ARE YOU A STAR?
Solemnity of the Lord’s Epiphany
Mt 2:1-12
There is a lot of searching going on during the first Christmas. First, God searched for a womb where His Word would took flesh. God found Mary. Second, Joseph searched for the father of the child Mary was carrying in her womb. Joseph found God. Third, Joseph and Mary searched for a place to deliver Jesus. They found no room in the inn but a cave where animals were kept. Fourth, the shepherds searched for the Child whose birth was announced to them by the angels. They found Jesus just as they have been told. Fifth, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, searching for the newborn King of the Jews. They found Him with His mother. Soon, Herod, the king of Galilee, would likewise search for Jesus. But Herod found Him not.
Anyone who searches for God finds Him. Anyone who searches for himself finds nothing. Anyone who searches in love finds God. Anyone who searches in anger, envy, and fear, as in the case of Herod searches in vain and will never find God.
We celebrate today the Solemnity of the Lord’s Epiphany. “Epiphany” means “glorious manifestation” in Greek. Jesus, the Son of God, gloriously manifests Himself. The whole of the Christmas season is in fact a manifestation of God. On Christmas day, Jesus first manifested Himself to the Jews who were represented by the shepherds. In a distinct way also, He manifested Himself to the poor because shepherds are among the poorest in Jewish society. Today, the Solemnity of the Lord’s Epiphany, Jesus manifests Himself to the Gentiles who are represented by the wise men from the east. Jesus, after all, is not only for the Jews. He is for everyone – Jews and Gentiles alike. In the Epistle for today, St. Paul explains to us the meaning of this feast: “God’s secret plan was revealed to me and was unknown in past generations; it means that the Gentiles now share the same inheritance as the Jews, they are members of the same body, they share the same promise in Christ through the Gospel.”
We are not Jews. We are counted among the Gentiles. In the persons of the wise men, we see our selves: Jesus manifests Himself to the wise men from the east so does He manifest Himself to us. Today is our Christmas. Jesus is also for us, for we, too, search for Him and Him we found.
As the final days of the Christmas seasons are upon us, it is a fitting reminder to you and me that, because Jesus is for all of us, when we search for Jesus – with love, not with anger or fear or envy or any evil motive – we will find Jesus, He will manifest Himself to us. As the days of the new year pass, may no moment in our life pass without us searching for Jesus with love. And finding Jesus in every single detail of our day-to-day living, may we – like the star that guided the wise men in their search for the King of kings – lead to Jesus the many others who search for Him.
In the Philippines there are many searches. To begin with, the Philippines was discovered by Ferdinand Magellan accidentally. Magellan was searching for spices when he landed on the shore of Limasawa, Cebu, thinking that it was India. From then on many searches followed: the search for the Yamashita treasure, the search for the illegally gotten wealth of a dictatorial regime, the search for the “Hello, Garci” tapes and for Garci himself, and many more searches. Nowadays, when the allure of instant fame and easy fortune is irresistible, searches are very popular among the youth as well. There is the search for the Philippine Idol (a copycat of the search for the American Idol), the search for beauty queens, the search for the “Star in a Million”, the “Star Circle Quest”, the search for the Pinoy Grand Dreamer, the search for the new housemates of Pinoy Big Brother, the search for this and the search for that. In the midst of all these searches, may we never fail to embark on the greatest and most rewarding search of all: the search for the star that enlightens the world with the light of Christ. This star is the true superstar, the real star for all seasons, the genuine megastar.
That star might be you! Are you not that star?
Mt 2:1-12
There is a lot of searching going on during the first Christmas. First, God searched for a womb where His Word would took flesh. God found Mary. Second, Joseph searched for the father of the child Mary was carrying in her womb. Joseph found God. Third, Joseph and Mary searched for a place to deliver Jesus. They found no room in the inn but a cave where animals were kept. Fourth, the shepherds searched for the Child whose birth was announced to them by the angels. They found Jesus just as they have been told. Fifth, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, searching for the newborn King of the Jews. They found Him with His mother. Soon, Herod, the king of Galilee, would likewise search for Jesus. But Herod found Him not.
Anyone who searches for God finds Him. Anyone who searches for himself finds nothing. Anyone who searches in love finds God. Anyone who searches in anger, envy, and fear, as in the case of Herod searches in vain and will never find God.
We celebrate today the Solemnity of the Lord’s Epiphany. “Epiphany” means “glorious manifestation” in Greek. Jesus, the Son of God, gloriously manifests Himself. The whole of the Christmas season is in fact a manifestation of God. On Christmas day, Jesus first manifested Himself to the Jews who were represented by the shepherds. In a distinct way also, He manifested Himself to the poor because shepherds are among the poorest in Jewish society. Today, the Solemnity of the Lord’s Epiphany, Jesus manifests Himself to the Gentiles who are represented by the wise men from the east. Jesus, after all, is not only for the Jews. He is for everyone – Jews and Gentiles alike. In the Epistle for today, St. Paul explains to us the meaning of this feast: “God’s secret plan was revealed to me and was unknown in past generations; it means that the Gentiles now share the same inheritance as the Jews, they are members of the same body, they share the same promise in Christ through the Gospel.”
We are not Jews. We are counted among the Gentiles. In the persons of the wise men, we see our selves: Jesus manifests Himself to the wise men from the east so does He manifest Himself to us. Today is our Christmas. Jesus is also for us, for we, too, search for Him and Him we found.
As the final days of the Christmas seasons are upon us, it is a fitting reminder to you and me that, because Jesus is for all of us, when we search for Jesus – with love, not with anger or fear or envy or any evil motive – we will find Jesus, He will manifest Himself to us. As the days of the new year pass, may no moment in our life pass without us searching for Jesus with love. And finding Jesus in every single detail of our day-to-day living, may we – like the star that guided the wise men in their search for the King of kings – lead to Jesus the many others who search for Him.
In the Philippines there are many searches. To begin with, the Philippines was discovered by Ferdinand Magellan accidentally. Magellan was searching for spices when he landed on the shore of Limasawa, Cebu, thinking that it was India. From then on many searches followed: the search for the Yamashita treasure, the search for the illegally gotten wealth of a dictatorial regime, the search for the “Hello, Garci” tapes and for Garci himself, and many more searches. Nowadays, when the allure of instant fame and easy fortune is irresistible, searches are very popular among the youth as well. There is the search for the Philippine Idol (a copycat of the search for the American Idol), the search for beauty queens, the search for the “Star in a Million”, the “Star Circle Quest”, the search for the Pinoy Grand Dreamer, the search for the new housemates of Pinoy Big Brother, the search for this and the search for that. In the midst of all these searches, may we never fail to embark on the greatest and most rewarding search of all: the search for the star that enlightens the world with the light of Christ. This star is the true superstar, the real star for all seasons, the genuine megastar.
That star might be you! Are you not that star?
posted by Fr. Bobby @ 4:00 PM
1 Comments
1 Comments:
Lord Jesus, even before we have searched for you, you have found us. Thank you for planting the seed of faith in our heart. May we always search for you especialy if we're confused and cannot understand what is happening in our lives.
God bless po.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home