The Epiphany
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Today we celebrate the Feast of Epiphany
Matthew 2:1 After Jesus had been born at Bethlehem in Judaea during the reign of King Herod, some wise men came to Jerusalem from the east. 'Where is the infant king of the Jews?' they asked. 'We saw his star as it rose and have come to do him homage.' When King Herod heard this he was troubled, and so was the whole of Jerusalem. He called together all the chief priests and the scribes of the people and enquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 'At Bethlehem in Judaea,' they told him …Then Herod summoned the wise men to see him privately. He asked them the exact date on which the star had appeared and sent them on to Bethlehem. 'Go and find out all about the child,' he said 'and when you have found him, let me know, so that I too may go and do him homage.' Having listened to what the king had to say, they set out. And there in front of them was the star they had seen rising; it went forward and halted over the place where the child was. The sight of the star filled them with delight and going into the house they saw the child with his mother Mary and falling to their knees they did him homage. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. But they were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod and returned to their own country by a different way.
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In his book The Infancy Narrative, Pope Benedict says
The men of whom Matthew speaks were not just astrologers. They were “wise.”
Every person has an inner unrest that can only be satisfied by a deep relationship with God.
One who is wise recognizes the inner unrest can only be satisfied by God and sets out to seek union with him.
One who is foolish tries to satisfy their desire for God with more of the things of this world: a different spouse, another house, a new career, some achievement or novel experience or some personal milestone or that of your kids.
The unrest is a sign pointing you to Christ. The unrest is the star. Follow it to him.
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Surely the Wise men were not the only ones who saw the star. But they were the only ones who set out after it.
It is not enough to recognize that our inner unrest points to God. We must seek him if we are to find him. And where should we seek Him? Within you and in silence. God dwells in the souls of those who have been baptized and are in the state of grace. Prayer is a conversation with God. He is present in your soul. Set aside time to talk with God who dwells within you. Then listen to Him by reading the Bible. The best place to start is with the life of Jesus found in the Gospel. I know a lot of people who know a lot about Jesus and Catholicism, but they do not know Jesus because they do not talk with him in their soul and spend time reading his life and listening to him in silence.
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When we feel overwhelmed or bored, we seek happiness in the wrong places.
In both situations we are tempted to assuage the pain of being overwhelmed or the boredom by eating, drinking, binge watching movies, sports, news or surfing You Tube, social media, or worse, pornography.
When you are overwhelmed or bored, turn to Jesus and Mary. Ask them what they want you to do. Pay attention to what they inspire in your heart and do that instead. I promise, you will be happier, more content and at peace.
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When the Wise men came to Jerusalem, everyone was troubled.
What has you troubled? Is it a strained relationship, a situation at work, a son or daughter gone astray, a health problem, or what’s going on in the world?
The inhabitants of Jerusalem were troubled, they knew the Wise men were going to Bethlehem, but they all stayed away.
Often, we stay in our head, going over and over the things that trouble us but we rarely take them to Jesus. Don’t stay in your head. Go to Jesus with the things that trouble you. Tell him about them, ask him what to do and then do what he inspires. And when you have done what you can and can do no more, surrender them to Jesus. Let him do what he wants with them. But do not worry any more about them. By worry we take them out of the hands of Jesus and back into our own. Padre Pio said, “Pray, hope and do not worry.”
Postscript
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