Monday, January 9, 2017

Epiphany . . . . The Search For The Saviour

The Feast of Epiphany falls on January 6th each year.  It is a feast that seems to be almost forgotten by so much of our society because Christmas is finished to most of society.  Christmas was finished on December 25th and, in the eyes of much of society, it's time to move on.  "Much of society" started celebrating Christmas and preparing for Christmas around Thanksgiving.  And as such they are tired of Christmas by the time December 25th arrives.  On January 6th, "Much of society" is too busy focusing on moving on with their lives and trying to figure out what to do with their New's Years Resolutions.  This is why I say that to "Much of Society," the Feast of Epiphany is in many ways the "Forgotten Feast," . . .  And this is a real shame for so many reasons.  For you see, Epiphany is the feast day set aside by the Church to celebrate and remember the fact that Our Blessed Saviour came to reveal Himself as the Son of God to the Gentiles:  in other words, you and me.

There are so many things that we could write about this wonderful feast day but for our purposes right now, I would like to limit it to two points, if you will allow me:  Firstly, the search by the three wise men for the Child Jesus. Secondly, the gifts that they brought along with them.

The Search for the Christ Child

"When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Juda, in the days of king Herod, behold there came wise men from the East to Jerusalem, saying: Where is He that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen His star in the East, and are come to adore Him." (St. Matthew 2:1)

Those who were searching for the Christ Child, referenced in the Second Chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew, have come to be known by many names:  the wise men . . . . the three kings . . . . the magi . . . .  and tradition has given them specific names:  Melchior; Caspar; and Balthassar.  No matter what name they go by, their purpose was still the same:  to answer the question, "Where is He that is born King of the Jews?"  In other words, their search was a vital one to them.  Their search had great meaning or else they would not have undertook the journey to begin with.  To them, their search had purpose.

Quite frankly, though, for each of us doesn't every "search" have a purpose?  In other words, if you think about it, every single day we search for something, don't we?  Now don't get me wrong, the search might be for something as simple as "where did I lay down my eyeglasses this time?" or "where is that phone number that I need?"  But no matter what we search for, the item that we are searching for must have great meaning to us or else we would certainly not make the effort to search for it in the first place.  Our Lord makes this very point when He tells the story of the woman looking for the lost coin, for example.  And He says that she sweeps the house and looks diligently for the lost coin until she finds it.  It is important to her.  It is valuable to her.  She has need of it and this is why she puts the effort and the time into searching for it.  Quite frankly, as stated above, we basically search for things that we need at the time . . . . we search for things that are valuable . . .  we search for things that we have need of.

If you look back to the Old Testament, you will find:  ". . . . and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them: and that ye seek not after your own heart, and your own eyes." (Numbers 15:39)  So much of the world around us is seeking after "their own heart" and "their own eyes."  In other words, they are seeking those things that are important in the eyes of the world.  They are searching for those things that are considered valuable to the world in general.   But the things in which the world searches for, these items only bring temporary happiness at best.  Mechanical items or electronic items eventually wear out or break completely . . . .  what is "hot" and "in fashion" today is suddenly "out of fashion" tomorrow.  The hottest fads and trends are just that . . . .  a fad . . . . a trend.  And they are only popular until the next "fad" or "trend" comes along.  And yet so much of the world spends its' time searching after worldly lusts that can only bring happiness, at best,  temporarily.

The wise men chose to search after something much more permanent.  This is the important lesson we can learn from them.  They chose to spend their time in search of the "King of the Jews."  " . . .  and in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek."  (Isaiah 11:10)  We need to follow the example of the three wise men in spending our time searching for God.  So much of our time during this human life is spend chasing after worthless things.  We seek after things which can not bring any lasting joy.  "But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (St. Matthew 6:33)

Let us follow the good example of the three wise men.   Let us focus our time on searching for the Christ Child instead of focusing our time looking for the things of the world that ultimately have no lasting value.  Only a relationship with God has permanent, lasting value.  Let us spend our time in this world wisely and concentrate on searching for God.

The Gifts We Bring

Whenever you look at a Nativity scene, you see the three wise men bearing gifts to the Christ Child.  As it has come to be known, Melchior offered gold; Caspar offered frankincense; and Balthassar offered myrrh.

"And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary His mother, and fell down, and worshipped Him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts; gold, frankincense, and myrrh." (St. Matthew 2:11)

At that time it was customary to bring gifts to a king when visiting him.  Certainly, this is a custom that seems to still be observed in our own time.  If you ever watch the news, you will hear about visiting presidents or dignitaries who visit our country and they present gifts to the president.  Or you will see our president vising other countries and bringing gifts to honor the king or president, as the case may be.  With this in mind, the gifts that the three Magi brought had specific meaning.  The first gift, Gold, was brought to venerate Christ as Lord and King; the second gift, frankincense, was meant to emphasize the divinity of Christ; and the final gift, myrrh, was presented to express that Christ, the Son of Man, must ultimately die on the Cross.  Each gift had meaning.  Each gift had value.  Each gift was presented with an express purpose in mind.

Similar to the three kings, we also can present "gifts" or "presents" to God.  We can offer God various gifts:  our obedience; our self-denial; alms given to the poor; etc.  The one gift that we can give to God that He desires more than any other gift, though, is the gift of our heart.  God desires that gift more than anything else.  You see, as I say so often, God is a perfect gentleman.  He never barges in unannounced.  He never forces His way in.  He never invites Himself.  He waits until He is invited into our heart.  Only we can issue that invitation.  Only we can make room in our heart for Him.  So often, our hearts are crammed full already of the loves and desires of this world.  Only we can "clear things out" and "make room" where God can dwell.  The greatest gift of value that we can give to God is the gift of our love.