Epiphany of the Lord
No one likes to see the holidays end. Historically, Christmas is part of a much larger season of Manifestation, including what we now call Epiphany, the Baptism of the Lord, and the wedding feast of Cana. The season of God’s revelation is a celebration of light, as the images from prophecy and the gospel make clear. Today we celebrate “the Manifestation.” That’s what Epiphany means. What was once concealed is now revealed. So what exactly is this manifestation, and where do we look for it? We use light in our celebration of this season, and we are called to be light for the world, as Christ is for us. The mysterious figures of the “magi from the east” grip the imagination in today’s texts. Who were these "wise men" and where did they come from? Magi were a group or caste of scholars who were associated with the interpretation of dreams. The Magi represent the “beyond” or distant lands and peoples to whom the Christ will offer His universal wisdom. All in all, today's feast is telling us that for God there are no foreigners, no outsiders. These pagan foreigners went to great lengths to find the "King of the Jews" and "do him homage".
The Feast of the Epiphany is one of the church’s oldest feasts. Perhaps today's Gospel story has become too familiar to us. Its significance can easily be reduced by asking questions about it that are not really the point. For example, asking what the names of the wise men are, or what gifts they offered, may be interesting if you play Trivial Pursuit, but questions of this sort hardly do justice to the real significance of the story. The Epiphany is about the divine mysteries becoming known. How does the light of God shine in your life? How does the world around you reflect the glory of God? How does what you know through revelation complete what you know through the natural world?
Do you live the wisdom ways of God? Wise men and woman make the moment count. Wise men and women, return home without much fuss, without pomp and circumstance. They simply return to their work and they take their place among the people they came from, because there is where life awaits them. And they can handle it, because they have anchored themselves on him who is the source of all life and light. It is in the ordinary day to day life unfolding where meaning and majesty awaits us. It is words spoken, gestures received and actions taken that makes us the magi of today. We all, whatever external physical or cultural differences there may be between us, belong to one single family which has one Father, "our" Father. It means that every one of us is a brother and sister to everyone else. There is no room for discrimination of any kind based on nationality, race, religion, class or occupation. There cannot be a single exception to this position. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin said: Lord Jesus . . . . every presence makes me feel that you are near; every touch is the touch of your hand; every necessity transmits to me a pulse of your will.
Epiphany blessings
Father William
Fourth Sunday in Advent
We finally on the fourth Sunday of Advent meet the greatest advent prophet, Mary! It is unfortunate that the figure of Mary appears on the scene only today. One would have wished that she had been presented to us on the first Sunday of advent because Mary is a remarkable Advent figure. Mary shows us in living color how the Christian should wait for Christ. In truth, as one commentator puts it: Mary should be the patron saint of advent!
Think about it there is a form of waiting for Christ that is uniquely Mary's! It will forever remain Mary's unique privilege that the one for whom she was waiting was nestling within her. Not simply in her thoughts, in her dreams, her hopes, her yearnings, but in her flesh. She was waiting only to see his face and to offer him to the world. Indeed, a unique way of waiting, those nine intimate months, her savior within her, her savior growing from her.
But there is another kind of waiting which is beautifully displayed in Mary. It is the kind of waiting which is beautifully displayed in Mary. It is the kind of waiting that may in the long run be more decisive for Mary than the first kind, and it is a kind of waiting that does not have to remain uniquely hers, but that can also be ours. It is the kind of waiting that made Mary be a true disciple of Jesus; in fact it made Mary be the very embodiment of what discipleship is all about. It is in discipleship that Mary excelled, and it is in this that she will remain for us a constant challenge and example. Mary hears God’s word and does it! That, at its best, is Mary. She hears God's word and does it. The Scriptures don't mention Mary too often, but whenever the Scriptures speak of her, it is always connected with the theme of hearing and doing the word of God. Today's Gospel passage is a perfect example of that. Saying "Yes" to God's word and acting on it is underlined in today's beautiful story.
We work so hard at Christmas. We spend time and money to make it beautiful, enjoyable, tasty and memorable, so it’s easy to think of it as something we do rather than something God does for us. Both Mary and Elizabeth are acutely aware of their ordinariness, their own “lowliness” as two women who know that the miracle happening in them is because of the favor and grace of God. This should take our breath away and stop us in our oh-so-busy pre-Christmas tracks. Saint Francis of Assisi says we’re all “pregnant” with Christ as “mothers of Christ when we carry him in our heart and in our body by divine love and with a pure and sincere conscience. We give birth to him through holy works which should shine forth as an example for others.”
Advent Blessings
Father William
Third Sunday in Advent
"Fear not,” scripture tells us. “Have no anxiety at all.” Why not? “The Lord, your God, is in your midst”; “the Lord is near.” But how: “What should we do?” Answer: “Shout for joy,” of course, and “cry out with joy and gladness”—in a word: “Rejoice!” And pray: “In everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.” Act: Your kindness should be known to all.” Share your basic necessities, John the Baptist says to the despised tax collectors and soldiers, don’t give in to corruption. Serve one another: Loosening the thongs of sandals is a slave’s work but John is willing to do it because he knows “a mighty savior,” “one mightier than I is coming.”
Today is “Gaudete” Sunday, from the first word of the entrance prayer at Mass, which means rejoice! That is what the pink candle on the Advent wreath that we light today signifies: “Be glad! Christmas is almost here. It’s not too late to prepare.” The placement of the pink candle in the third week instead of the fourth betrays an almost childlike exuberance: I can’t wait! Let the candle we light today remind you that children are a big part of this season. Allow yourself to get caught up in the anticipation the way a child does: with open hearts, wonder, delight, and a firm belief that all things are possible. Can we adults do that? But we adults have other things on our mind, don’t we?
We need to listen again and again…there is more... Zephaniah says today. All of salvation history is gathered into this hour. Like John, we, too, stand at the crossroads of something wonderful. The prophet Zephaniah starts us off with four exhortations: Shout for joy, sing joyfully, be glad, and exult. Talk about an ode to joy. Fear and discouragement are to be banished. Then he zeroes in for the punch line: We have reason to rejoice, because God is the one rejoicing and singing joyfully over us, like a lover crooning in the ear of his beloved at a festival. Do you understand that God is rejoicing over you?
John has some wonderful advice for us! "Master, what should we do?" our situation is very different, but the question is the same. Should we go along with the world, or refuse to be part of it? John's answer is a wise answer. Don't be a glutton or a Scrooge. Act justly and with honesty. Be generous. Protect and do not exploit the weak and those in need. Give with joy. This is a time when it is very easy to think only of our own wants and pleasure, but just as easy to give from full and joyous hearts to others: to the sick and the lonely, to the homeless poor, to the refugee and the seeker after asylum, to those who are abused and neglected. John's answer is profound because it is so simple. Just do what you do and do it honesty and well. Just do what you already know to be right. Just do it. And always ground ourselves in prayer. In the end the ways to pray are endless. But no matter which prayers or prayer forms you make your own, remember, the Trappist monk Father Thomas Merton said, to “ground” your prayer in desire and surrender. Julian of Norwich said…the fullness of joy is to behold God in everything.
Countdown to joy
Fr. William