Gifts and Epiphany (2024-01-05, Epiphany)

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 [v_06, Epiphany, January 5, 2025]   ●  ● ● ● Matthew 2:1-12 ● ●

Homily for the Solemnity of the Epiphany

 [__01__]     **Introduction: The Significance [TIMING/WHEN] of Epiphany**  

Today we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany, a solemnity in our Church's tradition. Originally placed on the calendar 12 days after December 25, it marked the conclusion of the Christmas season. This timing gives us the familiar carol, “The 12 Days of Christmas,” a gift-giving-count-down to January 6, the traditional calendar date of Epiphany.  

However, the Church has adjusted our observance to the 2^nd Sunday after Christmas, recognizing that more of us can gather for this important celebration on a Sunday rather than a weekday. Alongside Pentecost and Christmas and Easter, the Epiphany is 1 of the Church’s ancient and great solemn feasts.  

     So, today, we begin by asking the question: When is the Epiphany? But more importantly, what is the Epiphany, and why does it matter in the practice of of our faith?  

 [__02__]  **The What of Epiphany: The Manifestation of Christ**  

The word "Epiphany" means manifestation or revelation. This feast celebrates Jesus Christ being revealed to the entire world as the Messiah,

This truth is illustrated in the Gospel from Matthew (2:1-12). The magi, traditionally called the 3 kings or wise men, represent the Gentiles, the non-Jewish peoples of the world. They come from distant lands, following a star, to pay homage to the newborn King However, Jesus is not only anointed as King for Israel but for every nation, every people, and every person.  

          The word "Gentile" often is used to refers to those who are not of the Jewish religion. But more broadly, it signifies all the peoples of the world. This universality is emphasized in Isaiah's prophecy (60:1-6) in our 1^st reading and in Psalm 72, which speak of nations streaming toward the light of God and kings bringing gifts to His anointed one.  

 

[__03__]   **The Why of Epiphany: God’s Gift to Us**  

Why does the Church celebrate the Epiphany? Because it proclaims the Good News that God’s salvation is for everyone. It reminds us that Jesus’ mission is universal. He comes not just for one group or nation but for all who seek Him, for all who are willing to follow His light.  

 The magi’s gifts—gold, frankincense, and myrrh—symbolize who Jesus is and what He brings to the world. Gold recognizes His kingship; frankincense acknowledges His divinity; myrrh foreshadows His suffering and death for our salvation. These gifts point to the ultimate gift God has given us in Jesus Christ.  

 **Reflecting on Gift-Giving: A Christian Perspective**  

At this point in the Christmas season, we often feel the need to separate the spiritual meaning of gift-giving from its commercialized reality. However, I suggest that gift-giving, when done thoughtfully, can align with the true spirit of Christmas.  

 

[__04__]  I’d like to give an example of gift giving:  

Do you not strive to respect and revere your loved ones in purchasing – not just any old gift being advertised online, on TV or in in the store, but in a gift will connect to the recipient?

 

Would you not want to build up and improve the life of the person to whom your gift is sent?

     Don’t you wish to give and give of yourself something meaningful in the process?

     For example, if you were to buy a book or an article of clothing for another person, would you not have made observations about the person’s taste in reading or taste in clothing, color or style? Would you not ask someone close to the person what size to buy? And, even if you do enclose a gift receipt, you want to get as close as possible to the right match.

 [__05__]   Will we not go, at times, to great lengths shopping online or in person to find the perfect gift, the ideal present?

Would we not want the other person to know the efforts we went to, to find this gift….?

 [__06__]   Our Lord and Savior, incarnate as the 2nd person of the Trinity and the Son of God the Father, has also been conducting research into the gifts you and I really need.

 

__ Acts 20:35 “In every way I have shown you that by hard work of that sort we must help the weak, and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

          And, He wants us to know how hard he has been searching to give you the gift of his life and love.

You and I really need to know that we are loved. Despite the fact that our family life or interpersonal relationships may be “faulty” or broken, he loves us and brings us into a relationship with him.

[__07__]    Jesus our Lord knows that even if we have failed, or if we feel we are not successful, or not productive, or too tired, he still has the GIFT of his calling, of his work for us to do in prayer, fasting and charitable giving, both in our homes , in our neighborhood, on our street, in school, in church.

          None of us can do everything. Everyone of us can do something.

          It is better to give than to receive.

          Not just on the 12 days of Christmas but every day.

 Jesus is not using artificial intelligence but divine intelligence to give us the gifts of his love and mercy each day.

You and I are called into a relationship with Jesus each day.

 The greatest gifts we can give to each other is based on recognizing first that we are sinners in need of God’s mercy and to forgive those who trespass against us, thus we go out to all the world in our own neighborhood, home, school and work to bring the Good News of the Epiphany and Jesus Christ to all.

[]Mercy is often an ongoing project of gift-giving.

Forgive and forget is not always possible. Not because you plan to harbor a grudge; but simply because you cannot forget certain scars or woundedess. To forgive the acts that caused them has to be an ongoing choice.

At any point in time, it is very easy indeed to turn around and begin to harbor a grudge. It is easy to blame the person who caused your pain. It is easy to hate — far easier than it is to forgive again. And even though choosing to forgive can be more painful, it is far more rewarding. When you utter the choice, then, that “I forgive you,” it isn’t over once and done. You say “forgive” because you keep on doing it.

Peter asked, if my bother  sins against me, how often must I forgive as as many as 7 times?

Jesus said 77 times, meaning don’t keep count.

There are some people in our lives who may not be fully aware of the harm or hurt they caused.

You may be caring for a very young person or older person who is not fully aware of his or her actions.

Forgiveness – like gold frankincense and myrrh – comes from God. It calls us – like “royalty” to take the high road.

It calls us like the incense to allow our prayers to rise up to God and put it in God’s hands.

It calls us like the myrrh or anointing of Jesus’ crucified body that Jesus first died for our sin.

[_08__]    Today, as we reflect on the magi’s journey, let us ask ourselves: How can we, too, offer our gifts to Christ? How can we manifest His love to those around us? The Epiphany is not just a story from the past; it is a call to live out the Gospel in the present. May we, like the magi, follow the light of Christ and bring the treasure of His love to the world. Amen.  

 

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