The readings speak of a Light that dawns on the earth. The oracle from Isaiah in the first reading, says that the Light that is in Israel will be a light that enlightens the paths of all the peoples of all the earth. This Light will be Israel's gift to the Gentile world. And that Light, of course, is the teaching of the Torah--a story of love--the Love of God for all humanity, and a story of relationship--a God who enters into personal relationship (something called a covenant) with human beings, and leads them and guides them in paths of justice by laws that are good and true.
St. Paul tells us that the Mystery that has been waiting to be revealed, namely, that the Gentiles are co-heirs in the promises God has made to Israel and, really to all humanity--has now come to fruition in Jesus, whose life and death opened the gates of heaven and tore down the wall of separation between peoples.
Both Isaiah and Paul are speaking of Light and Mystery--something of the Working of God in the world from the dawn of history. And what we need to see, reading between the lines, is that both authors sense that God, Who is beyond all understanding, is big enough to span all the artificial boundaries we mortals place between ourselves. The God of Isaiah and St. Paul is truly a cosmic God--a God who knows no boundary, no limit, whatsoever. And this "immensely broad God" loves ALL His creation--those who know Him and name Him, and those who are, yet, clueless. The God of these two authors enlightens all creation as it is brought into being under Divine Guidance and Providence, and loves all of it, and values all of it. The God of these two authors is a God who will not be satisfied with the "loss" of anything or anyone He has made. He loves it ALL.
The Gospel story of stars in the heavens to announce the birth of this Messianic figure, Jesus of Bethlehem, tells the exact same truth--it simply does it in symbol. It is Gentile Magi, Zoroastrian priests--PAGANS, who have no clue as to who God is, or what He wants of people, who, as they read their star charts, for their religion gave us the zodiac, that a "star was rising in Judah." And, so, doing what Zoroastrians do, they follow the lead--and go to the place their charts tell them to go. And those Gentiles found the Christ by following--in their darkness of superstitious Zodiacal readings--such Light as was there, and it was Light enough. Imagine that! There is a God in the universe that can work through even our darkness and our silliness and our superstition to lead us to Himself! This is the God of Matthew's Gospel. it is a VERY BIG God.
Have you ever thought of the Christmas story as presenting a "Wider God" to the earth? Well, today is the feast of the Epiphany--"Epiphany" is a word that means "the Revelation of God", and the God who is Revealed--Who has taken human flesh in a weak, poverty stricken and politically oppressed baby, is presented as a VERY BIG, VERY WIDE God, indeed. It's as if He is so large that ALL spiritual paths lead to Him, biblical or pagan.
And, now, let's follow the story: the magi, having arrived in Judea, go to where anyone with good sense WOULD go...they go to the palace for information. Who is the new prince born of late? We saw his star. Of course, Herod's children, by now, are all in their late teens or twenties or thirties. There is no recent birth. So, his paranoia takes over..................and so the story goes...........(explain Herod's mental instability if needed). It's no wonder that the next Gospel story will be the death of the children of Bethlehem--what we call the "slaughter of the Holy Innocents." Herod had killed most of his family--what was a small village to him?
So, what does this element of the story teach us?
I think it teaches a basic truth: All goodness, all "Light" in the world is surrounded by darkness and evil. That's the nature of the world. We can't escape that. There are always Herod's and soldiers seeking to kill the good before it can get off the ground. (In fact, sometimes, WE are a part of that negativity, aren't we?) But, this biblical passage assures us that God has a strength that can overcome even our most powerful efforts to the contrary. This is a VERY POWERFUL God.
And, now I ask you: What was the WISE contribution of these wise men? Their gifts? No, I don't think so. Those gifts are there simply to illustrate for us, the readers, WHO the Christ is: a king (gold), and a priest (frankincense) who will die for us (myrrh, the burial ointment). Their WISE contribution was told us in the last phrase of the reading: It was "to return by a different route"... in other words, not to feed the negativity of the Herod's of the world. It is this path that we must follow if we would follow the light.
Today's feast asks us to take "different routes" in the world...routes that avoid negativity, routes that avoid violence, routes that avoid suspicion and blame and anger and hate. These will always breed "the slaughter of the innocents" which came to Bethlehem from Herod's hands. Such bursts of hate and negativity, such "slaughters" may even, now and then, touch us, and embroil us in "dead-end acts" that will lead us no where we really want to go....BUT, the Gospel hints, "there has to be a better way to respond to violence and suspicion and hatred in the earth than merely cooperating with it--returning it."
The LIFE and the TEACHING of the one who was gifted by those WISE MAGI with gold and frankincense and myrrh will show us that path...the path of the turning of the other cheek, the going of the extra mile. He shows us a way to make brothers and sisters out of a world of strangers and enemies. THIS is the Epiphany of this feast---the REVELATION OF GOD for us.
GOD is on our earth in each and every human being--from Osama Bin Laden to Barak Obama, to the mother-in-law, to the ignorant, demanding boss, to the head of the department who "has no clue," to you and to me. It is in the naming of all of us as FAMILY that we SEE HIM, recognize Him. This is the mystery and the miracle of this feast.
Let us pray for the wisdom and the insight to use the Sanctifying Grace we receive in the Eucharist, today, to make neighbors and brothers and sisters of what were only yesterday our enemies, so that we might SEE the Prince of Peace in our world. And may God bless you all. +
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment