“They Saw Him” by Rev. Paul Berghout
Piety
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us. 1 John 4:11
When it was evening, the boat was far out on the sea, and he was alone onshore. Then he saw that they were tossed about while rowing, for the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them. But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out. They had all seen him and were terrified. But at once he spoke with them, “Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!” Matthew 6:47-50
Although the Church marked the Feast
of the Epiphany last Sunday, today
(January 6) is the 12th day of
Christmas.[i] Surely you can hear the twelve drummers
drumming.
While the Lectionary “says” that today is the Wednesday after, scriptures this week represent various encounters with the real presence of Jesus. The people in these encounters have “seen the great light.” Encounters with the Magi. Encounters with Jesus’ first days of preaching that the Kingdom of God is at hand. Encounters with the loaves and fishes (Body of Christ). And today, an encounter with Jesus walking across stormy seas to the disciples. The encounters do not only happen thousands of years ago in the Bible. Encounters with Christ happen every day.
In some way, the revelation/manifestation of Epiphany might remind you of that story about the power company. A man called the customer service line to complain about a power outage after a big storm, then stopped complaining long enough to ask, “How will I know when my lights are back on?” The customer service agent remained silent for a second and finally said, “Um, it’ll be brighter than it is now.”
In our First Reading from last Sunday’s Mass, Isaiah says, “Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you.”
Isaiah spoke these words in 520 BCE, during the return of the remnant of Israel from the Babylonian exile after 70 years. They had to rebuild the city, all its businesses, and homes, and the older adults who had seen the former temple wept loudly.
But the Prophet Isaiah said, “Your light HAS come,” in the past perfect tense known as the “Prophetic Perfect”—telling them the completion of the reconstruction will surely come to pass and consider it a done deal. Which is to say, His light is not contingent upon what’s going on around you. John 1:5 says,” The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Isaiah is saying: Receive this prophetic word and know that the darkness that covers the earth will attract the nations who shall walk by your light.
The Darker It Gets; the Brighter We Shine to influence the culture in our part of the vineyard.
The Magi are the first fruits of this coming to the light of Christ.
One of my friends in North Carolina tells of her brother’s family driving into Thomasville [NC], where their cousins and aunts and uncles were, for a Christmas season get-together. As they passed by the Episcopal Church where a manger scene was in the yard, her 5-year-old nephew asked about the meaning. “That is Mary, Joseph, and the Baby Jesus, there in the manger,” the sister-in-law explained.
A few blocks further on, they passed the Methodist church, where a scene depicted the Wise Men’s journey. “Who are they?” the nephew asked.
His mother replied, “Those are the Wise Men, who are looking for the Baby Jesus.”
“Well,” the nephew said, “They won’t find him there. He’s back at the other Church.”
They asked some kindergartners in Great Britain about the Magi story, and one boy knew about the three Wise Men. “They brought some gold and stuff… but Legos would have been better!”
The Magi give us one-way giving: The Magi didn’t give each other gifts.
Second Corinthians 8:9: For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake, he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
Action
Consider this modest proposal this week of Epiphany—give as much to those outside our circle as we give to those inside the circle of family and friends.
We Have Treasures Given to Us Too
The star leads the Magi to Jerusalem and King Herod, and the chief priests and the scribes told the Magi that the Christ would be born in Bethlehem “for it has been written through the prophet,” which means “it is so written” or “the inspired text says.”
The inspired text is our treasure. According to VERBUM DOMINI, from the Pope BENEDICT XVI on THE WORD OF GOD IN THE LIFE AND MISSION OF THE CHURCH:
The Liturgy of the Hours should be promoted among the laity, and that “Lectio Divina... ‘is truly capable of opening up to the faithful the treasures of God’s word, but also of bringing about an encounter with Christ…” (Verbum Domini 87).
The ibreviary app is perfect for Lectio on the Liturgy of the Hours.
A second treasure is the Eucharist because every good and perfect gift is from Above. So, if it is not good, it is not from Above. And if it is good, then God is the author of it because He is the author of everything good.
This will be a sign unto you: You shall find a bit of bread in a gold Ciborium. Like in the Adoration Chapel!
The travel writer Hugh Morris has an interesting story about the Luxor Sky Beam in Las Vegas. This is the strongest, brightest man-made light in the world. The beam is rated at 42.3 billion candelas and can be seen 275 miles away at cruising altitude by aircraft on a good clear night.
Jesus said in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness because you will have the light that leads to life.”
Amen.
[i] For most of the world, January 6, is the celebration of the Epiphany of the Lord, although the US and some other countries celebrated it last Sunday. It is the feast in which we celebrate the Good News being shown/revealed to the Gentiles - the rest of the world. It is a celebration of the Light himself. It is also an acute awareness of the rejection of the Light. After being warned in a dream, the Magi and then the Holy Family take a new path. Joseph leads Mary and Jesus to time in Egypt where they become political refugees after fleeing their own country.
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