Homily Notes Epiphany 2019
Epiphany 2019/ “We Pray that We Might Find a New Direction”
Albert Einstein is known as one of the greatest physicists of all time. He thought a lot about problem solving. One of his most famous quotes was, “Problems cannot be solved by the same mindset that created them.” Einstein was able to see the physical universe in new and different ways which allowed him to come up with theories that helped us to understand the universe.
Today we remember the magi who came from the East in search of the Christ child. We might see them as the Einsteins of their day. What little we know about the Magi revolves around the idea that they were the learned people of society.
The magi studied scripture. The wise men studied theology. The magi investigated the stars studying astronomy. Also, they probably worked great mathematical problems and they studied philosophy. And they investigated the sky. As they did, they came up with theories about the movement of the planets. As scientists, they were not afraid of asking questions nor were they adverse to thinking outside the box.
At a certain point, they noticed a certain alignment of planets in the sky. Perhaps they saw a comet appear we don’t know for sure. And all their study convinced them that a new king was being born in Israel. And they followed a star to find that newborn king.
But as we read the Gospel account, we notice that in the middle of their journey they began to think with an old consciousness. The magi got to thinking in patterns that were practical, logical, predictable.
When they got to Jerusalem, they took their eyes off the star. The magi asked the question where the logical place was to find a newborn prince. Well certainly you find him in a palace. To King Herod they went to meet his new son. This old way of thinking jeopardized their mission. Also, it put the life of Jesus in danger. Finally, the wisemen got back on track. The magi looked back up into the sky again, they paid attention to their instincts, they revisited their new theories, in the end, they found the child they sought.
What does this story teach us? The story teaches us that we too often go along with the prevailing wisdom in our life. We refuse to believe that there might be another way of approaching a problem. We too often play it safe. The result is that that we are stuck in certain pattern. We are then afraid to break away from that pattern.
During the last week the Catholic Bishops of the United States went on a retreat in Chicago. Now that may sound like something we might expect. But it was a special event in the life of the American Church. Pope Francis asked the Bishops to go on this retreat that was given by the retreat master of the papal household. The Pope felt it was important for the American Bishops to come together to pray for wisdom so that they might find new ways to approach the sexual abuse scandal in our country.
At the beginning of retreat an 8-page letter was read from Francis to the Bishops. The letter strongly advocated a new way of approaching the crisis. Pope Francis emphasized that no healing can come with new organizational flow charts. Healing for all will not be achieved by a new legal strategy. In other words, he called on the bishops to take a pastoral approach. Secondly, he emphasized that the bishops must take a collegial approach. A Democratic vote on new procedures where there are winners and losers, and some choose to follow a plan while others do not is going to be counterproductive. All bishops must be unified moving in the same direction.
Finally, most importantly, Pope Francis pointed to a meeting that will take place in Rome in February. The meeting will draw together the presidents of the bishop’s conferences from around the world. The Pope is demanding that before the presidents of the Bishops conferences come to Rome they meet with victims of sexual abuse. He himself has done that regularly over the past year. He has tried to listen, to give victims all the time they need to express what they want. He says that has caused him to look at things in a new way, a more compassionate less bureaucratic way. He admits to making mistakes, he has apologized for his own personal blindness, he is trying to discern with others a new direction for he church.
We pray for our church on the Feast of the Epiphany. We pray for leaders in the church that there may be many Epiphanies in the coming months and years, that there will be many magi in the church (wise people) who can help as Pope Francis says, “Mend the torn fabric of the church.” The journey will be long and hard, but as a Christian community we need to keep our eye fixed on the ideals that are the essence of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Rough draft…grammar may not be perfect.