Today is the feast of the Epiphany, also known as Three Kings. I must admit this is my favorite Sunday of the entire Church year. I feel like I can preach on this Sunday for at least an hour! But of course, I will not do that. Most biblical scholars doubt the “magi” in the gospel were actually kings. Some say they were astrologers, prophets, or at least wise men from the Far East. However, the bible remains a book of faith. Scripture always speaks to us on the level of faith, our relationship with God. So I want to share two simple reflections on today’s gospel.
The first point is to homage/adoration. These magi have been searching for the Christ child. They followed a star which led them to Bethlehem. When they entered the manger, they asked, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at it’s rising and have come to do him homage” (Mt.2:2). The magi did not seek the child Jesus to ask His family for favor, materials, power, or prestige. Instead they came to do homage. They came to adore the baby Jesus. We can ask ourselves, “How do I treat God in my prayer?” Do I only go to God to complain or to demand? To ask for favors only when I need something? I admit that I can also be this way. But the magi teach us that the first thing God deserves is our adoration. For justice sake, we must glorify His name and give Him thanks. In our prayer, we can certainly dialogue with God and ask Him for blessings, but let us never forget to first do Him homage.
The second point is treasure/gift. We read that the magi opened up their treasures and gave Jesus three gifts. They gave gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Gold is a gift fit for a king. Gold represents something precious and expensive. Symbolically, we can ask ourselves, “What is precious to me? Can I offer up something precious to Jesus this year? For example, maybe I can tithe responsibly and give what I can to support the ministry of the church. Am I stingy with my money? Maybe my talent is precious to me. This year I could share my talent of reading, singing, working, or teaching with my parish community. For many of us our time is so precious. Do I make time for Sunday Mass? I remember one time I asked an altar server before mass, “Hi, I haven’t seen you in a while?” He responded, “Yea Pali, my parents said we were too busy for mass”. Please do not get me wrong, nobody is perfect, but something just sounded wrong. Too busy for God? In end, we ask ourselves, ‘What is my gold?’ What is expensive to me and can I give it to Jesus.
The second gift offered was Frankincense. We use incense at mass as a symbol of prayer. Perhaps this year we can examine our prayer life. Is my prayer all about me? Do I just pray for my needs and not the needs of others? What do I offer God in prayer? Finally, the last gift offered was Myrrh. Myrrh was an oil used for embalmment and burial. It symbolizes death. Whenever we come to Jesus, He calls us to leave something behind. Jesus asks us to die to something and move forward in faith. We ask ourselves, “What sin or vice must I die to? What must I leave behind to improve in my faith? Is it my pride? My jealousy? Arrogance? Gossip? Lies? Sexual sins? A great gift we can offer God is to leave sinful ways behind and live in His light.
May you have a wonderful feast of Epiphany. Like the magi, we approach God to do Him homage and offer our gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. God bless!