Arise!
Shine, for your light, has come, the glory of the LORD has dawned upon
you.
Though darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds, the peoples, upon you, the
LORD will dawn, and over you, his glory will be seen. Nations shall walk by
your light, kings by the radiance of your dawning. Isaiah 60:1-3
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. Matthew 2:9C-11
Study
There are two essential elements of an epiphany. First, there has to be an appearance of the Divine. Jesus’ presence met the first requirement. The visiting magi needed to grasp the reality of the simple yet striking encounter intuitively.
Perhaps we can consider this God’s “show and tell.” We certainly have examples in scripture of encounters with Jesus where people went away disappointed, having missed the interaction’s significance. (See the story of the rich man).
However, the lesson of today is one of profound change.
Astrology led the Magi to Herod.
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.” MT 2:1-2a
Scripture scholars directed the Magi to Bethlehem.
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.” MT2:4-5
Having found the Christ Child, the Magi were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, so they returned via a different route.
And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.’ MT 2:12)
Once we encounter Christ, there’s no turning back to our old ways.
Action
On Epiphany Sunday in 1978, work on my first disaster response team was in full swing.
Floodwaters from heavy rains killed five persons and drove hundreds of others from their western North Carolina mountain homes in November (1977). Estimates of the financial damages to repair roads, bridges, families, and businesses ran into the millions of dollars.
The worst-hit area included the small towns of Burnsville, Marshall, and Hot Springs. The governor activated the National Guard to assist in recovery.[i]
However, our campus minister, the late Fr. Oscar Burnett, organized a service project to Burnsville, a site near a popular area where he often took us on retreats. We returned to campus two weeks before classes began after spending Christmas with our families for the van ride to Burnsville. We lived in cabins and spent days helping the town stores clean up. The tasks were not glorious. We scraped, swept, and washed the dirt off storefront floors so the owners could reopen. We also cleared logs and other debris the waters left behind and did some minor home repairs.
The work was not what made the trip memorable. Fr. Oscar (who went on to become Abbot of the community) planned for the work crew to sleep in nearby cabins and prepare all our meals. However, every night, one of the residents opened his home and served us a full dinner during our project. Even though the flood interrupted any business income, his family provided us with holy hospitality in thanksgiving.
Back in 1977 (and probably still today), North Carolina did not have as large a percentage of Catholics as my hometown and parts of the northeast. The people in Burnsville were mostly Protestant. Although Belmont Abbey College has an Ecumenical Institute with Wake Forest University, the service project probably did more for inter-religious understanding on a micro level than any academic conference. Plus, it drove home the lesson of “subsidiarity” – helping person-to-person at the closest level rather than relying on local, state, or federal governments.
Maybe the Lord opened my eyes to put Catholic social teaching into practice. But His Divine Presence in us and the people of Burnsville brought us all a little closer together, even if we did not offer any gold, frankincense, or myrrh.
Where is the Lord working to open your eyes and heart? Where is He asking you to go? There’s no turning back.
No comments:
Post a Comment