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Homily – Jan. 2, 2022 / Epiphany Sunday (C)
● ● + Matthew 2:1-12 ● ●
Title: Lights On/Off. Epiphany’s 3 Gifts.
[__01_] Last week my parents were enjoying a visit by their grandchildren; together with my sister and brother-in-law. Their children are little. One evening a minor battle or fight broke out between two of the grandchildren about the ideal degree of light or darkness that should be in the room at bedtime in order to fall asleep.
Perhaps you have had such discussions in your
own home, or such talks about whether or not a light should be left on or
struggled to find the safest way of sleeping in a dark room, while also having
illumination. when needed. At night. The two granddaughters were at odds, she
wants the door wide open and I can't sleep with the door open and the light
shines in my eyes. And the other one said I need the light on to fall asleep.
Perhaps one of them had read this medical
study that exposure to light at bedtime makes it difficult for your brain to
achieve deeper sleep. So apparently, we do need darkness in order to rest in
order to fall asleep. So the score in this battle is lights on zero, lights out
one.
[__02_] This
is the feast of the Epiphany / 3 Kings / Magi Magi from the east. King Herod, current
political ruler of Judea, felt threatened by this star rising in the east.
Herod is someone who prefers to for the
lights out to be asleep. Sleeping in the dark has its benefits. For the true
REM sleep (rapid eye movement) King Herod wants the lights out.
And in a later section of this gospel, we
read the extent to which Herod will go in order to put out the lights in order
to continue walking in darkness. Herod was in fear for his own power, his
position, his placement, precisely because someone else had turned on a light.
The light turned on is Jesus, our Savior born
of Mary with Joseph as their foster father.
So maybe we should say the score is now tied
-- LIGHTS ON 1, LIGHTS OUT 1.
The Magi knew a light was on – this is the
star in the sky. The Magi arrived in Herod’s “room / palace / space” and said, “ ‘ Where is
the newborn king of the Jews, we saw his star at its rising and have come to do
him homage’. When Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem
with him.” (Matthew 2:1-2)
Herod no longer sleeps peacefully, Herod
lacks faith and is interested only in himself.
[__03_] The feast of the Epiphany three kings reminds us that yes – that something happens LOCALLY in a particular geographical place.
Jesus is the Messiah born in a Jewish family
and with Jewish roots for Christians, first, in the Middle East.
This is also an INTERNATIONAL GLOBAL EVENT
- This is Jesus’ manifestation to the
whole world to all nations. And to every aspect of our lives.
His light shines in the darkness. Pope
Benedict XVI, in a reflection about the meaning of Vatican II saw that the Magi
were not simply regional representatives from different parts of the world. But
we could also regard them as kind of representatives of different subject
matter, or different types of leaders.
For what did the Magi bring, they bring gold,
they bring frankincense and they bring myrrh
Traditionally, the gold represents wealth
given back to God, the incense represents our worship, and the myrrh represents
that we ultimately die and that our bodies are going to be embalmed or
anointed.
Each gift signifies different types of people
or maybe even three different aspects of our lives.
And with these three GIFTS in mind –
reflecting on B16’s 2007 Epiphany Homily – each GIFT also represents new “international
or global Magi” who are also called by the star. (Benedict XVI, Epiphany Homily,
vatican.va, 2007 January 6)
There also three types of people who are very
influential in the world today who are meant to be consecrated to God. They are the Magi of today. We are also called
to imitate the Magi.
[__04_] 1st. The Magi who are politicians
and public leaders. INCENSE.
I connect this to the incense the gift of the
incense, and the gift of the incense or the worship. I bring this up
politicians and public leaders, we have a temptation, a temptation or a
tendency to make our politicians or our leaders into Gods into idols. But no
woman or man in a politically elected office is a God, they do not need us to
worship them.
They need us to worship for them, to pray for
them. Pray for their for their conversion for their souls, and that they will
use their power to protect all people to protect the unborn, the vulnerable to
protect the elderly to protect children, everyone from In fact, everyone from a
child in foster care to an elderly person in a nursing home.
Everyone in public office is called to offer
incense and observance in relation to God.
So the incense reminds us to pray for
leaders.
[__05_] 2nd. The Magi who are SCIENTISTS +
TECHNOLOGY LEADERS. GOLD.
The gold symbolizes wealth. Because where can
you make the greatest possible amount of money these days? It's in science or
technology. It's in Silicon Valley, or in some other Silicon Valley or Silicon
Alley in Manhattan, or some other technological hub.
Where
can we make big money we can make big money by developing a vaccine the fastest
possible upload speeds. The sleekest phones. The best-selling phone, tablet. Science
is gold.
But, do scientists, do you and I in our
scientific ident identities and endeavors give ourselves to God?
Now you might say to me, Hey, Padre, I'm not
a scientist. I didn't. I didn't memorize the periodic table of the elements. I
didn't invent AMZN or Facebook.
But we're living in a very scientific and
technology driven world these days. You are told, I am told again and again,
follow the science. Sometimes that almost sounds like follow the science and
science is an idol.
But we are called to follow this. But if
we're called to follow the science, we're also called to follow that science is
also God's gift of understanding, for example, how we are made that we are made
in His image and likeness, female or male to teach others about the science of
living authentically female and masculine lives, which is neither a life that
is passive nor toxic. Science is gold. Science makes many things that's not a
bad thing. Science makes money that's not a bad thing.
But we also need the light of Christ to give
back our gold in respect to God. Doing so will help us to rest better.
[__06_] 3rd. The Magi who are EVERY PERSON.
LIFE/DEATH. MYRRH.
Myrrh is an embalming or an anointing used
for someone who is dying or has died. Oil signifies life and death.
We are living through and suffering through a
pandemic of global proportions right now. The gift of the myrrh reminds us that
our earthly lives are finite and that we ultimately will surrender ourselves to
God.
I pray that there will always be Magi or wise
men in your life wise men and women in your life and my life will treasure you
for who you are at every stage of your youth, your middle age, your elderly
age.
However, our lives do not have value just
because we are healthy or just because we are living. Our
lives have value as we suffer and even after we die.
Christmas and New Year's are reminders and celebrations
of Christ the child, but it is also remember remembrance that we are all
children. And as children, we belong to someone else. This is the definition of
being a child, a child belongs to someone else. And in the theology of the
Incarnation, it is God who
FOSTERING
WHO..
fosters us with His love, so that we and fosters us
with His grace so that we can always grow in holiness. All of us are FOSTER CHILDREN, all of us have been adopted by God.
FORGIVENESS. And, for those who have ears to hear and eyes to see, we belong to God who forgives us of our sins, we are called to repent and to ask God for help,
FONDNESS. and
to remember that God is fond
of us, God gave His life for us, gave his light for us in his journey to the
cross for you and for me, and he leaves the light on for you and me. We come to
him with our gifts. We are also the Magi.
“We have seen his star at its rising
and we have come to do him homage”. (Matthew 2:2)
[__fin_]
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