Friends, we come to the wonderful Feast of the Epiphany and the great account in the Gospel of Matthew of the journey of the three magi. This marvelous, puzzling story, which has so beguiled the poets, artists, and preachers over the centuries, bears a very profound theological truth, and it has to do with the relationship of the national and the transnational.
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GOSPEL
Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord
Matthew 2:1–12
Friends, the story of the Magi told in today’s Gospel is a summary of the principal dynamics of the spiritual life. Watching the night sky with scrupulous attention for signs of God’s purpose, the Magi evoke the importance of alertness in the spiritual order. We must keep our eyes open to see what God is up to.
Once they saw the star, they moved, despite the length of the journey. Sometimes people know what God wants them to do, but they don’t act, either out of fear, laziness, or the influence of bad habits. The Magi teach us to move.
When they spoke to Herod of the birth of the new King, he tried to use them to destroy the baby. When you walk the path that God has laid out for you, expect opposition.
The wise men came to Bethlehem and gave the child their precious gifts. When you come to Christ, break open the very best of yourself and make it a gift for him.
Finally, they returned to their home country by another route. As Fulton Sheen commented so magnificently: of course they did; for no one comes to Christ and goes back the same way he came!