The Epiphany of the Lord (A); January 8, 2023

Is 60:1-6.  Ps 72.  Eph 3:2-3.  Mt 2:1-12

Deacon Jim McFadden

            “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews?  For we have observed his star in the East, and have come to worship him” (Mt 2:2).  These men, traditionally described as a threesome, left East Asia, some say Persia, to follow a Star for one purpose: they came to worship, which was the end and goal of their journey.  Indeed, when they arrived in Bethlehem, “they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him” (v. 11).  People of God, if we lose the sense of worship, we lose our sense of direction, which is a journey towards the Lord not towards ourselves.  The Gospel warns us about this risk; alongside the Magi there are others who are incapable of worship because their lives are all about them.

            We see this in King Herod who asks the Magi to tell him where the child is to be found, “so that I too may come and adore him” (v. 8).  This is such a blatant deceit because the fact is Herod was all about himself, which is why he wanted to rid himself of the child through a lie.  What does this teach us?  That when we do not worship the one true God, the only alternative is to worship ourselves.  Christian life, if it is not about surrendering our whole selves to the ground of our being, we will discreetly go about affirming ourselves, our projects, our agendas often under a religious guise.  Our relationship with God becomes transactional: we use God for our egoic purposes: if you do this for me, I’ll do this for you.  Instead of serving God, we use him.  How many times have we lived our faith only when it is convenient?  How many times have we confused God’s power which is for serving others, with dominant power in this world in which we strive to serve ourselves.

            In addition to Herod, other people in the Gospel are incapable of worship: they are the chief priests and the scribes—the religious professionals.  They tell Herod with great precision where the Messiah is to be born: in Bethlehem of Judea (cf. v. 5).  They know the prophecies and can quote them.  They know where to go because they know a lot about God, but they don’t go there themselves.  Why not?  While they have theoretical knowledge about God, they don’t participate in what the Jewish philosopher Martin Buber called an “I-Thou” relationship with God, which is inter-personal and transformative.  Instead, they have an “I-It” relationship with God, which is totally inadequate.   In the Christian life, it is not enough to be knowledgeable about our Catholic faith.  Unless we step outside of ourselves, unless we encounter others and serve them, unless we genuinely worship God especially at Holy Mass, then we cannot know God.  Theoretical, theological knowledge doesn’t mean anything unless we bend our knee; unless we kneel down just like the Magi did, who were not only knowledgeable about planning a journey, but also capable of following the Star and bowing down in worship.  Once we worship, we come to realize that our Catholic faith is not simply accepting a set of doctrines, such as contained in the Catechism, but is a relationship with a living Person whom we are called to love.  It is encountering Jesus face to face, just as the Magi did, that we come to see him as he is.  Through worship, we discover that the Christian life is about a love story, where what really matters is not our theological doctrines (which have their place), but our ability to make Jesus the center of our lives, as lovers do with those whom they love.  This is what the Church ought to be: an assembly of worshipers who are in love with Jesus as a spouse to a bridegroom.

            Brothers and sisters, as Vatican II reminds us, the Holy Mass is the “fount and summit of our worship,” which means that it is an act of love that changes our lives.  It is to do what the Magi did.  To bring gold to the Lord and tell him that there is nothing in this world that is more precious than him.  It is to offer incense and to tell him that only in union with him can our lives rise up to heaven.  To present him myrrh, balm for the bruised and wounded, and to promise him that we will strive to live the challenge of Matthew 25.  We present to Jesus the best of who we are: our True Self which is made in God’s image.  So, we move forward in prayer and worship.  This is the wisdom that we must learn each day: praying by worshiping the Lord Jesus who draws us into Trinitarian love.

            So, People of God, as we lean into the New Year, each one of us can ask: “Am I a Christian who worships?”  Amen.