The Epiphany of the Lord
/Epiphania D.N.I.C.
7 January 2024
Things aren’t always as they seem.
The Israelites at the time period of the first reading could have said that. They’ve been in exile. Their land and their holy city are in ruins. They have lost their power. Yet God’s word through the Prophet Isaiah is of splendor, glory, riches, and wealth. The words from the first reading said: “Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! … the glory of the Lord shines upon you … you shall be radiant at what you see … the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you, the wealth of nations shall be brought to you.” But their land was in disarray and in ruins.
Things aren’t always as they seem.
The Magi – pagan foreigners from the East – came to find a newborn king. They brought costly gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh into the humble, ordinariness of the home of Joseph and Mary. Could a mighty king, whose birth even the cosmos celebrates with the Bethlehem star, possibly be in human form, in such a normal, simple setting?
Things aren’t always as they seem.
Certainly, part of the lesson of the Christmas season is that through the normal, ordinary events and things of life we are called to see the extraordinary. Said another way, the ordinary becomes the vehicle to reveal the extraordinary. Through the natural and human we are to see the divine. Through natural, sacramental signs – water, bread, wine, oil, words of absolution – we are to see, hear, taste, and touch the power and the presence of Christ.
I wonder how many times we miss God and His grace because we pass by the ordinary moments of life and faith? How much grace do we miss because we’re too busy to stop and make time for God’s presence in our midst?
Shepherds could see the glory of God even through the stench and the sounds of a stable. Magi could do homage to a king in a humble home and in the form of a weak, tiny baby. Do we train our eyes to see beyond the way things seem?
Things aren’t always as they seem.
Ask yourself what changes you can make in this New Year to notice God’s presence in the ordinary opportunities of daily life. Engage in that kind of self-reflection not so much to make “New Year’s resolutions”, but to do what we authentically do as Catholics, that is, to do what good catholics do: to repent and to plan for a season of change not far away on Ash Wednesday. Whatever your age or your state in life, whether you are a child, a teenager, young or older adult, whether you are single or married, ask yourself what changes you can make to train your eyes to see God’s presence in ordinary, humble circumstances. What change can you make to give time to daily prayer, scripture reading, and time to simply listen to God? What in your daily schedule can change to give more time and room to God? Could you alter your schedule some to be able to attend daily Mass at least a bit more frequently? What in your life needs to change to give more serious attention to repentance and to coming to confession with greater frequency? Ask yourself what you could change to be able to attend adoration in our chapel or to make your own personal visits to the church to pray before the Lord’s Real Presence in the tabernacle. That’s perhaps the best example of all of things not being what they seem: our senses see ordinary bread, but it is the real presence of God. What in your life could change so that you can notice Christ’s presence in those around you in need? What can you change to offer yourself in service to others in need, to show those in need the compassion, love, and healing of Christ?
Whether you are young or old and whatever your state in life, what can you change to train your eyes to see God’s presence in ordinary, normal, and humble circumstances of life? Shepherds could see the glory of God in a stable. The Magi could see a little baby and give Him homage, prostrating themselves before God-made-man. What do your eyes need to see beyond the ordinary things of life? After all, things aren’t always as they seem!