Howdy, Church fans! Merry Christmas, Day 10! As always, you can catch the video of any our Sunday Masses at the St. Pat’s Facebook page. Click here to be whisked away!
I put out an outdoor Nativity Scene this year that for the neighborhood. Its kind of nice.
I’m reminded of a good friend of mine, a priest from England. He is one of those guys who have that deep basso voice and that incredible Oxford accent. With a combination like that, he can say the most inane things but they come across with a disproportionate amount of credibility. Truly, we may speak it, but it is their language.
Anyhoo, said friend loves to travel throughout America. He found himself in the deep
South, where they also have lovely accents. As he passed through a particular small town about this time of year, he noticed an nativity scene just outside the church in the town square. He noticed that all of the wise men were wearing custom-made classic red hats of a type worn by firefighters. Perplexed, he asked a woman coming out of the church what it was all about.
“Have you not read your Bible, young man?” she asked him in return.
“Well, yes, Madam,” he replied, “In fact, I am quite familiar with it, particularly the new testament. But I am sixes and sevens over the meaning of the firemen’s helmets.”
“Well, sonny, ” she replied, “Did you not read that the wise men came from a fahr?”
Traditionally, the Epiphany is celebrated on the 12th day of Christmas, January 6th, but in this part of the world we celebrate it on the second Sunday after Christmas. The readings we have are from Matthew’s gospel which tell the story of the Magi from the East coming to pay the child Jesus homage as “the newborn King of the Jews.”
Who were these guys anyway? Magi were interesting characters. Just as in the present day, there was a fascination with the exotic, mystic arts of the East in Persia and India. These magi would have been court advisors or mystics who looked to the heavens for portents and omens. Incidentally, they did not become kings until 1863 when John H. Hopkins wrote his famous carol by that name. (I am unsure when the lyrics involving the exploding cigar originated.) But they would have been astute enough to notice at that time that Jupiter, the royal planet, moved into Aries, the constellation that represented Israel. The obvious conclusion was that a new king had been born to the Jews. At least that is one theory.
What is important for Matthew is that they are important, exotic, and foreign. We know this for one reason because Astrology was forbidden in the Law of the Moses. rust is in God alone.
That the magi, who represent the wisdom of the nations, would come to pay homage to Christ shows for Matthew that even they recognize the universal impact that he will have. Even from his earliest days, Matthew says, Christ’s mission was not just for the house of Israel, but for all the nations.
At that time, the nations came to Christ in the guise of the Magi.
From that time until today, through the missionary efforts of the Church, Christ has been made known to all the nations.
This revealing of Christ, this manifestation, this Epiphany, is not a static phenomenon, but something that continues into the present day. We each have a role in making him known to that part of the world in which we live.
When they look at us? Do they see Christ?
When they listen to us, do they hear the good news? When they watch us, will they learn what it means to be redeemed by Christ?
We have a message and a wisdom far beyond what the Magi possessed as they traveled. When they saw the Christ child, they left rejoicing.
I pray that we may have the same impact on those who encounter us in our St. Patrick’s Parish family.