FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY C
TO SEE GOD IN THE MOST ORDINARY (Mt 2: 1-12)
MESSAGE
Each time we celebrate Epiphany, more famously called Feast of the Three Kings, the Gospel reverts to the wise men who visited the Holy Family. And many questions arise. Were they kings or astrologers? Were they three (judging from the items gifted to the Baby Jesus) or more? Were they merely figures or literary creations or truly historical visitors from the East? These questions arise in one form or another year after year after year.
More important than these probing investigations into the so-called “Three Kings,” is the message they convey. When they saw the star, they knew how to interpret its supernatural meaning. It was a message from God about a newborn Infant who would be King of Israel and King of the whole world. That these men first went to Herod’s palace perhaps showed that they first thought that the King would naturally be found there. But when they encountered Herod, they felt in their hearts that neither he nor anyone in his family was the King the star revealed to them.
Indeed, following the star again, the wise men found the King in the most unexpected of situations. They saw in the manger, the real palace; they beheld in a small Child, the mighty Ruler; they found in the simple family, the presence of the Divine; they found in the simplicity of a carpenter’s shop the God who made his home among his brothers and sisters. The Magi were truly wise, in that they discovered the “principle of God” – he dwells in the ordinary, simple, and banal things of the world. How I envy the contemplative hearts of these Wise Men.
REFLECT
As we wrap-up the Christmas season, as we return our decors to storage, as we leave behind the merrymaking, let us learn to continue finding God. This time however, not in heavenly spectacles and human festivities, but in the simple and ordinary life we will traverse this whole year. May we have eyes of faith to see God, to enjoy Jesus’ company in the common people, places, things, and events of this new year.
