Homily: The Epiphany of the Lord – Cycle B
Friends,
as we celebrate this great feast of the Epiphany—when our Infant Lord was made
manifest to the non-Jewish people—I am reminded of a scene from John’s
Gospel. I’ll tell you why in a little
bit, but first let me describe the scene.
It is early on in John’s Gospel, when Andrew and another disciple of
John the Baptist, having heard John identify Jesus as “the Lamb of God”, and
they approach Jesus to inquire about him.
When they do, Jesus asks them, “What are you looking for?” They famously reply, “Where are you going?”
and Jesus invites them to where he is staying and they become his disciples.
I
said “famously” about their reply because the Latin for that phrase—Quo vadis?—is
used by a number of vocations promotion programs to invite young people to ask
the Lord the same question so as to allow him to lead them to follow him in his
vocation for their lives. It’s an
important question that young people must ask themselves, but I can never help
thinking that the question that precedes it—Quem quaris? … What are you looking
for?—is an essential one to answer first, and here’s why:
We
all know that in order to determine where you are going you must first identify
what your end goal is: that is, you have to identify what you are looking
for. Otherwise, your “going” will be
aimless and you’ll have no idea if you are making progress toward your
goal. Imagine asking Siri to “show me
how to get to ‘somewhere’”. Do you think
it will give you a clear answer? If,
instead, you asked, “show me how to get to the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe
in Mexico City”, it would give you detailed directions, right? Therefore, it should be clear that, in order
to know where you are going, you must first know what you are looking for.
The
Magi—these non-Jewish intellectuals/mystics from eastern countries—whom we
encounter in our Gospel reading today, were looking for something. These were religious men. We know this because they believed that a
supernatural deity was responsible for choosing when and where a great king
would be born and that, when this birth happened, a new star would appear in
the sky to mark his birth. In order to
obtain favor from this deity, they wished to honor any newborn king; and so,
they studied the stars, looking for any sign of an emergent star so that they
would not miss the chance to honor a newborn king. When the star marking Jesus’ birth appeared,
they responded: starting off in its direction to find the newborn king so as to
pay him homage.
Along
the way, they must have been asked many times, “Quo vadis? … Where are you
going?” Each time, without hesitation,
they responded, “We are in search of the newborn king to pay him homage.” These wise men knew what they were looking
for. Thus, they could determine the
direction they must take in order to find it.
Friends,
seeking—that is, looking for something—is an integral part of the Christian
life. Andrew and his companion were
seeking the Messiah. Thus, they were
attracted to John the Baptist who was prophesying his coming. And when John pointed him out, they turned to
seek him. When they met him, they recognized
in him the one they had been looking for.
For us, the same is true. It is
true that, as Christians, we know the one whom we are looking for. Nonetheless, because Jesus himself does not
walk among us now as he did nearly 2000 years ago, our lives are still about
seeking him. In seeking him, as Andrew
and the other disciple did, we come to discover the way we are to go; and in
finding him, again, as Andrew and the other disciple did, we come to discover
where he is leading us.
In
order to seek successfully, however, we have to know what it is that we are
looking for. Thus, the first step is to
pause and to ask ourselves, “What am I looking for?” If the answer is not “Jesus Christ”, that’s
okay. In order to assess where we are
going, we must first assess where we are, and if what we were looking for is
not Jesus Christ, then we must start there and reorient ourselves. If our focus is on looking for something in
this world, then we are invited to raise our gaze higher to seek Jesus. When we look for and acquire things in this
world, we often find ourselves disappointed because the satisfaction doesn’t
last. When we look for Jesus Christ in
the world, we begin to find him in so many ways—in many of the things that we
pursue in the world, in fact!—and those ways produce a lasting satisfaction
since it is Jesus Christ that our heart seeks most. So we must ask ourselves, “What am I looking
for?” And if that answer is not “Jesus
Christ”, we need to reorient ourselves, raising our gaze from the things of
this world, so as to seek him in all things.
In
order to find him, however, we have to know what we are looking for. In other words, we have to know who Jesus is
so that we can recognize him when we find him.
This is our daily work of discipleship: knowing Christ so that we
recognize him when we find him. The primary
ways we come to know him are: in prayer, in reading the Scriptures (especially
the Gospels), in works of mercy, and in the Mass. Then, knowing how to recognize him, we begin
to encounter him in our daily activities (for example, in our spouse, parents,
children, neighbors, etc.). Seeking
these encounters begins to lead us in new directions, which is Jesus himself
leading us. Knowing that it is him that
we seek, however, we are not afraid to follow.
Let’s
not forget one thing: that knowing what we are looking for and setting out to
find it is a recipe for great joy! In
today’s Gospel it reminds us that, when the Magi found the house where the
infant Jesus was, they were “overjoyed”, because they had found what they were
looking for. Andrew was so full of joy
for having found what he was looking for, that he immediately told his brother
and brought him to Jesus. Seeking Jesus Christ
in our daily lives is not a chore, but rather what our hearts desire; and the
arduous work of seeking bursts forth into joy every time that we find him. Therefore, we should not be afraid to raise
our gaze to look for him in our daily lives.
Friends,
through the example of the Magi, this great feast of the Epiphany—a worthy celebration
in its own right—reminds us that we are called to seek the Lord in our daily
lives, because finding him—both now and for eternity—is what our heart most
desires. Therefore, may we be seekers:
disciples of Christ our King who are never satisfied in this world until we
find Christ, in his fullness, in the glory of heavenly peace… a glory that we enter
into, even now, here in this Eucharist.
Given in Spanish at St. Joseph Parish: Rochester, IN –
January 7th, 2024
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