There are all kinds of New Year predictions: about the shape of the economy, the congressional elections, the Super Bowl and North Korea and Iran, to name a few. Here's my prayer for 2018: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, trusting God will make all things right.”
Over the holidays, I was with family in New York, and somehow we got into a conversation about the origins of “little Christmas” and the Feast of the Epiphany. My sister commented that if the wise men had been wise women, they would have asked for directions from the start, arrived on time with practical gifts, made a casserole, helped deliver the baby, and cleaned the stable. That's a new interpretation.
Today we celebrate the Epiphany, the showing forth of the divinity of the child Jesus to the magi. We really don’t know who they were: wise men, astrologers or spice traders. All we know is that they were non-Jews who, guided by a mysterious star and a sudden illumination of wisdom, came from far away to pay homage to this Jewish child named Jesus.
The word of God from Isaiah takes us back in our imaginations to the 6th century before Jesus. The Jews lost everything they thought would continue forever: Jerusalem, the temple, and the monarchy. Ancient Babylonia conquered Jerusalem, destroyed the temple, eliminated the monarchy, and deported many Jews to Babylonia. But then the “tables turned” again. Persia conquered Babylonia and set the Jews free to rebuild Jerusalem. In this passage, the author speaks about a new Jerusalem. A divine light will emanate from this shining city on a hill and all people, Jews and non-Jews, will acknowledge and walk by this light.
We see Jesus as this light who illuminates darkness, the light who shows human beings their ultimate purpose in life: to be in relationship with God forever and thereby manifest the glory of God through who they are and what they do.
Paul's letter to the Christian community at Ephesus in Turkey speaks about our future: we are coheirs to the kingdom of God, co-workers with Jesus in bringing about the fullness of the kingdom. Jesus is indeed our true guide: a straight pathway for the lost; nourishing bread for the spiritually hungry; a helping hand for the weak; a faithful companion for the lonely; and a beacon of hope for all.
In the Gospel according to Matthew, we have all the ingredients of a great story: exotic visitors, a wicked king, court intrigue, a mysterious star, precious gifts, a new child. The magi give homage to this child with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, highly symbolic gifts about the identity of this child.
Gold can symbolize kingship or divinity, the things of God; and the coin of this child’s heavenly realm are the virtues of compassion, responsibility, friendship, courage, perseverance, honesty, integrity, respect for God's creatures and faith in God. But are these virtues the “coin” of our own lives?
Frankincense with its wonderful fragrance and medicinal magic can symbolize healing, and this child came to heal our wounds and bridge the chasm that separates us from God and one another. We too are called to be healers to one another.
Myrrh or ointment can symbolize a burial embalmment, and this child through his dying/rising re-established our relationship with God and made us co-heirs to God’s promise of eternal life.
Now who is this child to whom the magi give their homage? The early Christian community saw Jesus as the fulfillment of the hopes of ancient Israel. So they named him the Messiah, the anointed one.
But the more they reflected on who he was, the more they saw Jesus not only as the fulfillment but the foundation of their hopes.
And so they named him the eternal Word. The Gospel according to John captures this magnificently in the prologue: In the beginning was the Word and the Word etc. Yes, Jesus is the foundation and fulfillment of all their hopes, and our own.
This Jesus was a real historical person, flesh and blood like ourselves. He experienced, as we do, fatigue, hunger, satisfaction, joy, friendship, disappointment and loneliness. He was a rabbi, a teacher, a prophet preaching that the kingdom of God was breaking into our lives.
Jesus worked signs and wonders proclaiming that good ultimately will triumph over evil; he possessed authority to forgive wrongdoings; he promised eternal life.
He had a unique relationship with the God of Ancient Israel; he was one with God; he was crucified and then raised up from the dead; the living Christ is alive and so too are we alive with God's grace and favor; and we encounter this living Christ especially in the sacramental life of the global community we call the Church.
Jesus taught not only that the kingdom of God was breaking into our lives; but he also taught that we can become partners in this kingdom of God by living a life of discipleship. And how is that? By living prayerfully in the presence of God; by recognizing that our lives do have an ultimate purpose; by seeing in Jesus the Word made flesh, the face of God; by reaching out compassionately with helping hands to the people around us; by encountering the living Christ, body and blood, soul and divinity sacramentally and mystically in this liturgy; and by always being ready to let go of our earthly life, in the mystery of death, so that we can be one with God forever.
Yes, in death is the hope of eternal life.
And this Jesus taught that God is our Father, a compassionate God, always near us at the start of each day to guide us on our journey to our heavenly home.
So on this the feast of the Epiphany or manifestation of the glory and presence of God, I invite all of us to reconsecrate ourselves to the living Christ and to ask him to grace us anew at the beginning of this new year, so that we might manifest ever more deeply the glory of God in our own lives.
I conclude with a favorite excerpt from a New Year message a friend emailed me. He wrote:
The greatest Joy............................................ Giving
The most satisfying work............................. Helping others
The ugliest personality trait.......................... Selfishness
The most endangered species...................… Dedicated leaders
The greatest “shot in the arm” ..................... Encouragement
The most crippling failure disease................ Excuses
The most powerful force in life.................... Love
The most dangerous pariah........................... A gossiper
The worst thing to be without....................... Hope
The deadliest weapon................................... The tongue
The two most power-filled words................ “I Can”
The greatest asset......................................... Faith
The most worthless emotion........................ Self-pity
The most beautiful attire.............................. SMILE!
The most prized possession......................... Integrity
The most powerful communication………. Prayer
The most contagious spirit........................... Enthusiasm
This is truly a message to live by: manifesting the presence of God with these positive attitudes and behaviors.
