Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord
Those who were here for the Christmas Eve mass saw a spectacle unfold during the preparation of gifts. A middle-aged man we have never seen before came to the ushers and insisted that he be allowed to come up the altar and give a gift to Jesus. I am very grateful that our ushers were very accommodative and then one of them accompanied him to the altar. Honestly, with the shootings in in Connecticut so fresh in the mind, I was a little scared. He came up with an object wrapped in a piece of angry-birds wrapping paper. Again, he insisted that I open the gift right then and there. I did. It was his brother’s picture. Tears flowing down his cheeks, he told me that his brother had died and that he wanted to give this picture as a gift to Jesus. I merely gave him a hug, may be even two, and soon he was gone. I put the picture at the foot of the altar and continued with the mass, relieved that everybody was safe. I did not see him later at that mass or have not seen him since.
New Year’s eve, I got a call from a woman by the name of Melissa. It was this man’s oldest sister. I did not get the impression that either of them was Catholic. Melissa told me that her brother David had taken their brother, Jared’s death very badly. Since May David had been struggling with grief. Christmas Eve, David had walked about two miles to come to the parish. Why he did not go to another church between here and downtown I do not know. But Melissa said that as soon as David got out of church he called her and narrated what had happened. He was crying hard, she said. She had been praying for him because she has been scared for him. She also said this: “I am not sure what happened that night but David told me that since Christmas eve, he had given his heart to God.” She thanked me and the parish profusely for not rejecting her brother, for being welcoming to him and showing him the way to God.
As for me, I was intrigued by this event. After mass that day and before midnight mass, I had this strange sense that Christmas has happened for me through this incident. Yes, Christ came to me/us in the Eucharist; but Christ first came to me/us in this stranger. If Christmas is any indication, Christ comes to us in the strangest of ways. This Christmas was special for me.
This brings us to the feast we celebrate today – the feast of the Epiphany. It is the feast of the manifestation of Jesus to the world, symbolized by the magi coming from distant lands and offering him gifts. A miraculous sign led these wise men to the place where Jesus was born. Yet, when the magi got there, there was nothing spectacular. Scripture says that when they got there, “they saw the child with Mary his mother.” That was it! Yet, in this ordinary sight they recognized the Christ. They prostrated themselves, did him homage and offered him gifts. God was manifesting him to the world in this most ordinary way.
Epiphany is not an event that happened two-thousand years back. God continues to manifest God’s self to us today. I would like to point out three places where we can encounter Christ today. Please do not expect anything spectacular because the first epiphany was not too spectacular either.
1. God’s Word. Every time I write a homily, I always feel anxious about the next time I have to preach about these readings. I feel I will run out of ideas and material. However, it is the opposite that happens. Every time I read those readings again, there is something new, something awe-inspiring that speaks to me. And then I sit back the take it all in because God manifesting God’s self again in a way that I did not expect.
That brings me to the first way in which God manifests to us – God’s word. Words is the most obvious way in which we express ourselves, is it not? If we did not speak people would not know us. It is the same with God. What happened two thousand years back continues to happen today in and through the pages of this book. We may not expect to meet God in a book, but then no one expected to meet God in a human person or as a baby. If God’s word is not an important part of our lives, then we are missing God’s manifestation to us in the here and now.
2. The Eucharist. Who would have ever thought that God would come to us as a human being? Who would have thought that God would come to us as a baby? Who would have ever thought that God would manifest God’s self on a cross? Who would have thought that after the resurrection the disciples on the road to Emmaus would encounter Christ in the breaking of the bread? Who would have thought that a simple piece of bread and a tiny bit of wine would become Christ’s enduring presence in the world?
We all run the danger of becoming the victims of familiarity. For those who can get themselves to believe, this humble piece of bread is an epiphany. Every Sacrament is an epiphany.
3. The Community. The human person is the first sacrament of God. It is easier for us to recognize the divine in God’s word and the Eucharist but the more complex way in which God manifests God’s self is people. When the magi reached where the star led them, all they saw was a mother and her baby. These wise men were truly wise. They recognized God in this little baby. As I think about the event on Christmas eve, I salute this parish for being the kind of parish it is. Yes, our ushers did not turn David away as a stranger. They walked him up to the altar. We did not judge him. We embraced him. Christmas happened in more than one ways that day. This stranger was one of them. Beware, my dear people, the people or the stranger you are inclined to reject might be the manifestation of Christ to you. May you and I be wise enough to recognize Christ when he manifests himself to us.
As we continue to celebrate this Eucharist, let us keep our eyes open to the Word, the Sacrament and the Community. In each of these ways God is manifesting God’s self to us, Amen.
- Fr. Satish Joseph