January 5, 2020

Solemnity of the Lord’s Epiphany

“Three Kings, Three Gifts, Three Challenges”

Msgr. Thomas Gervasio

The visit of Magi has a rather exotic quality about it. St. Matthew tells us that these colorful figures came from the East. Magi were astronomers, most likely Persians, who closely tracked the movement of heavenly bodies and read them as omens of earthly events. In the Old Testament we find such “wise men” as advisers to the King of Babylon. They personified the Gentile world. The Jews saw them as idolaters and held them in contempt.  
 
Tradition supposes that three Magi visited the Holy Family since three gifts are mentioned. Over time, the Christian people assigned them names: Casper, Melchior, and Balthasar. As representatives of the Gentiles, their visit signals the manifestation of Jesus to the whole world. The term, “epiphany” in fact, comes from the Greek word for “manifestation.”  
 
In the 3^rd century, the theologian Origen observed that the gifts of the Magi are keys to the identity of Jesus. Gold, he wrote, reminds us that Jesus is a king. Frankincense was used in the worship in the Temple and even in our liturgy, reminds us that Jesus is God.
 
The third gift—Myrrh however requires a little explanation. In ancient times, this resin from trees was used in medicines and perfumes and for anointing the dead. Myrrh was a prophetic gift since it alludes to the healing Jesus would bring to the world through his death. St. John records that at the death of Jesus, Nicodemus came “bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about 100 pounds.” (Jn 19:39)  
 
The gifts also serve as a key to our own identity and vocation. St. John Paul II called the Epiphany, “the feast of challenges.”  
 
Jesus the King is owed the “gold” of our obedience. It is not a popular word but it is a virtue Our Lord exemplified. It was the only virtue expected of our first parents, and they failed!  
 
Our culture has devalued obedience as it promotes more and more the idea that there is no objective truth. Truth is what I decide it should be. As a consequence, I will seek after God as I like, on my own terms. I can change my mind at any time and form a God of my design...a religious life made to order, if you will. Who is at the center with such a mindset? Certainly not God! Pope Benedict said, “Man continually desires only one thing: to be his own creator and his own master. But what awaits us at the end of this road is certainly not Paradise.” (The Ratzinger Report, p. 91)  
 
Frankincense reminds us of our duty, our challenge to worship with reverence. Pope Francis has much to say about this: “When we go to Mass,” he said, ’perhaps we arrive five minutes early and begin to chat with the person next to us. But this is not the moment for chatting; it is the moment of silence, the moment of recollection to prepare ourselves for the dialogue, the encounter with Jesus. Silence is so important!...We are not going to a spectacle, we are going to the encounter with the Lord, and silence prepares us and accompanies us. The Gospels show us Jesus who withdraws to secluded places to pray. Seeing his intimate relationship with God, the disciples feel the desire to take part in it, and they ask him: “Lord, teach us to pray” (Lk 11:1). ...We must humbly recognize that we need to be taught, and to say with simplicity: ‘Lord, teach me to pray’.
 
Finally we consider the unusual gift of myrrh which reminds us that a disciple’s life is not immune from sacrifice. When Jesus invites us to follow him, the cross is at the center of the invitation. The challenge is to take up our cross each day and follow the Lord. Pope Francis reminds us that while the cross is carried, we take heart in a great truth: “The Lord always accompanies us...even in the darkest hours. The Lord never abandons us. He is always with us, even in the difficult moments. Let’s not look for refuge in complaints; they are bad for us...bad for the heart.”
 
To our King, our God, and Savior who sacrificed himself on the cross, let us on this Epiphany pledge the gifts of our obedience, our reverence and our courage to carry the crosses that may come our way.