The Epiphany Of The Lord

I saw a comic strip that said, “The Three Wise Accountants” and one of them said to Mary and Joseph just before Jesus was to be born in the manger, “If you can hold off a week, you can deduct the child on your Year One Taxes.”

We hear Isaiah 60:1 in our First Reading; “Your light has come,” (60:1).

God has come in Christ as the light to all nations: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light” (Isa 9:2).

Jesus, called the Daystar from 2 Peter 1:19, who was rejected by Israel, but accepted by the gentiles, are represented by the Magi at the Epiphany.

On a moonless night with dense cloud cover you can see nothing at all. That is disorienting. Work or relationship disappointments can be epiphanies. They become positive with meaning, once we see the hand of the Lord.

God used the Dog breed called a White Terrier or Westie, to be guiding star by calming me down and realize that everything would be alright.

I got a text while on the road doing scheduled homebound visits that I was due at the cemetery 30 minutes away where everybody was assembled and I got no prior notice that I was to officiate. Upset that I had to drop everything, I had finish up a homebound visit.

As I was walking up to make what was the third visit to a sick’s person’s house. I knew she had a Westie, but it was never in view. But just then, the Westie appeared and came up to me wagging its tail in a nice greeting. I knew immediately and even the lady, that everything would work out and the internment service went very well. Including when I asked a couple cemetery workers, who knew I was late, through me a bottled water upon my request, so I could make holy water for the service.

The Prophetic Past Perfect grammatical tense, “Your light has come,” is in our First Reading.

We have to expect to have epiphanies, which are appearances or manifestations of God to guide us. However, it takes the eye several minutes to adapt to the low light. On first switching off your flashlight you will see very little; so just wait.

Our problem is that sin clutters our thinking, evil works on our mind. Poor choices make us slaves to secondary causes which can be illusionary temptations. The starlight of Christ, however, shines upon the eyes of our mind as we continue our journey in God’s will.

Pope John Paul II told us, “Become who you are!”

The Value Star is a 1 through 10 tool which lists the six most important values—Health; Family; Life-Long Learning; Relationships; Creativity; Contribution/Work. E.g. someone may be a 10 on Contribution/Work, but only a 4 on Family; and a 5 on Relationships.

How are we going navigate, following the Star, wisely, to increase the 4 on our Family to, let’s say, a 6 or 7; which would be a decent and realistic improvement? What concrete actions will we take to discover the means for expressing it consciously and creatively so that like the Magi, we may be overjoyed at seeing that Value star?

The Magi had met two kings that day. King Herod, but there is no indication that they paid him homage. 2. Instead, their worship was reserved for this child. They prostrated themselves and did him homage.

The poet, Rumi said, “Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.”

Gold signifies that baby Jesus is a king, frankincense express that he is also divine. Myrrh, a burial ointment, expresses that this king will one day die for his people.

Don’t discount the myrrh.

Saint Bernard said, “I made a bouquet of myrrh made-up of the sorrows of my Savior. I placed this bouquet upon my heart, thinking of the stripes, the thorns and the nails of His Passion. I used all my mental strength to meditate on these mysteries every day.”

They saw the child with Mary his mother. “Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee.” Luke 1:28 (KJV)

The true light of the world is in the encounter of the Word of God in Scripture or in proclamation and a life of faith and obedience in light of that acknowledgement, or in a bit of consecrated bread: “This shall be a sign for you; you shall find the Savior Jesus in a bit of consecrated host in a gold ciborium.”

In witness of their love, consecrated religious offered him three gifts: not gold, frankincense and myrrh, but poverty, chastity and obedience.

We are called to offer him ourselves; starlight to the world to bring the peace of Christ to all.