Sunday, January 8, 2023

Surrender (2023-01-08, Epiphany / 3 Kings)

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2023-01-08 Epiphany    ● Isaiah 60:  ● Psalm 72 ●● Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6 ● ● + Matthew 2:1-12 ● ●        Title:  Epiphany. Surrender.

 [__01__]      I called on the phone recently to United Airlines customer service, due to questions about airline tickets – which I had already purchased – for my mother and my father and me to travel from NJ to FLA. While my parents have traveled several times NJ-FLA and I have as well, this was the first time we would be going together. I took responsibility of buying the tickets. Then, a few days later, I called United Airlines to check on some details. While on the phone, I realized that our tickets were on the correct departure day, at the correct time. But unfortunately, I had made a serious error, the tickets were in the wrong direction. The tickets were leaving FLA and going to NJ.

I'm not in Florida right now! I need to depart NJ, arrive FLA. I was immediately in a panic, especially because of all the bad airline cancellation news we have been hearing. Long story short, I was able to change the tickets, and the price was completely reasonable.

While grateful for the result, I recognize that I was panicked and anxious over something that was really not that tragic and reflected in me something fragile:  my desire to win, to succeed and not be proven wrong and also not to cause inconvenience to others. 

This not virtue; this is the vice of pride.  United Airlines cannot correct this part of James Ferry in their records.

[__02__]       Nobody likes to lose. And even though I came out unscathed with a new ticket, I had to recognize my fragile vulnerability in my state of panic.

I cited this as a reminder that I was called to consider what “surrender” deos not mean and what “surrender” does mean.

“Surrender” did NOT mean that I wasn't going to get a new ticket; did not mean that I didn't have to call United Airlines to correct this.

“Surrender” did mean that the final resolution was out of my control.

 [__03__]         In the Gospel, this Sunday, we read of the appearance of Jesus to two different people, both of whom are experiencing a call to SURRENDER.

          They have 2 different attitudes toward this SURRENDER.

          1st   = King Herod.

          2nd = the Magi.

Both are called to surrender as a result the birth of Jesus.

1st. King Herod. He feels persecuted by the Messiah.  2nd there's the Magi who are pursuing the Messiah.

 [__04__]         Me and King Herod.

 So King Herod, when I was in my state of panic over my airline ticket error, there was a part of me so frustrated, that I say I would say I felt persecuted, scared, fearful, and for at least a little while I was ready to give up rather than pursue a solution. This is the King Herod part. There was something of King Herod in me.

Is there any of King Herod's pride or persecution complex in you?

In the Gospel we have just read, we discover King Herod who is experiencing his own personal drama and trauma and fear about the newborn Messiah.

          On the one hand, King Herod had been magnanimous for the Jewish people and their religious life.  King Herod had re-built / constructed the Temple for worship, reconstructed the masonry and stone on a lavish scale. This was the same Temple that Jesus predicted would be torn down.

          Jesus could see through Herod’s superficial ideas. But, to Herod, they were not superficial.

          Herod sees himself as the true star.

          Herod’s “development” and “stimulus” for the people were a coverup of his own persecution complex. Everywhere, Herod saw rivals  - adversaries – to his seat of power.

          Thus it was Herod – who in his search to destroy the newborn child  Messiah – came up with a plan to take the lives of all male children under 2 years of age. Herod would do anything to prevent something bad happening to himself.

OTOH, we have the Magi, who do not feel persecuted by the Messiah, they are pursuing the Messiah, the newborn king. They say:  “we saw the star and its rising and have come to do him homage.”

These days we hold the Magi or the three kings in great esteem, for their piety for their love. We read that they lay prostrate on the floor before Jesus, but if we consider the practice, but is that really how the Magi were regarded in Jesus's day?

I think it's important to look at historically who the Magi were. In the Bible, the the Magi were practitioners of magic and astrology.

They were ancient fortune tellers. And in the Bible, the ancient fortune tellers were not really individuals of integrity. They were regarded very suspiciously.

Example: Recall that in the ancient Israelite kingdom in the original Israelite kingdom under King Saul, Saul had banished all the fortune tellers from Egypt, from Israel. Then ironically, after Saul banished all the fortune tellers from Israel, Saul himself is caught going to a fortune teller!  

In any case, a practitioner of astrology or magic, like the Magi would have been regarded as suspicious, and not as a people of integrity. It's a reminder to you and me that things like astrology, tarot cards, mediums, witchcraft, Ouija boards may sound like harmless entertainment, but they are really opening the door to evil spirits and idols in your life or in my life.

For example, we could be tempted to worship money or wealth. Considering the popularity right now of online gambling: DraftKings FanDuel, et al. Now, these services – are in a way - modern fortune tellers. They predicting that you can make money that you can be happy if you make money gambling. So imagine a couple of gambling bookies Las Vegas bookies lying prostrate before Jesus at the manger. That's like the Magi, we are called to close the door to these things, these evil things.

So in the visit of the Magi and the surrender of their gold, their frankincense and myrrh, and their prostrate posture, it shows the Magi giving up their old ways, giving up their magic arts and techniques.

And in fact, it shows they're willing to, to lose in order to gain a relationship with the Savior. They're not in a panic. They're not panicking. They're willing to lose. They're willing to give up their valuable arts and techniques and their golden frankincense and myrrh to Jesus.

What am I called to give up in order to gain a closer relationship with Jesus? What are you called to give up?

What are these gifts St. Irenaeus says that the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh signify the mystery of Jesus as the Incarnate Word of God in three ways they symbolize gifts that you and I can also give:

1st . GOLD. Precious metal, it signifies Jesus's royal identity. And you and I, regardless of our income level, or social status, or of a royal family. One thing that royal families do is that they think always in terms of the royal collective, or sometimes we say the royal we, if you translated this into Spanish, you say the royal “nosotros”.  I.e., royally we are called to think of how our gifts given away are going to benefit someone else. Also being of a royal family with a royal identity, we're called to recognize that our actions affect the whole family for good or for ill, this is part of our royal identity.

2nd. FRANKINCENSE / INCENSE.   Points to Jesus's divinity, that he comes down from heaven. And you and I, through our baptism also have a divine identity. God knew us and named us before we were born. Before you were born before I was born. I am guilty at times of forgetting this, of believing I must always make a name for myself. But I rely on God's mercy and grace to be my true identity. And I rely on God's mercy so that I can forgive others. I don't forgive others out of my own resources, I forgive others because I know I have been forgiven.

3rd. MYRRH -- oil used especially to anoint the dying person it was used in Jesus's passion. This gift represents Jesus's human nature, his humanity

and our humanity. Yes, at times, we will not get our way we will lose. We will ultimately lose our lives. But we're also called to recognize that we can lose gracefully, we can even lose gratefully, knowing we gain a much greater victory by laying prostrate and praying for God’s will to be done in our lives.   [_end__]     

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