No More Hide-and-Seek

Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord Jan. 2, 2011 (Mt 2:1-12)

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage."

When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet: 'And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.'"

Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star's appearance. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage."

After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother.

They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.

Today we celebrate Jesus' revelation to the Gentiles, represented by the magi. The Solemnity of the Epiphany is a celebration of God showing Himself to humanity. The invisible God whom no one has ever seen has now manifested Himself in the manger.

Man is in constant search of God. It is really quite frustrating to search for Him who is spirit and is, therefore, invisible. To be realistic, finding God usually meant to be in a good relationship with Him and to live one's life according to His will. But even so, finding God is still a difficult task. But, out of His wisdom, God has ended the hide-and-seek game and has made Himself visible to man. Yes, it was unthinkable, but to God, it was possible. He became man and showed us His glory in the person of Jesus. And Jesus, God Himself, showed us also how to find Him.

God knows the difficulty of our situation and the weakness of our human nature. Jesus is proof that God wants us to see Him. The star in today's narrative is another proof of this. God doesn't want us to have a hard time looking for Him. He Himself showed the way and He is the way.

All we have to do is to want to find Him. He has already revealed Himself in many ways in our lives. The presence with which He graced the magi is the same presence with which He graces us in the Mass. We see Him there in the sacrament. We see Him in the people around us. We hear Him in the loving advice of a friend. We feel Him in the comforting embrace of loved ones. We feel His presence in the people who help us in life. All we have to do is acknowledge His presence and allow Him to be part of our lives.

Like in the Gospel narrative today, there are different reactions to the news of Jesus' birth. Herod sought to kill the child as he considered Jesus a threat to his kingdom. The magi sought to do Him homage and to offer Him their gifts. We too, have our different reactions to Jesus' manifold ways of manifesting Himself to us. At times, we ignore Him and simply live as if we do not even have a God. Sometimes, like Herod, we are threatened by a new king. We want to be our own kings, to rule over ourselves and to live as we please; we therefore reject Jesus. The Gospel today shows us the better response to Jesus' manifestation. The Gospel invites us to accept Him and to try our best to get closer to Him.

Jesus makes His presence felt in our daily lives. He makes it easier for us to find Him. But the key to having an encounter with Him is to try look for Him. There is no encounter if we do not acknowledge His presence, even though He is just there revealing Himself. In God's act of manifesting Himself, we find out that it is not only man who is seeking for God; God is also seeking to be with us, for He loves us.

May we always make that effort to look for God, for it is no longer that hard to find Him. He no longer hides so it's easier to seek for Him. But the important thing is to seek Him and not to ignore His presence.

So let's not play hide-and-seek with Him anymore, because He Himself is looking for us.

Seeking to Do Him Homage

Solemnity of the Epiphany of Our Lord Jan. 3, 2010 (Mt 2:1-12)

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage."

When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet: 'And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.'"

Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star's appearance. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage."

After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother.

They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.

The celebration of the Lord's Epiphany reminds us that Jesus' birth is a symbol of God's saving love that is offered to all. Jesus was born to save humanity, not only the Jews. This is the news of great joy that the angel announces - the Savior of all men is born! The gifts of the magi prophesy the destiny of the child Jesus. The frankincense symbolizes divinity; the gold, kingship; and the myrrh, death. Jesus is God who comes to us as a king who will serve by suffering and dying and thus, will save all men from sin and death.

Jesus' birth was not known to the political and religious leaders of His time. But He manifested Himself to the magi, wise men who are not from the People of God, who diligently searched for Him, who brought Him gifts and did Him due homage. Our Gospel for today allows us to reflect on the different ways people react when God comes. The magi brought gifts and worshiped the child. Herod, on the other hand, under the guise of wanting to worship, sought to kill the child. Herod loves his position so much that he sought to kill this newborn king of the Jews, as he was afraid that Jesus would dethrone him.

Sometimes, we become like Herod. We see God as a hindrance in acquiring the things we long to have. We believe in God but we seek to "kill" Him because with Him in our hearts, we cannot enjoy the ephemeral pleasures of lust, of acquisition of power, and of possession of great riches. God does not want us to belong to this world and to seek the shallow happiness it brings, so we seek to "kill" Him so that we can go our own way, enjoying the pleasures of this world.

Like the magi, we must seek Jesus and give Him the best gift we can give - ourselves. We must seek Him so we can do Him homage. We should recognize Him as king and let Him dethrone the worldly things and desires that reign in our hearts. He should be our King, our God, our Savior.

Becoming Stars Which Point to Christ

Solemnity of the Epiphany of Our Lord Jan. 4, 2009 (Mt 2:1-12)

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage."

When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet: 'And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.' "

Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star's appearance. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage."

After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother.

They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.

Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Epiphany of Our Lord. We celebrate the day of Jesus' manifestation to the Gentiles, represented by the magi. It has been customary to call these magi the "three kings". Nevertheless, Scripture does not speak of kings or of them being three. The Bible tells us that magi from the east came looking for the newborn king of Israel.

The magi's audience with King Herod must have been a slap in the face for the Israelites and their religious leaders. How could it be that something as awesome as the birth of the Christ was unbeknown to them while these visiting magi who are not from Yahweh's people were, in one way or another, aware of it? This could be why, aside from King Herod who was troubled because of the political threat the news of Jesus' birth brings, Jerusalem was also troubled.

After they obtained information from the prophecies about the Christ, the pagan visitors went their way to continue searching for the child. And, as Yahweh once guided the Israelites through a cloud and a pillar of fire, the star which they saw at its rising guided them towards the house where the baby Jesus was. It is the will of God for these Gentiles to witness His works by seeing the salvation He has planned. Even as early as when Jesus was still a child, it has already been revealed through this epiphany that Jesus is the Savior of the entire human race.

Jesus is the gift of God for all peoples. Whoever you may be, Jesus was born to save you, as He was born to save the person you hate the most, your non-Catholic friend, or even your friendly neighborhood atheist. Yes, Jesus was born to save them too. His redemptive act is for all, because all are in need of redemption. Of course, this doesn't mean that all will be saved; salvation requires our participation. Nevertheless, salvation is offered to all.

We are often quick to judge and condemn people. We look with discrimination upon people whom the Church considers lost - the non-Catholics, the people whose sins are a scandal for the public, and those who are quite indifferent of the faith. But we have to remember that Jesus was born to save them too. Instead of avoiding them or even bringing them down, we should be the star to guide them in their journey towards Jesus. And, on finding Him, they will be converted, just like the magi. This conversion will be followed by an offering of their whole selves to Jesus. Wouldn't it be nice to know that we have brought these people closer to Jesus?

The Church in this modern world calls for dialogue and ecumenism. We, as Christians who have seen the Lord Jesus, ought to be the star above Jesus' house who will guide today's "magi" who are lost and might still be looking for Him. That is what being witnesses of Christ means. And with billions of Catholics and Christians witnessing to Him all over the world, there should be countless stars above Jesus' house by now. And what a lovely sight that is!