{"id":2768,"date":"2019-01-06T12:30:12","date_gmt":"2019-01-06T17:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/?p=2768"},"modified":"2019-01-06T12:30:18","modified_gmt":"2019-01-06T17:30:18","slug":"the-epiphany-of-the-lord-homily-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/the-epiphany-of-the-lord-homily-3\/","title":{"rendered":"The Epiphany of the Lord – Homily"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Epiphany of the Lord<\/a>
Isaiah 60:1-6
Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13 (11)
Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6
Matthew 2:1-12
January 6, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For our Masses on Christmas Eve and\nChristmas morning, we heard the story of Jesus\u2019 birth from Luke\u2019s gospel.  Our gospel reading for the Feast of the Holy\nFamily was the story of the \u201cFinding in the Temple,\u201d also from Luke\u2019s\nGospel.  Likewise, on the Solemnity of\nMary, the Holy Mother of God, we read from Luke\u2019s Gospel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, that changes.  Today we hear part of the Christmas story as\ntold in Matthew\u2019s Gospel.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why? \nBecause it tells us a different part of the story of Jesus\u2019 birth.  When we think of the Christmas story, we\nthink of everything we know as one story. \nThat\u2019s the way it happened.   It\u2019s\nthe way we depict in our nativity scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, if you look at the gospels, you\nwill not find all of the Christmas story in any one gospel.  In fact, if you look at the Gospels of Mark\nand John, you will find none of the Christmas story there.  Only Matthew and Luke tell us about the birth\nof Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does that mean that Mark and John didn\u2019t\nthink the birth story was important?  I\ndoubt that.  They may not have ever heard\nit.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How about Luke and Matthew?  How come they don\u2019t tell the whole\nstory?  First, remember they won\u2019t have\nbeen there for Jesus\u2019 birth.  So, they\nhad no first-hand knowledge of his birth. \nSecondly, we all tell stories from our own perspective.  One classic example of this is when a number\nof people witness the same event but don\u2019t tell identical stories.  It might be because something was blocking\nour view.  The angle of the sun might\nchange what we see.  Have you ever had a\ncar that when it was cloudy looked one color but on a sunny day looked a\ndifferent color?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same is true in the gospels.  Luke tells us about the shepherds at Jesus\u2019\nbirth to show us that Jesus comes to save everything, including those of\n\u201clowly\u201d status.  Matthew also wants to\nshow that salvation is for everyone but it is the Gentiles he emphasizes with\nthe visit of the Magi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Magi, often referred to as kings, were\nnot Jewish.  They weren\u2019t even local\npeople.  They came from another\ncountry.  Yet, their hearts were opened\nsuch that when they saw the star, they knew it to be a sign that a new king had\nbeen born for the Jews.  They knew this\nto be a great event and so they travelled to give Jesus homage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What must not be lost in the story is that\nit is Gentiles, non-believers, who come to give Jesus homage, while the people\nof Jerusalem, hence Jews, were troubled by the news that a new king had been\nborn.  They should have been rejoicing at\nhearing that the Messiah had come but they didn\u2019t.  It wasn\u2019t what they wanted to hear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The visit of the Magi fulfills parts of\nwhat we hear in our first and second readings today.  Isaiah writes about how people from foreign\nlands will come to offer praise and bearing gifts of \u201cgold and frankincense<\/em>.\u201d  The\npsalm says \u201call kings shall pay him\nhomage<\/em>.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I want to turn now and focus on what it\nmeans to pay Jesus \u201chomage<\/em>.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are two definitions of\n\u201chomage.\u201d  The first one listed is a\nperson obliging his or herself to serve the \u201cmaster\u201d they are giving homage\nto.  The second definition is to express\n\u201chigh regard\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Magi show \u201chigh regard\u201d in prostrating\nthemselves before Jesus, prostrating being an act of admitting the other\u2019s\ngreatness.  They also show \u201chigh regard\u201d\nfor Jesus in the gifts they bring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do we give homage to God?  How might we give homage?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Magi did by prostrating before\nJesus.  We do it in church by at times\nbowing and other times genuflecting.  We\nkneel for the Eucharistic Prayer understanding the profound sacrifice of Jesus\ngiving his life for us and the sacred action of the consecration as the bread\nand wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even our standing can serve as a form of\nhomage.  We stand for the procession at\nthe beginning of Mass as a sign of welcoming God into our lives with a royal\nwelcome.  We stand as we receive\nCommunion as a sign that Jesus has lifted us up from our sins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Magi gave Jesus gifts.  What do we give to Jesus?  Money in the collection?  Our time and our talents?  Jesus sacrifices his life for us.  What do we sacrifice for Jesus?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going back to the \u201chomage\u201d I spoke about\nin kneeling during the Eucharistic Prayer, I want to refer to the word \u201cadore\u201d\nin our responsorial verse.  When we come\nto the words of consecration, I, as the priest, hold up first the consecrated\nhost and then the consecrated wine.  As I\nhold them each up, the altar server rings the bells.  This is to draw our attention to the moment\nwhen Jesus is held up high for us to \u201cadore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let me now step away from what goes on at\nMass to another ritual we offer in our parish, a holy hour with Exposition of\nthe Blessed Sacrament.  Jesus in the\nconsecrated host (the Blessed Sacrament) is placed in the monstrance for us to\nsee (Exposition).  Looking at Jesus in\nthe Blessed Sacrament, we adore<\/em><\/strong> Jesus (hence the practice of\ncoming to Exposition is also called Adoration). \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are different forms of doing holy\nhours.  There are always prayers.  When a priest or deacon is present, there is\nBenediction at the end.  We include\nscripture readings and a reflection.  For\nour holy hours, the rest of the time (about 25 minutes) is quiet time for us to\nspend adoring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament in whatever quiet way we want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I first started going to holy hours\nbefore I went to seminary, I went expecting \u201csomething incredible\u201d to\nhappen.  I only came to enjoy holy hours\nwhen I stopped expecting \u201csomething incredible\u201d and just opened myself to Jesus\u2019\npresence.  I found that his simple\npresence was the \u201csomething incredible\u201d I was looking for all along.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, when you hear the bells ring, look\nup at Jesus.  Offer your adoration to him\nand bask in his presence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Epiphany of the LordIsaiah 60:1-6Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13 (11)Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6Matthew 2:1-12January 6, 2019 For our Masses on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, we heard the story of Jesus\u2019 birth from Luke\u2019s gospel.  Our gospel reading for the Feast of the Holy Family was the story of the \u201cFinding in the Temple,\u201d also …<\/p>\n

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