Epiphany

Today, we have three special guests who have came a very long distance. Their names are Gaspar, Melchior and Balthazar, the three wise men. It is believed all three, although from different countries, providentially met on their journey to Bethlehem. They were learned in the science of the stars, but were wise because the sought the Christ Child, and found Him who is the Messiah, King and God.

The wise men were not Jews. They were Gentiles. We might have expected God to reveal the birth of Jesus to his own Jewish people, but no, it was to people of a different religion and race. We admire the faith of the three wise men. They believed the prophecy from the book of Numbers (24:7), “A star shall spring out of Jacob and a man shall rise upon Israel.” They knew the Redeemer would appear in Judea, and His coming would be heralded by a star.

As soon as they perceived the star, they set off on the road to Judea. Full of holy desire to worship the Savior, they did not shrink from the dangers of the long journey. Its believed they traveled over a 1000 miles which would have taken 3 months to a year.

When the star disappeared, they did not give up, but traveled courageously to Jerusalem for further information as to where the Savior was born. They figured the Jews in Jerusalem would know where the Messiah would be born. Here, however, their faith was tried because no body in Jerusalem knew anything about the Redeemer’s birth. It was they who first brought the good tidings to the city, but it did not awaken feelings of joy, but rather trouble in the city because of Herod.

When the chief priests and scribes told them of the prophecy of Micah the Savior was to be born in Bethlehem, the wise men believed and went to Bethlehem. No one from Jerusalem accompanied them. You would think all Jerusalem would have flocked with them to seek the Messiah, but no! The skeptical priests remained behind, to let the Gentile Kings to discover the new born King.

God not only showed them the way to the Child’s abode by the reappearance of the star, but also illuminated them interiorly, so that they understood the mystery of the incarnation, and worshiped the Divine Child with divine worship due to God alone.

They were led to the house where the Child and His poor Mother were lodging. Its believed when the magi came it could have been months after the birth, and so the Holy Family had moved from the cave of His birth-- to a poor dwelling of a home. The Child was perhaps at least a year old or older when they found Him.

When they arrived and beheld the Child, they were inspired by divine grace and threw themselves on their knees and worshiped the Infant as their God and Savior. St. Pope Leo the great said,  “….there must have been some special Divine Revelation whereby they knew that "his star" meant the birth of a king, that this new-born king was the very God, and that they should be led by "his star" to the place of the God-king’s birth.”

Casper from Tarsus, was European, whose gift was gold. Gold is for a king, and symbolizes the kingship of the newborn King. Melchior from Persia, modern day Iran, brought Frankincense, which comes from aromatic oil, used by Jews to offer sacrifice and symbolizes His divinity. Balthasar from Ethiopia in Africa-- brought myrrh, a bitter perfume used in burial practices of Jews. It symbolizes the death of Jesus, and His body being anointed with myrrh for burial.

They were warned in a dream not to return to Jerusalem, because Herod had designs to kill the Child and so departed by another route. It’s believed they went to India to proclaim the truth of Jesus and later met St. Thomas the apostle and were baptized by him. They died in India and their bodies were in-corrupt for many years. But later decomposed. Their bones were eventually taken to Constantinople by St. Helena and then later transferred to Milan, Italy and then finally ended up in the Cathedral of Cologne Germany.

There are many wise men, women and children in our parish. What does it mean to be wise? The book of Wisdom states the first stage of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. Fear of the Lord does not mean we are afraid of God or the punishments we deserve. Rather, fear of the Lord means we fear offending God, whom we love and so don’t want to hurt Him.

Wisdom is different than intelligence. One who is intelligent may not be wise. But someone not so smart in the ways of the world, can be brilliant in wisdom. Jesus gave us some examples of wisdom. He said a wise man builds his house on rock and not on sand. He is referring to having faith in Him, who is the rock. We place our faith in Him and not in the world nor in any government to solve our problems, then we are wise. Jesus also spoke of the wise virgins, who kept their oil lamps filled, while the foolish virgins did not. The foolish were not ready for the bridegroom, when He comes to open the door, referring to the day of their judgment. To be wise, we need to always be ready for the moment of our death and to seek the things of heaven and not earth. A wise man will have a personal relationship with Jesus, will truly love Him and speak to Him often and even be willing to die for Him. He will seek God in all circumstances and not give up until he finds Him.

A wise person fears offending God out of love for Him and so avoids sin and confesses frequently. A wise person is not interested in material things, but rather uses them for the love of God and neighbor. A wise man will read spiritual books especially the Bible, and avoid books that lead one away from God. A wise person will choose to help someone in need, whereas an unwise person will think only of themselves. If we are wise, we will not seek glory and honors in this life, but want only to receive them in the next life. A wise person encourage others and give them pats on the back, but an unwise person will treat others with disdain and be jealous of their gifts and talents. A wise person will use his gifts, talents and treasures to help others, as opposed to using them for one self. A wise person will seek God’s will in all things. A wise man will try to find the good in everyone, as opposed to seeing only the bad. A wise person seeks the things of heaven as opposed to the things of the world. A wise person will seek to alleviate the misery of others, as opposed to ignoring them. A wise person will want to imitate the saints, as opposed to the rich and famous.

A wise child will share his or her toys or candy with others or play a game with someone even though we may not want to.

A wise young person will remove their neighbor’s snow rather than get paid.

A wise person would rather be honest and poor, rather than rich and dishonest.

With our continuous Eucharistic Adoration, just as the three wise men fell to their knees to worship Jesus in adoration, so many will come to church to bend their knees and worship and adore the King of Heaven during their Holy Hour. As the responsorial psalm said, “Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.”

As a new year resolution, let us pray for the gift of wisdom and as we gaze upon the Sacred Host, we will sing with the Virgin Mary, from our heart, “O come Let us adore Him! O come let us adore Him!” “O Come Let us Adore Him. Christ the Lord.”