Epiphany 2008.
January 6. Our Lady of Grace 7:30, 11:30, 6PM.
Isaiah 60: 1-6. Ephesians 3: 2-3a, 5-6. Matthew 2: 1-12.
Many stories are told to help us understand the meaning of
Christmas. Tradition tells us that there were three wise men, Caspar,
Melchior and Balthasar, although the Bible tells us
nothing about names or numbers.
One of the most beloved Christmas stories, The Other Wiseman by
Henry Van Dyke helps us understand the meaning of Christmas by telling us about
a fourth wise man:
When Jesus was born there were many wise men who studied the
sky to search for the truth about God.
They believed that a perfect star in the night sky would announce that the
great king sent by God was about to be born.
The other wise man believed that the coming of the great King was very near. He sold his house and everything he owned to
buy three jewels to give to the new born king.
When he saw the first glimmer of a new star on the horizon he knew that the
time for the birth of the new king had come.
In great haste the other wise man rode off on his horse to meet three friends
who had also seen the new star in the sky. His friends promised that they
would wait for him for ten days before setting out to find the new born king.
The other wise man rode at top speed to meet his friends and
he was exhausted. At the end
of the ninth day, when he was almost there, he saw a dark shape lying in the
road. It was a man who seemed
to be dead. The other wise man
got down from his horse and dragged the injured man to the side of the
road. He knew that if he left the man, the man would surely die. The other wise man prayed – “God of light and
truth – help me know what I should do.”
Then the other wise man took care of the injured man for one day, then for two
and three days. He knew that
by now his friends had left him behind and he had missed his chance to find the
new born king. The injured man said, “I have no way of repaying you for
your kindness. I am a Jew and
we know that the new born king is to be born n Bethlehem.”
The other wise man sold one of his precious jewels to buy a
camel and supplies for the journey to Bethlehem
by himself. When he got there he knocked on a door and asked about the new born
king. The woman inside told him
that Mary and Joseph and the baby had fled to Egypt to protect the child Jesus
from King Herod. While they
were talking soldiers knocked on the door with orders to kill all male children
in Bethlehem
less than two years of age.
The woman screamed because she had two young sons.
The other wise man reached into his pocket and pulled out the second jewel he
had brought with him for the new born king.
He gave it to the solider as payment for leaving the woman and her children
alone.
The next morning the other wise man decided to follow the
new born king into Egypt. He searched in Egypt for many years and found
nothing. After 33 years he was
desperate and he returned to the land
of Israel. He found the city of Jerusalem in turmoil.
He was told that two famous robbers were being crucified.
And Jesus who called himself the Son of God and whom others called the king of
the Jews was going to be crucified with them.
The other wise man’s heart raced.
Perhaps he had found the great king at last.
He was sure that if he hurried he could rescue Jesus, the great king, by giving
the soldiers the last of his precious jewels.
Before he could move forward with his plan to rescue Jesus a poor girl was
being dragged down the street by soldiers because her father owed a great deal
of money and she was being sold into slavery to pay the debt. When she cried out for help the other wise
man took out the last of his jewels and gave it to the solders for the girl’s
freedom.
All at once the sky got dark and the earth quaked and stones
began to fly everywhere. The other wise man was thrown to the ground by a
mighty blow to his head. He
had failed again. He had not
used the last of his jewels to rescue the great king.
Instead he had used it to rescue a poor girl.
He knew that the earthquake meant that the great king was dead and that he
would never see him and he would never give him the gifts that he had spent his
whole life seeking to give him.
As the other wise man lie dying a voice from heaven said,
“Well done good and faithful servant…for I was hungry and you gave me food. I was sick and you cared for me. I was in prison and you rescued me. For whatever you have done for the least of
my brothers and sisters you have truly done for me.”
The other wise man smiled and died in great peace.
He had not seen the great king in the manger or even on the Cross, but he had
served the great king well in the often ignored disguise of the poor.
The Feast of the Epiphany is about the manifestation of
Christ in our midst. We who were not present at the manger or at the foot
of the Cross still have the opportunity of recognizing Christ in the poor and
needy all around us. And the people all around have the opportunity of
meeting Christ in the love that we have for those in need.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta
apparently lived in great spiritual darkness. Her own letters say that
she had trouble finding the peace and joy of Christ in her heart. Yet,
she met Christ in the distressing disguise of the poor in so powerful a way that
it caught the attention of the whole world.
Mother Teresa said, “The poor are wonderful people…. Like
the man whom we picked up from the drain.
half eaten with worms; we brought him to the home. (He said) "I have lived like an animal in the
street, but I am going to die like an angel, loved and cared for." And it was so wonderful to see the greatness
of a man who could speak like that, who could die like that, without blaming
anybody, without cursing anybody, without comparing anything. Like an angel - that is the greatness of our
people.
And that is why we believe what Jesus has said, "I
was hungry, I was naked, I was homeless, I was unwanted, unloved, uncared for,
and you did it to me."
The wise men opened their treasures and offered the Christ
Child gold, frankincense and myrrh. Christ waits for us to bring our
gifts to the needy in our families, our neighborhood and our world. The
poor child in the manger visits us again in the least and most needy of his
brothers and sisters. For the privilege of bringing our gift to the poor
Christ Child today, we give God thanks and praise