Homily for January 4, 2004
Year C - Cycle II
Epiphany of the Lord
by
Dcn. Ray Alcouffe
Topic:
Epiphany: The Grand Miracle
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Gospel Reading:
Matthew 2:1-12
"When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 'Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.' When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They said to him, 'In Bethlehem of Judea...'"
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Where is the newborn king of the Jews? Because of a miracle, outsiders - strangers to the religion of the Jews - were moved to present themselves to God, to the one God as manifested in the infant Jesus. We celebrate this as the Feast of the Epiphany, which means “manifestation” or “revelation.” The history of this is interesting. In the Church, this feast is the oldest celebration of the birth of Jesus and it included the baptism of Jesus as well. In about the third or fourth century, the celebration the birth of Jesus was moved to December 25, which we call Christmas. Many of the churches of the east also celebrated the birth on the 25th, but the main celebration of the Epiphany is on January 6 where the focus is on the baptism where the Trinity of God is also revealed. In the west, the Epiphanies were further separated and have evolved to the celebration of the visit of the magi, the baptism of the Lord, and the miracle at Cana. These follow on successive Sundays. Each of these Epiphanies shows the meaning of the incarnation of God as a human being. This is what C.S. Lewis calls “the grand miracle of our Christian religion.” So this Sunday, we focus on the visit of the magi to the infant Jesus and the miracle that was the occasion of their visit.
The Magi were from the East of Judah as it was recorded in the Gospel. They are thought to be of an ancient priestly caste which existed in Persia and Babylonia. They were trained astrologists, people who interpreted the placement and movement of the stars and their influence on events on earth. They knew the night sky well. They were tuned to notice any differences that might occur. So when a new brilliant star appeared they knew it signaled a great event, which they interpreted as the birth of a king. In the Roman Empire at that time, there was a general expectation of a deliverer who many identified with the Messiah of the Hebrew people. Somehow the magi knew that this star meant that the king that was born was the King of the Jews. But they didn’t just sit around thinking about it. This event was so extraordinary that they set out on an arduous journey to Jerusalem to find this king.
When they got there and their quest was made known, they generated a great deal of excitement and consternation with the knowledge that Bethlehem was their destination. This was determined by the reappearance of the star, which they then followed to the very house where the infant Jesus was. In doing so, they put themselves in the very presence of God and what a whole different aspect of God they experienced. From the all-powerful God of the universe, the God of power and might, a God to be feared, and whose presence we were to be afraid…to a God who is not dangerous, who is not threatening, who does not brandish punishment, but a helpless infant; a baby. This was the new aspect of God that was not expected by either Jew or Gentile, a God who makes himself vulnerable to us. That’s the message of this Epiphany. It is good news indeed.
What about the event that precipitated all of this, the miracle of the star’s appearance and reappearance? Should we take that seriously as fact, as something that actually happened, or should we try to explain it away as irrelevant to the message? I think we should take it seriously; it has an impact as to how God works in our lives. Its presence says God does work miracles and he does it for a purpose: so that we may believe and that others may believe through us, and that our destiny is to be in the presence of God forever. Implicit in this is what leads us to God, It’s not our ideas of God, not our concept of God; what leads us to God is what we experience as real, as actual, as important events in our lives.
Miracles…what do they have to do with this? Are they really real? Here is someone who thinks so. There was once an old man who had lived a good and pious life, but in his waning years, felt that he had nothing to show for it. Finally he fell to his knees and prayed, crying out, “God hear me. I’ve been a good man. I’ve never asked anything from you and I’m grateful for all that you’ve given me. Please grant me just one request. Let me win the lottery.” Weeks passed and nothing happened. Again he prayed to win the lottery. Still nothing. After months of fruitless praying, he cried out to the heavens, “God will you give me a break? All I’m asking of you is to let me win the lottery.” Suddenly a voice thundered from the sky, “Will you give me a break. Please buy a ticket.” So you see, God does answer, but we have to be in tune to the way he works. Not against nature, but with nature.
Theologians define a miracle as follows: “A phenomenon in nature which transcends the capacity of natural causes to such a degree that it must be attributed to the direct intervention of God.” C.S. Lewis has a more simple definition: “A miracle is an interference with nature by a supernatural power.” Implicit in this is that there is nature, the things that we see, but there is also supernature, something above nature. I think many people are suspicious of the report of miracles. The more education we have, the more suspicious we are because our current educational system makes us uncomfortable with miracles; we become uncomfortable with things we can’t understand. It makes us uncomfortable with the idea that God would interfere with what is natural. The scientific method has taught us to revere nature and the laws that govern nature. There is admittedly, a beauty in these laws and we’ve learned to make them work for us and to give us explanations for what we observe. We are thus, much more comfortable as describing as miracles our technology, be it mechanical, medical, or electronic technology. These come from the mind of man. We are comfortable as describing those as miracles, but we are more uncomfortable with the miracles that come from the mind of God. Nature is beautiful and nature’s laws are inspiring, but the creator of this nature and the creator of her laws is that much more beautiful and inspiring. Let us not make nature who is a creature of God, our God. Let us allow God to interfere; to intervene over the laws of nature to call us to himself. For just as the magi noticed an apparition in nature and rightly interpreted it as a sign from God, may our knowledge of nature also make us sensitive to signs from God which transcend our knowledge. Miracles do not ask us to constrict our intelligence; they ask us to expand our intelligence in such a way as to recognize what is real.
As a final contemplation, notice that miracles are not done for their own sake. They are not a gee-whiz magical event. Authentic miracles in our lives act as either attractors or repellers for us to put ourselves in God’s presence. In other words, they call for us to make what we call pilgrimages. We go on pilgrimage to places where God’s presence is evident. We go there either seeking a miracle, or because we have experienced a miracle. Wherever we go, it leads us to proclaim the presence of God. So like the Magi, miracles are to be sources of action for us or else they are in danger of being to no avail. That is why we are urged by our Church, by our God, to be pilgrims at some point of our lives. Finally, Fr. Richard Rohr asks this when he says, “In the Incarnation world view, matter and spirit are never separate. The world is the body of Christ and the Spirit is his in material reality. Nature itself is the hiding place and revelation place of God. The actual is what leads us to God and we now have the ability to find God in all things, the simple, the broken, the painful, and the tragic. This creates a very restful and joy-filled religion.” May God bless us all.