HOMILY FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY

Epiphany: Two Journeys – the Magi and Ours

(Is 60:1-6; Ps 72; Eph 3:2-6; Mt 2:1-12)

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Have you ever considered the journey of the Magi as an invitation to set out on a journey of your own?

Today’s celebration of the Epiphany can be seen as exactly that – an invitation to make of our lives a faith-filled healing journey into our own darkness to a new life of freedom from fear.

That fact that two prophecies are proclaimed as fulfilled in these readings can give us some assurance to set out on such a journey. In the first reading, Isaiah acknowledges the presence of darkness in the world, but assures us a light has come, that all nations are coming to that light, that gifts of gold and frankincense will be brought to the source of that light. What else could Isaiah be describing but the events of the gospel of Matthew, the birth of the Savior and the visit of the Magi from the East?

Psalm 72 adds every nation shall come to adore this king’s son who will judge with righteousness, have dominion from sea to sea, deliver the poor, have pity on the weak, and save the needy. On top of that, kings from other nations shall render him tribute and the kings of Sheba and Seba will bring him gifts. Whom else could this psalmist be speaking of except the child Jesus born in Bethlehem?

St. Paul adds a note of mystery and mysticism revealed to him by the grace of God – this child-king would bring about a welcome inclusivity of faith to all the gentiles of the world, and signal the end of the exclusivity and elitism of the temple sacrifice-based religious system of Judaism that existed at the time and persists to this day. Paul would never have dreamt of that on his own, so we are on solid ground as gentiles who set out to follow the Magi on our own healing journey.

The journey of the Magi signals what should make up the core of our own journey of faith. First of all, they were humble and honest enough to admit what they were experiencing in their own lives was not complete. They felt the desire for a more complete revelation and spiritual experience then they had and set out at the bidding of the star to seek out the fulfillment of that need. They were also open to reading the signs of the time, the seeds of truth they had been given in their own pagan religious practice, and follow their religious instincts to a fuller revelation of whom God was in their own experience.

That they were overwhelmed with joy at the sight of a mere baby of humble birth attests to the depth of their faith. That faith put to shame the faith of King Herod and the religious establishment of the temple cult in Jerusalem who, we are told, were frightened of the news of a messiah being born in Bethlehem, the City of David. The very ones who should have rushed to welcome this child, did the opposite – sank into paranoia betraying a lack of genuine faith and revealing a great fear of losing the power and control they had merged with their self-serving religious practice.

That paranoia and fear is the darkness of which Isaiah speaks, and which can be very present in our own lives today. Richard Rohr gave the Oblates a retreat in Saskatoon when I was still a young scholastic. The first sentence of his first talk was one I never forgot: “You are who you are who you are – what are you afraid of?”

Those words struck me powerfully because at that time of my life, I was afraid of myself. I did not really know who I was, and feared if others got to really know me, they would not like what they saw. In short, I was struggling with low self-worth based on a lack of self-awareness. Looking back, I realize that at that time, I did not know I was somewhat insecure, trying to earn God’s love as well as that of my father, had a Messiah complex, was a workaholic and on top of that, was operating out of a Mr. Fix-It way of being that affected my ministry for years. I desperately needed to go on a healing journey, and am so grateful that a series of life’s events such as the Christopher Leadership Course, the 12 Step movement, Marriage Encounter and the Charismatic Renewal, as well as the genuine love and intervention of many people along the way, helped that healing journey become a reality in my life.

Unfortunately, I suspect there are many people in our society, and even in our church, who are still living in denial, lack of self-awareness, and struggling with fear of all kinds – fear of rejection, change, the unknown and even abandonment if they should ever decide to “roll all their dice on the gospel” and really take the teachings of Jesus to heart to be humble, enter into greater silence and solitude, and make that “journey to their heart,” as Alana Levandowski so poignantly sings in one of her songs.

The Eucharist is not only our greatest prayer, it is food for that journey of faith into the heart of our own darkness to find wholeness through especially forgiveness and healing that is the role of the Messiah who is also Emmanuel, God-With-Us.

May our celebration empower us to set out on our own journey like the Magi, filled with faith and hope, taking us to experience the joy that overwhelmed the Magi, and help us share that joy with others who still live in so much fear.