our star. Maybe we will get distracted by comforts and
pleasures that lure us off the journey and lead us to waste our talents and
opportunities.
Or
maybe someone will try to discourage us from following the star that seems
right for us. The question is: what
hurdles can we identify for ourselves?
Giving
The gospel tells us that the magi give gifts to the newborn
Christ.
Maybe this is a good test of the star we are following or the
journey we are on. Does it lead us to be
giving?
Maybe our giving needs to be limited to taking care of those in
our family. Or maybe we can give
something of our time and talent to God’s work beyond our family.
Maybe teaching religion or advising on the Finance Committee or
helping to decorate the Church for special seasons like this one. The question is: What are we giving to God on
our journey?
Change
Finally, the gospel tells us that the magi had to change their plans.
After seeing the child, they are warned in a dream not to go back
to Herod, but to return home by another route.
The insight here is that getting closer to the Lord Jesus will also
change us.
In fact, remaining unchanged is not necessarily a virtue. Change and growth seem to be what the star
and journey are all about.
Maybe our journey leads us to see things from the perspective of
others first instead of just being close-minded or judging others as wrong. The question is: How are our star and our
journey calling us to change?
Conclusion
I guess what I am really saying is that this simple, little story
of the magi is really our story.
The star, the journey, the hurdles, the giving, and the change –
these elements in this Christmas story reflect the human experience of each one
of us. In that way, they call us to take
a look at our own lives.
