As we continue our celebration of Christmas, we observe the feast of Epiphany, God’s desire to reveal his son, Jesus, to all peoples. Not much is known about the Magi. The gospel tells us they came from the east searching for the newborn king of the Jews, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. We don’t even know how many wise men came but the facts aren’t important. What matters to us is what happened.
At his birth, Jesus was revealed to the Jews. He was born to be their Messiah. God could have ended the story then and there but fortunately for us, God intended the gift of his son to be shared with more than the children of Abraham. The good news of Epiphany is that God would reveal his son to anyone who sincerely searches for him.
That is what the Magi did. They came from afar searching for him. They told Herod, “We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” Distance and time did not stop them from seeking what really mattered to them.
Seeking God is what people of faith continually do. They know static faith cannot endure for long. Those who don’t seek to enrich their faith risk losing what faith they have. A teacher at a Catholic school once admitted, “To tell the truth, I feel like a hypocrite. I’m not sure I believe everything the Church teaches. I go to Mass but my mind wanders and I’m not into it. I have my doubts about lots of things, about faith, about religion, about the church.”
I suspect that teacher struggled more with a lukewarm spirituality than hypocrisy. Real hypocrisy refers to those who deliberately do not practice what they preach. Herod was a hypocrite. He had no intention of ever paying homage to Jesus. Hypocrites are good at lip service.
Seekers, on the other hand, practice what they preach, although perhaps not with much conviction. Such a person, maybe for the sake of their children or social pressure, keeps saying prayers and going to Mass, but struggles with the faith, or may simply be going through the motions.
They may feel like hypocrites but more likely they have lost sight of what really matters on one’s life journey. Like the Magi of the gospel, they are following a star, but at times that star is not so visible, just as it wasn’t always visible for the Magi. Recall that when the Magi left Herod’s presence, the star that had been guiding them reappeared. While they were with Herod, surrounded by the glamour of his worldly ways and possessions, the star could not be seen.
When we surround ourselves with the glitter of power, lust, materialism, and sin, we are bound to lose sight of the star of the Lord. But when we tune out these deceptive distracting lights, then the Lord can and will make himself known to us, just as he did to the Magi ages ago.
We believe that the Magi were either astronomers or astrologers. They were men supposedly from Persia who studied the stars. For centuries, navigators charted their course at sea with the help of constellations and especially, a certain star located at the end of the Little Dipper, found in the northern skies, known as the North Star. Unlike the many other stars that fill up the night sky, the North Star does not move. It remains directly above the North Pole. That is why this star is so important to navigators; it remains steadfast.
What star are we using to guide us on our spiritual journey? Do we navigate through our lives by the stars of socially acceptable wisdom and sensibilities, that is, stars that change, and eventually flame out of the sky altogether? Or do we fix our lives on the steadfast eternal star of peace, mercy, love, compassion and justice, namely Jesus Christ?
Like the Magi, true seekers come to pay him homage. They come to worship him, not to be entertained. They come to offer God something of themselves, their time, their hearts, their love, their talents, their treasure, and their prayers. And having offered what gifts they bring, they move on with their journey, as did the Magi, returning home by a different route. That is, they leave this space, changed by their encounter with Christ. Not only do they seek to better know the Lord through scripture, prayer and study, they reveal God’s love through holy moments to those around them.
True seekers do encounter Christ and are apt to change their ways because of that. When we leave here and return to our usual routine, can we let go of the distractions, those other stars that do little or nothing to enrich our relationship with Jesus the Christ? Of course we can by setting spiritual goals to ensure that we take time daily to listen intently to God through prayer, scripture reflection, or meditation.
The Epiphany of Christ invites us to travel with him in the year ahead to listen with open hearts to his message of forgiveness and compassion, allowing him to guide us on our daily journey until our rebirth in heaven. This is an opportune time for us to examine our attitudes and priorities.If we want the Lord to be our guiding star, a good New Year’s resolution to make would be to search for God’s presence each day through prayer and scripture; then strive to fill our day with holy moments that make us and others conscious of God in our surroundings.
As many Christmas cards boldly proclaim, “Wise men still seek him.” Follow his star and you won’t get lost.