HOMILY FOR THE FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY--1/8/12--REVEALING GOD TO THE WORLD

 

 

FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY–1/8/12

READINGS: ISAIAH 60:1-6; EPHESIANS 3;2-3, 5-6; MATTHEW 2;1-12

　

 

I. Epiphany--the Revealing

A. Christ is revealed to the world this day and people are asked to believe in him--to have faith.

B. Many times, we are scared to recognize the presence of God in our lives because we feel we do not know enough about our faith because we didn't study hard enough in religion classes or because we have not done serious praying, Bible reading, or thinking about God and our faith.

C. Epiphany tells us that we do not have to be brilliant theologians or Bible scholars, or even saints to begin an encounter with Christ. We simply have to admit that Christ is in our midst.

II. The Wise Men

A. From the East they came--Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. Astrologers they were--pagan priests of the fire god Ahura Mazda.

1. They knew little of the Bible.

2. Never heard of Moses.

3. One prophecy they knew: a new king was to be born of David's line in the city of Bethlehem.

4. Armed with this prophecy, humbly aware of their insignificance as human beings and their dependence on a Supreme Being, guided only by a star, they left on a journey, a journey to find he new born Messiah, the God with the Human Face.

　

B. They found him, they recognized him as the boy child of Mary, and they gave him gifts. They left in peace and they received a gift also from the Christ Child--the gift of faith.

1. Knowing very little, they met their King.

2. Raised in pagan ways, yet they recognized the one true God.

3. Accepting Christ, they now live with him forever.

C. Be like the wise men. Accept Christ and the eternal life he offers. Like the wise men, recognize the fact that belief in Christ is necessary for salvation.

III. How Do We Do This?

A. Offer the same gifts to Christ that the wise men did. We have gold, frankincense, and myrrh to offer.

B. The gifts and what they mean:

1. Gaspar gave gold to Christ because he saw Christ as King--gold represents power and kingship and a person who offers gold to a king says, "You are my Lord and Master; you are the one I put my hopes on; You can help me live my life to the fullest." By offering ourselves to Christ, we give him gold. By surrendering ourselves to Christ, we give him the power and ability to do good in this world through us. By recognizing Christ as our Supreme Guide in our life, as our King, we put ourselves at his service.

2. Balthazar gave frankincense to Christ for two reasons: incense represents divinity and he saw Christ as God; incense also represents prayer. When we pray to Christ, we give the gift of frankincense. We proclaim Christ is God and we are confident he will hear our prayers. The gift of frankincense is the gift of worship and the trust we have that Christ will answer our prayer.

3. Melchior gave myrrh, a precious ointment, to Christ because it represented his death and resurrection--his humanity. Christ is one of us and through death he will conquer death and rise to give eternal life. When we accept that Christ became human to make us more like himself, to give us divine life, when we use our humanity in the service of God, we give the gift of myrrh. Using our talents, dedicating our life to Christ, becoming another Christ, this is the third gift we give to the Christ Child.

IV. Practical Points

A. These three gifts we are capable of giving now, even without a lot of knowledge of our faith: accept Christ as King in your life; worship him as God, trusting in his power; and use your humanity to be like Christ to others--those are three gifts we can give now.

B. Result: Our eyes will be opened to action of God in world; we will see God as active in our families, in work, in school. We will want to learn more about faith and want to read the Scriptures more and want to pray more deeply. Most importantly, we will be an epiphany, a revelation of God to the world. That's what is important about this feast, not that wise men brought gifts, but that they returned blessed by God and were gifts of God to others. Go and do likewise.

Comments

[dragonfly]

a new bishop a new Easter renewal in faith, spring flowers and showers.....where is your pen? like the watcher at the pond, can see the pond is a lovely open place, yet crowded beyond counting, a place, he observes where a pinch of soil might enfold a million animals.....(Franklin Russell) so might the world that surronds you be seen the same by God. yet each pinch of dust surrounds you incases a soul that needs Gods words, to flourish and grow with the season and in faith. They need a writer with your gifts to......Take a minute......write Not just about the news of the day.....but as the season unfolds please write of the wonders of our Lord that surround us, reach the souls waiting to be found. The balance of life and the strength and comfort of faith.

[Samantha Kelly]

Very educative and holy allocation,I think this is one of the best visit for me in this weekend so far. Thanks