Feast of the Epiphany

From today’s Gospel, “When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is the newborn king of the Jews?  We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.’
 
Further in the account, after encountering King Herod, when they saw the star again, they were overwhelmed with great joy.
 
Then having encountered Jesus in the Bethlehem crib and having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.”
 
Who are the magi who have come from the East?  The magi are searchers, seekers.  The magi are symbols of the restless human spirit.  The magi followed a star in search of the whereabouts of the child king.  The magi are ourselves who seek to find the meaning, the purpose, the value of our lives.  The magi are ourselves as we seek to make sense of it all.  When we reflect, we become aware there is within ourselves a longing for the spiritual dimension, a longing for God.  We too are in search of the whereabouts of the child king.
 
When the magi saw the star, they were overwhelmed with great joy.  Notice even before they discovered the Christ child, they were overwhelmed with joy at seeing the star.  What or who are the stars in our lives that overwhelm us with joy because these stars lead us to Christ, to the mystery of God’s unending love for us?
 
The stars in our lives that fill us with joy and lead us to Christ are often the people of our lives that we love deeply.  I invite you to be in touch with the stars of your life and to be grateful to them.  Last Saturday evening I was with a St Joe’s FIRE gathering.  These families – the Hood’s, the McCorry’s, and the Atzl’s – do family faith in a home setting.  Their children – Aidan, Maddie, Monica, Ainslie, Clare, Emma, and Katelyn – were stars to me that filled me with great joy and helped to be aware of God’s presence in our midst.  I am very grateful for this Epiphany experience. 
 
Another example, we celebrated a funeral memorial Mass for Helene Miner this past Monday.  To share with her husband Richard and their children Scott and Erin was an experience of revealing to me stars that led a faith-filled celebration of God’s unending love in all of life.  Richard’s love for his wife and Scott and Erin’s love for their mom was both sacred and spiritual.  This family will always be blessed in the love they share with each and this love leads to experience God in their lives.
 
Now admittedly, my experiences of stars tend to have a religious setting as that is what I do most of the time.  I also deeply believe, without any doubt, ordinary life is filled with stars that can overwhelm with joy and lead you to Christ.  All that is needed from us is open hands and a trusting heart that is open to experiencing God’s unending love in our life.
 
 
Sometimes the stars that lead us to Christ are children that are easy to love.  Sometimes the stars are the challenges we face in life.  The Epiphany story is that the magi recognized and followed the star that was discovered in the dark of night.  That star led them to the Christ child.  In our spiritual journey, we sometimes experience the star in the midst of darkness as well.  In the midst of the struggles, the crosses, the darkness, we can discover the star that leads to the Savior.  You may be sure that into whatever area of your life you let the light of Christ enter, the darkness recedes.  Actually, the experience of the dark of night in our lives, that is to say, our struggles and setbacks whether they are emotional, relational, financial, or spiritual, challenge us to entrust our powerlessness to our healing and saving Lord.  The Epiphany experience happens for you when you turn your life over to the Lord.  In a paradoxical but very real way, the darknesses of life are blessings for us when they help to recognize we don’t do it alone.  We have a deep need, a longing for the healing Lord. 
 
The darkness we experience isn’t always on the outside; sometimes it is the darkness that is within us.  When we are caught in depression, when we are unable to forgive ourselves, when we have a crisis in self-confidence, we have an inner darkness that stands in need of the light of Christ.  Thank God we have stars, that is, people who love us no matter what, that lead us to experience the mystery of God’s unending love that overcomes all darkness.
 
Notice well that at the end of the Gospel account, the magi were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and they departed for their country by another way.  Of course, they would return by another route.  Their lives have been changed by their encounter with Jesus.  May we too with God’s grace have our lives changed by our encounter with Jesus.  We cannot go back to our old way of living – with our fears, our anxieties, our addictions, our grudges, our pettiness.  We are to put on the Lord Jesus Christ.  We view life from a faith perspective.  May we look at 2014 with the realization that our future is full of hope.  No matter what pain, what loss we bring into the new year, when we know the person of Jesus, all will be well, all will be very, very well.
 
In celebrating this Feast of the Epiphany, may the story of the Epiphany be our story as well.  Like the magi, we are seekers searching for an encounter with the Lord, a deeper relationship with Jesus in 2014.  Like the magi, may we seek the help of stars that overwhelm with great joy in discovering the mystery of God’s love in our lives.  The stars we seek are not to be found in the star but in the people who love and support us even in the midst of the struggles of life.  We don’t need to go to the Bethlehem crib to discover the Christ child; we need only to look to the neighbor next door.