Feast of the Epiphany (Mt. 2:1-12) “Why am I Alive?”

Feast of the Epiphany (Mt. 2:1-12) “Why am I Alive?”

“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.”  The words come from St. Augustine.  The great philosopher, saint, and bishop, shares a profound truth which is that we will never be completely satisfied with our life on earth.  Complete fulfillment will only come when we are united with God for all eternity.  Another person said that there is a God-size hole in our psyche that can only be filled with the divine.

        The magi who we meet in todays Gospel were restless men.  Tradition has it that these magi were from Persia (present day Iran).  The magi were Medians.  The tribe tried to violently overthrow their Persian rulers.  But their power play failed.  For that reason, they gave up violence.  Instead, they became a priestly class within the Persian empire.  The magi began to dedicate themselves to philosophy, astrology, medicine, and Theology.  In other words, they pursued all the knowledge that the world offered.  The Magi questioned everything.  The questions weren’t just about mundane things, but they ruminated about large truths. 

        Someone once said that there are three steps to finding faith.  The first step is questioning.  We can’t have real faith unless we are willing to ask about the meaning of life.  One of the places the magi looked for answers was in the night sky.  What an otherworldly experience it is to get away from city lights to take a walk in the country on a moonless night.  The blanket of stars that we see over our head reminds us of how big the universe is as well as how insignificant we are.  In Jesus’ time, astrologers were constantly looking for new stars, as well as different movements in the heavens.  People believed that what happened in the heavens impacted what happened on earth.  Everything was connected. But one had to be willing to ask what the connections meant.

        The first century world believed that a great leader was about to arrive.  When the Magi saw a new constellation in the sky one night that they couldn’t explain, they believed that something special was happening.  And they took the second step in the search for faith.  The magi began a journey.  The journey wasn’t defined.  The wisemen didn’t know where they were going.  The magi had a choice.  The Persian priests could play it safe, staying where they were.  But, then again, they could venture out into the unknown to look for answers.  We remember them today because they took to the road.  People with vibrant faith aren’t satisfied to accept pat answers.  No, people of faith are excited by the pursuit of mystery.  An old saying is that “the journey offers as many answers as the destination.”

        When the magi came to the home of Jesus, they took the third step in the process of living in faith.  The wisemen worshiped.  When we worship, we admit that there is a power in the universe that is greater than ourselves.  In humility we say that we aren’t God.  God isn’t that small.  God is good.  God is great.  God is truth.  God is our divine parent.  The humble act of worship keeps everything in perspective. We say when we engage in worship that we believe there is an intelligence in the universe that is beyond our human understanding.

        The magi worshipped the Christ child, we are told, then they journeyed home.  When they got there, we can surmise they told people what they had found, but they also continued to ask more questions.  The story of Epiphany is a story that could be our story.  The movement from questioning, to journeying, to worship can be our story.  But the problem of our modern world is that many never even take the first step of questioning.  Too many people believe that all there is to life is what we see on the surface of reality.  We are told that the meaning of life is to educate ourselves so that we might get a good job, achieve some security, buy a lot of stuff, then we will be happy. 

        Our world tells us that faith is of value only to the weak, the fool, the person who isn’t practical.  If that is the case then the world is ruled by ignorance.  The universe is a very sad place.  Is it any wonder that a lot of us try to escape the journey, but entertaining ourselves to death, by medicating ourselves by using whatever it takes to keep our mind in a fog.  For it is easier to live in a fog than to look for a break in the clouds, to ask why am I here?  Modern people don’t like to wrestle with questions there are no clear answers for.  We can be too proud.

        We remember on Epiphany that we will always be restless, until we rest in God.  We can actively look for God.  Or we can ignore our Lord until our time is up.  What is the better course? What can make life worthwhile?  Too many people give little thought to these questions.  Wise people never stop asking them?

Reflection Questions:

1.  Am I more concerned about the route my life takes or the destination?  Which is more important?

2.  What is one question I would like to ask God?  Am I reluctant to ask that question now?

Dear Parishioners,

        The contractors will be finishing up many of the different aspects of the Gathering Center by the end of January.  The last piece of the puzzle will probably be the outside railings.  These are most important because we do not want anyone to fall.   We then will need to get permission for occupancy from the city.  We cannot use the addition until we have that permission.  We also cannot move any furniture or appliances into the building (city ordinances).  These have been ordered and we are waiting for the various fixtures. 

        We have received many nice gifts recently and our campaign totals are rising.  The campaign committee would like to emphasize two sponsorships we would like see parishioners donate towards.  One sponsorship would be for the tables and chairs.  If anyone would like to sponsor some of those, we would welcome such gifts.  The other sponsorship is for the technology.  We would like to receive gifts for the sound system and for the televisions for the projection system.  The cost of sponsoring these is on the WEB site.  We will not divide the pieces of the sound and projection systems up because for the audio-visual system to function we need to have all the pieces.  Someone has donated the internet connection which we are most grateful for. This means that there will be an internet signal in the new building. 

        We are also going to be writing up policies for use of the building during the next few weeks.  This is always tedious, but it helps things run smoothly.  We are hoping to have the building open by March 1st.

        Let’s remember to pray for a greater respect for life during the month of January.

        May Our Lady watch over us and protect us.

        Fr. Mark

P.S. Thanks to all those who helped with Sr. Kathleen’s going away reception.