2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, January 14, 2024

Our call is listening to and following Jesus

John 1:35–42

The next day John was there again with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus.

Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon.

Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus. He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). Then he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

Music Meditations

• “The Summons” (John L. Bell) [YouTube]
• “Be Still and Know” (Steven Curtis Chapman) [YouTube]

Opening Prayer

Not to the wise and powerful of this world, O God of all blessedness, but to those who are poor in spirit
do you reveal in Jesus the righteousness of your kingdom.
Gathered here, like the disciples on the shore, we long to listen as Jesus, the teacher, speaks.
By the power of his word, refashion our lives in the pattern of the beatitudes.
We ask this through your son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Companions for the Journey

A homily delivered by Father Brendan McGuire in 2021:

“Speak Lord, your servant is listening.”

We tend to listen to those who we like. Whether that is CNN or FOX News;
whether it is ABC or NBC; whether that is President-Elect Biden or President Trump;
whether it is our Uncle Joe or Auntie Betty, whether it is Pope Francis or Rush Limbaugh.
Whoever we like, we tend to listen to. Here is the part that is also true,
we tend to become like them. It makes sense, right? Those to whom we listen and whom we spend time with
and the more time we spend with them, the more we will become like them. It is true for all of us.
Today’s scripture readings are about who we listen to; and then who we follow.
They are about vocational calls. We have this beautiful text from the first reading,
which is the call of young Samuel as a prophet and judge. He was so young at the time,
he did not even know how to listen well. It took the fourth time of God calling that he listened to him
but even Eli who is the old prophet misunderstood also. We hear that it eventually dawns on Eli, he says,
“Oh the next time you hear, then just say ‘Speak Lord, your servant is listening.’”
In other words, it takes some training to listen well. Even Eli, in the older part of his ministry
is struggling with guiding the young Samuel.
And then in today’s gospel this beautiful exchange with the first disciple who has been called by Jesus.
Andrew is the disciple of John the Baptist and John says, “Look. There is the lamb of God.”
In other words, follow him; listen to him. And they do.
They go and they follow him. And Jesus says, “What do you really want?”
He drew them out of themselves. What were they really wanting?
Were they really wanting to listen and follow? Or just listen from a distance?
He invites them to come and to see, so to listen, to come, to see.
And they liked what they heard. They liked what they saw. And they followed Jesus.
So much so that Andrew runs off and tells his brother, Peter, who of course becomes the leader of the apostles and our first pope.
He obviously listened well.
This challenge of listening is true for all of us. I mean, we can get caught up in lots of different things
but who we listen to, who we spend time with is generally who we follow. And that is true of our faith in a profound way.
And this is the challenge sometimes. We tend to listen to preachers,
even listening to me or listening to someone else
and we want to make sure that who we are listening to is doing what John the Baptist did,
which is pointing to Jesus so that we listen directly to Jesus.
And then hopefully we will like what we hear and then follow Jesus more deeply, more profoundly.
And then do as Andrew did, which is share that message with others. This is this beautiful virtuous circle
that we like what we hear and we share what we hear because it is so powerful because it is so changing.
This liking and following is very much the call of every vocation whether it is as a priest or whether it is as a lay person.
Think about when you met your spouse for the first time, there are those people who see and fall in love at first sight.
That is true. That does happen. Or at first hearing, we hear what they say and we are transfixed by what they say.
And that does happen but for most of us—most of us—we listen and then a bit like Eli we have to listen again and listen again.
And then we like what we hear; or we look; and then look again; and look again.
And then we like what we see. But that is not enough for a marriage or any vocation.
We have to keep looking and keep listening until we fall in love. Now again, I know that can happen and
what we hear today is a very dramatic story in the gospel. It seems to be on the first hearing.
I suspect that these disciples had heard of Jesus and had heard Jesus before but now their hearts were open in a new way.
They move from liking what they saw to loving what they saw and heard. And that is how you come to follow.
Let’s face it, anyone of your marriages starts with that liking but somewhere along the line,
you love who you see and who you hear; and you want to be in their presence as much as possible.
That is what falling in love is all about. And in that loving enterprise, you become more with what you see.
You become like your spouse more and more and they become like you more and more every day.
And that is a good thing, I hope, for both of you.
But it is not magic.
It just doesn’t happen. I mean it is a commitment to listening and spending time with them so that you will follow.
The social media companies have figured this out. That is why they have fed us;
that is why we are in the bit of the trouble we are in because we like what we see or hear and
when then they feed more of us so we have this sort of echo chamber that we just get what we like and then that goes to an extreme.
And what happens is we hear nothing else. Very few of us will listen to people who we do not like;
because we don’t like them we are not going to listen to them. That becomes this echo chamber that is really dangerous.
We have to open our hearts and our minds to those whom we do not like and find out what they have to say that is good.
And acknowledge the good. And if we do not like what others have to say then we need to be able to articulate that in a calm and civil way.
For the purposes of our discipleship, let’s be very clear: We are called to listen to Jesus Christ.
We are called to listen to God’s Son. That is why we call ourselves Christian because we are Christ-followers.

Sometimes, we do not like what Jesus has to say. And the temptation is to turn Jesus off
but then we will not become like him anymore. Oh, we might be a Catholic.
We might be a Christian even but that does not make us true Christ-like people.
That does not make us followers of Jesus the Christ, the Messiah. That requires of us, like Eli and Samuel,
a deeper listening; a willingness to spend time with him so that we can answer God just like Samuel did:
“Speak Lord. I am listening. I come to do your will.”
One of the challenges is that we are terrified of giving ourselves over blindly to God’s Will.
What is God’s Will for me? How do I even know what that is? I received a beautiful little reading from Thomas Merton,
the great American Trappist. He says this:
“Doing God’s Will is not giving ourselves over to some divine fate but rather submitting ourselves to the creative action
that God and I will co-create together.” It is a beautiful way to understand that
God does not have this destiny per se for us but that creatively together, by agreeing and
listening to what Jesus has to say to us, what Christ is guiding us to we come to know God’s Will and
together creatively it comes alive in our life; into action and into word that is more like Christ and like God.
In short, what we are called to do is to listen to Jesus even when we do not like what he has to say
because we are called to listen deeper. And then when we spend time, which of course you have heard me say 1,000 times,
spend time in prayer, listening to Jesus but not just in the silence of our own room but in everything that God has in our life;
to our family; to our friends; to every good action that happens God is speaking loudly to us.
Christ helps us to understand what that is.
Then if we do that well, we will become more of what we listen to; we will become more like Christ.
That is the echo chamber that I want to be in. That is the echo chamber I hope that you want to be in;
to listen to Christ well so that I can become more like Christ better each and every day. That is what we do when we come to the Eucharist. We become what we receive. The Body of Christ broken for others. The Blood of Christ poured out for others.
“Speak Lord, your servant is listening.”

Further reflection and study:

• Commentary on John 1:35-42 from “Living Space” >>
• Thoughts from Preachers on 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time >>
• “Come and See: An Introduction to the Gospel of Mark”—Bible Study via Zoom—Wednesdays January 17, 24, 31, February 7 [ see event listing >> ]

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

“Come, and you will see.”

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

• Where is Jesus?
  Where do I think He stays?
  Can He be found in my life?
• Are you searching for something?
  What are the deepest longings of your heart?
  Have you looked for answers in another person, in a life event, or a sudden epiphany?
• What, exactly are you searching for: (answers to a big life question, love, purpose, happiness, money, for example)?
  Or are you not looking for anything new in your life at this time?
• Has there been a teacher in your life who really inspired you to look for something new and different?
  Did you have a personal relationship to this person?
  Was it scary or exhilarating?
  Have you ever been influenced by someone else’s willingness to try something new or to change your mind about something?
• How would you respond, if instead of really answering a question, a person invited you to “come and see”?
  Are there rewards in this leap into to unknown?
  Are there dangers?
• Is it important to you to be a seeker at all times in your life?
  What are you waiting for?
• When was the first time in your life you felt drawn to get to know Jesus better?
  Do you feel that you know Him now?
• We don’t know if Andrew ever preached or led a group; but he changed the course of Jesus’ mission.
  Notice that Peter was brought to Jesus by his brother Andrew, after Andrew had stayed quite a while to learn something about Jesus
• Adapted from Paul Gallagher, OFM (Young Adult Ministry—Spiritual Direction, St. Peter Church, Chicago):
  Do you know the story behind how you were named?
  Do you have a nickname and how did you get it?
  Do you have a nickname that is not known to everyone?
  How is the name an expression of your relationship to the person who gave it to you, to the people who use it?
  What name might Jesus give you right now?
• Adapted from Paul Gallagher:
  If you were Simon, what would you be thinking when you meet Jesus and he says that you are going to be called Peter/Cephas?
• Do I know of anyone whom I might take to meet Jesus?
  Have I ever brought someone to the Church, to Jesus, to a better life?
  Do I realize how important this is?
• Adapted from Paul Gallagher:
  If Jesus would ask you what are you looking for, what would you say?
  Are you looking?
  Where are you looking?
  What behaviors would point to the fact that you are really looking?
• Adapted from Paul Gallagher:
  Is the pattern of John the Baptist, Andrew and Peter in the gospel present in how you have been led at times in your relationship with God?
  Is it true now?
  Could it be how God would like to work in your life now: to lead you to a more intimate relationship with God?
  Are you looking?
• From Barbara Reid, O.P. (Professor of Scripture, Dean at Catholic Theological Union, Chicago):
  Who was instrumental in bringing you to Jesus? Pray in thanksgiving for them.
  Whom do you bring to Jesus?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

Adapted from Sacred Space, a service of the Irish Jesuits:

Andrew and his companion set aside their day to be in Jesus’ company. Impressed, they decided to be followers of his. When we meet a new person, we must first give ourselves a change to know them. Then, if we like what we see, we are attracted to everything they stand for. Do we give Jesus a chance in our busy lives so that the attraction of his person can work on us? Jesus’ question to them was very profound: “What are you looking for?” Many would say: “I’m not looking for anything, I am just trying to survive”. But in sober moments we realize that we would like our lives to be more than getting and spending, eating and sleeping. When I ask myself what I am truly looking for, am I ready to hear the answer in my heart? Might it be Jesus? What are the implications of that? How might my life be changed, enriched, or challenged both by the question, and by choosing to follow Jesus? A simple invitation to “come and see” what Jesus is all about challenges us to spend some time in prayer, time with the scriptures and maybe time talking with another about what it really means to follow Jesus. Someone said “you would not be looking for Jesus unless you had already found Him”. Maybe I need to realize that Jesus has already found me…

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

Read this poem from an unknown classmate in a graduate course on John, and imagine that Jesus is speaking these words to you:

In the beginning was the Word.
A Word who must be spoken.
A Word spoken into skies.
and called into hills.
Spoken into rivers and fields
A Word Spoken into life
in flowers
in birds
and in every kind of animal.
A Word spoken with love and breathed into
the heart of man and woman
that they might be ready to hear.
And when the time came that all was in readiness,
The Word was spoken into flesh,
spoken to call his own
out of the darkness and into the light.
To those who would know this Word, he beckoned
and still is beckoning—now—to you.
Come, see where I live;
spend your time with me
Be my own,
Be disciple.
Is the question of the first who followed your question still:
Teacher, where do you live in my world?
The answer they heard is the same,
which, in silence you will know:
Come, I will take you there.
I live within your heart.
Your heart that I have seen,
Your heart that I have known
I live there, calling you beyond yourself
Calling you into my own life,
Calling you to the vision of my Father
Calling you to be fishers of people.
Calling you to be disciple.

Poetic Reflection:

from Fr. Michael Kennedy, in “First Impressions” 2006:

“Suddenly It All Makes Sense”

(2nd Sunday Ordinary Time)

Sometime we
Should use the Gospel of
This day to remind ourselves
And others that the fourth
Gospel has the call of Peter
Happening in simple human
Interaction and not from
A trumpet blast or a
Quick appearance of
Gabriel or Raphael
Or even Michael
And we sometimes
Forget that Jesus did not
Just want missionaries since He
Did not just say go and preach and
Baptize to the ends of the earth for
He also said come and be with Me
And let your eyes and hearts be
Opened and this part of the call
To discipleship is every bit as
Important as preaching and
Teaching and baptizing for
Without hospitality the
Message is as phony as
Any contemporary
Promise to solve
Issues of justice
Sometime
Or not
****
And we must
Never forget that it was
The call to come and see that
Got Peter to commit and amazingly
It is what gets us today too for
When we experience the joy of
Feeling at home it is still true
That suddenly it all
Makes sense

— from “Musings from Michael” © Michael J. Kennedy 2006

Closing Prayer

Dear Jesus, we have heard your call and it compels us to follow. Bless me with a clear sense of my call. Make me sensitive to the action of your spirit. Give me wisdom and courage to act on your call on behalf of the people or situations I encounter [Pause to recall the issues you want to pray about.] Give me ears to hear and eyes to see.

Commentary on John 1:35-42 from “Living Space”

Commentary on John 1:35-42

Today we have an introductory encounter between Jesus and his first disciples. The context is somewhat different from that in the other gospels. It is a very meaningful passage.

The revelation of Jesus to Andrew and Peter (in that order)

The passage opens again with the words, “The next day…”. John the Baptist is there with two of his own disciples. Just then Jesus walked by. This is a common feature of Jesus in the Gospel and it reminds us that Jesus walks by so many times in our ordinary day. Are we aware of that? And how do we respond? As he passed by, John says: “Look! The Lamb of God.” Perhaps the disciples had already heard what John had said about the Lamb and so they began walking after Jesus. They are not yet disciples but more moved by a kind of curiosity about this man.

We will be told later in the account that one of the men was Andrew. But who was the other? A tradition likes to think it was John. Very likely it is the ‘Beloved Disciple’ – not yet called that because his/her discipleship is just beginning. As such, it could have been anyone. It could be a man or a woman. So why not put oneself there with Andrew and share the experience with him? It makes this passage very meaningful if we do so.

At that point Jesus turned, saw them walking behind him and asked: “What are you looking for?” It would be good for us to hear Jesus asking that question of us too. We think we are following Jesus in our Christian life but have we ever asked that fundamental question, “What are you looking for?” And indeed what am I looking for in my life, or from God? It is good to realise too that God asks me that question. We often tend to think that it should be the other way round, that we should be asking God what he wants from us. But the answer to the first question is very revealing. Our answers could be very trivial, or very self-centred, or very altruistic. The answer to the question tells me a lot about where I stand with God, with other people and with myself. If my life depended on it, what would I ask of God? And my life in the fullest sense does depend on it.

How did these two men answer Jesus’ question? They asked him one of their own. “Teacher, where do you stay?” Now, of course, that can be taken at face value in the sense of asking Jesus where his residence was. But, of course, in this gospel it has a much deeper meaning. Where does Jesus stay? (‘Stay’ is a key word in John’s gospel and translates the Greek verb menein, .)

Where can Jesus be found? He is not in any one place; he can be found anywhere. Later on, Jesus will tell his disciples that he stays in the Father and that he also stays in them. Again we need to reflect on the answer to this question. Where do I think Jesus stays? Where can I find him in my life? In what places, in what people, in what situations? Is he only to be found in the tabernacles of our churches? As we read through the gospels we will find that Jesus is to be found in many places, some of them quite surprising.

And now, what is Jesus’ answer to their question? “Come and see.” It is the only way they will find out. Knowing where Jesus stays is not to found in theology or catechism books or in listening to theoretical lectures. The only way we can know where Jesus stays is by personal experience of meeting him where he is. That is something which everyone, even the most illiterate and uneducated can do, and it is something we need to be doing all the time. As the poet said, “The world is charged with the grandeur of God…” There is in fact no place, person or situation where he cannot be found.

So the two men went with Jesus and they stayed with him. They went and they saw. What did they see? We are not told but we do know the outcome of their experience. It was that the experience of staying with Jesus was something that simply had to be shared with others. One of the two men was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. He went to his brother and said, “We have found the Messiah!” They had discovered the true identity of this Jesus. And then Andrew brought his brother to Jesus, who said: “You are Simon, the son of John, you will be called Kephas.”

Here we have a perfect example of evangelization. Andrew himself finds Jesus, stays with him, comes to know who he is and then goes to bring his brother to share the experience. It was another “Come and see” situation and Peter the fisherman was hooked! It is also worth noting that Peter, who would become the leader of the new community after Jesus left them, was not called directly by Jesus but by his brother. How many people, who could do great things for Jesus and the Kingdom, are waiting for me to bring them to Jesus?

I could also reflect with gratitude on the many people who have brought me in so many ways to a deeper personal knowledge of Jesus.

Thoughts from Preachers on 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Thoughts from Preachers on 2 Sunday B 2006, through “First Impressions 2006”:

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2ND. SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (B) JANUARY 15, 2006
I Samuel 3: 3b-10, 19 Ps. 40: 2-4, 7-10 I Cor. 6: 13c-15a, 17-20 John 1: 35-42

I like Ordinary Time in the church liturgical calendar. It gives me a time to catch my breath and to grow, letting the words of Scripture take root and flourish. In reflecting on the readings for this weekend, I found some confirmation in these initial thoughts.

In the Gospel, two of Jesus’s disciples, one of whom was Andrew, are invited by Jesus to “Come and you will see”. They stayed with Jesus the entire day. What a gift! Andrew used his gift immediately and ran to find his brother, Simon, and brought him to Jesus. We all know the results of what happened to Peter! Rather effective evangelization.

Andrew realized the value in what Jesus said and Who He was: the Messiah, the Christ. All it took was one day to catapult him into action! Sometimes I think of all the times I have been on retreat or have immersed myself in similar thinking and I wonder??? Do I have a clear picture of Jesus being the Messiah? Have I REALLY internalized the impact of the line from 1 Corinithians that “You have been purchased for a price.” I wonder ? Ordinary time will help that become more a part of who I am and what I do, if I continue to spend that time with Jesus in prayer daily, consistently and deliberately.

Since I am still in wondering mode, I wonder how long it will take for me to jump into action? I am in process of making resolutions that require specific planning , not just hopes. Is it the time of year to get with the program, whatever the program is, and DO something? I hope that like Samuel, I have been listening. Maybe I need to listen a little more before I spring into action. I’ll have some time to do that as I recuperate from a minor illness this week at least. I’ll have more time as I check in with friends, co-workers at the college, and my community to plan “God-things” together. Maybe, like Samuel, I have to grow before all of my words will take effect, as did Samuel’s. Maybe that growing is fully realizing that such words are the Words of the Lord, not mine in the first place.

Ordinary Time will allow me to plan and reflect effectively on how to be part of the Lord’s Plans at this time in my life. I hope an integral part of my growing is continuing to read reflections from others on the Scriptures so that my personal perspectives can be enlarged. Who knows if something that someone says within these opportunities to share ideas might not be THE words that help to move important plans into effective actions? Psalm 40: 9 – 10 says: “I announced your justice in the vast assembly. I did not restrain my lips as you, Oh Lord, know.” May we all take these words of Scripture to heart, to proclaim the Good News in the vast assembly or for the audiences that we may have in our daily life.

-- Blessings,
Lanie LeBlanc OP
Dominican Laity
lanieleblanc@mindspring.com

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January 15, 2006
2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
John 1:35-42

Background:

John’s gospel is unique in a number of ways. Sometimes we are tempted to pass by those details that are different than we remember from the other gospels. However, often those unique details can lead to some new insights into the person of Jesus and also how God may be working in our life too. For example, this passage would suggest that Jesus changed the name of Simon to Cephas as soon as he accepted him as a disciple. In other gospels Jesus seems to change his name after he has been a disciple for some time. (John 1:12) Another thing that is different is the fact that here Andrew tells his brother, Peter, that “we have found the Messiah” from the beginning. The other gospels give the impression that Jesus being the Messiah is something that Peter has been wrestling with for some time and only gradually came to believe. Because of Peter’s insight and having the courage to say it out loud, Jesus seems to recognize him as the future leader of his disciples.

“When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter said in reply, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus said to him in reply, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.’” (Matthew 16:13-19)

Rather than worry about which might be correct, or how they both might be accurate, we might find it more profitable to ask why John has chosen to describe Jesus’ relationship with Peter in this way. What is John trying to tell us about Jesus, Peter, discipleship, etc? What is the gospel trying to tell us about OUR relationship to Jesus?

Reflection Questions:

1. Do you know the story behind how you were named? Do you have a nickname and how did you get it? Do you have a nickname that is not known to everyone? How is the name an expression of your relationship to the person who gave it to you, to the people who use it?

2. If you were Simon, what would you be thinking when you meet Jesus and he says that you are going to be called Peter/Cephas?

3. What do you think the two disciples of John the Baptist were thinking when they heard him say “Behold the Lamb of God?” Just from how they are described here, what kind of men do you think they were? What do they say to you by the fact that they are willing to abandon John and the rest of his disciples in order to go to Jesus?

4. If Jesus would ask you what are you looking for, what would you say? Are you looking? Where are you looking? What behaviors would point to the fact that you are really looking?

5. Is the pattern of John the Baptist, Andrew and Peter in the gospel present in how you have been led at times in your relationship with God? Is it true now? Could it be how God would like to work in your life now: to lead you to a more intimate relationship with God? Are you looking?

Paul Gallagher, OFM
Young Adult Ministry - Spiritual Direction
St. Peter Church
110 West Madison
Chicago, IL 60602
312-853-2339
pauljg@mindspring.com

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2nd Sunday Ordinary Time, January 15, 2005 Volume 2

The preparation workbook that our parish uses for the Sunday readings has a side note for the Gospel that suggests that the reader “pause after the time reference to mark the shift to Andrew’s spreading the news to his brother” (LTP) Certainly, that is a good suggestion for the reader in order to produce an effective proclamation but I also thought how nice it would be for us to have those pauses inserted into our lives so that we might better be able to recognize the shifts of life! But life seldom gives a pause for us to notice and we most often look up, at some point, and realize that things have changed but don’t know how or when we got there.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a John the Baptist on the scene to point out the presence of Jesus when he breaks into our hurried daily lives? How nice it would be to be able to follow the presence of Jesus and remain with him in order to get our fill and absorb his presence in a way we never dreamed possible. How much easier it would be for each of us to go tell others about Jesus and spread the Good News if we had the same opportunity they did. But the reality is that will never happen. It simply is not possible and so we have to put up with our life “as is” and continue to go with the flow while praying that some day, just some day, we will understand enough in order to start living the life God wants us to.

Have I got your attention?! I’ve been interviewing some new EMHC volunteers to help at the hospital where I work and am surprised how many of them do not recognize that God has called them; “I’m just responding to the article in my parish bulletin” is what I’ve heard often. I’ve gotten some pretty strange looks when I suggest they pray about this call and this is from people who are trained to serve in this capacity at their parish. They tell me a story about how being an EMHC in the hospital has been something they have thought about numerous times and it had recently surfaced again, and then they read the bulletin article. I’ve heard, “something was missing in my life and then I read the article” or “I would never had thought about it on my own.” Of course, the rest of what they share with me shows a pattern of God’s continual call and so I’m going to hire them even if they don’t recognize it is God calling! I’m convinced that the ministry they offer will open their eyes to God’s action and help them recognize it for what it is. When they look back on the experience they will recognize that this is where the “pause” should have been inserted in order to highlight the shift!

Our readings make it clear that God calls us where we are and most times does not insert a pause for us to take notice that something very powerful is happening. Samuel and Eli were simply living life when God called. Samuel’s life was dedicated to God, he lived in the temple and yet he missed, at first, God calling. He too, needed a pause inserted to make the shift. Even Eli, the seasoned veteran, initially misses the pause button! God called, and called, and called AND THEN finally got a response. How typical that is of humans and yet how untypical that they actually heard God calling and understood it as a call after the third attempt; I would guess that the “average” Christian needs more than three calls before she/he gets “it” in our busy day.

The two disciples at the beginning of today’s Gospel were with John but their focus was not where his was. The Gospel states that “as he (John) watched Jesus walk by…” John was aware of what was going on and pressed the pause button for these two disciples who were living life; otherwise they may have missed the “Lamb of God.” He highlighted for them that something special was happening and invited them to take notice; how great for them to have someone like John to point it out. They, too, are called out of their ordinary life into a very extraordinary encounter with God. Were they expecting it to happen on that particular day? Probably not! Did they respond correctly when asked by Jesus “What are you looking for?” Not exactly; they stuttered a bit and then blurted out “where are you staying?!” But Jesus does not disqualify them as disciples because they don’t know what they are looking for. Even though they don’t realize what they are being called to does not stop Jesus from revealing himself to them. They probably didn’t even notice when the transition from being Johns’ disciples to being disciples of the “Lamb” occurred; and neither can we tell by reading this passage.

The same is true for our lives—God calls us out of ordinary life to be his witnesses and to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. Even if we don’t recognize it as a call, Jesus continues to work in our lives and continues to reveal “where he is staying.” No one is going to hit the pause button in order for us to take note of the shift that has occurred (or is occurring); it just happens as a part of life and sooner or later we take notice. Our goal, and the challenge of the Scriptures, is to get more in tune with the call of God each day. By becoming more attentive to God’s call in our lives we are able to recognize it earlier on and therefore better able to make use of the gifts given to us. As our insight to God’s goodness, which is alive and well every day of our lives, increases we become better disciples because we are able to more quickly point out who Jesus is to others. And, maybe more importantly than pointing out the “who”—we are better able to point out the “where” of Jesus’ and how he is breaking into our ordinary lives with salvation for all.

Peace,

Wayne

Deacon Wayne Charlton
deaconwc@med.umich.edu

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“Come and See.”

Some years ago, a young English trainee journalist was invited to have the experience of going on the campaign of an American Presidential candidate. Like most trainee journalists, he had little respect for politicians. He saw them as vain, boastful, proud men and women, with few principles – sometimes corrupt, often complaisant, always deceitful. But he thought it would be good experience anyway, so he went. And, straightaway, his prejudices were confirmed. At every stop, every pause, even the slightest opportunity, the Candidate would rush around shaking hands, kissing babies, making grandiose speeches condemning his opponent with childish names and making unrealistic promises.

But, after about a month, he said, something suddenly clicked and he saw the whole thing in a new way. The Candidate and his Team were quite genuine in their belief that the country needed the kind of government they wanted to offer. They were genuine in their commitment to the good of the Nation. They even had respect for their opponent and knew that he too was genuinely doing his best for the country according to his own beliefs. And he saw no corruption whatever-- everyone from the Candidate, through the advisors, the canvassers and the countless other party workers could have earned more money, worked shorter hours, had more sleep and lower blood pressures by doing other things. Genuinely, each and every one of them was working for the good of the Nation according to his own lights. Eventually, three days before the Election, everyone from the Candidate downwards realized that he was going to lose. And the cynical political reporter found himself weeping like a child for the first time in fifteen years.

We too live in cynical times, almost as cynical as first century Palestine, when as far as we can gather almost all the public institutions were appallingly corrupt by any reasonable standard. And the motives we are willing to ascribe to other people actually tell us much more about the motives that are operating inside ourselves. And the only cure for cynicism is the deep personal encounter with the goodness of God manifest in Christ Jesus. “Come and See.”

Let us stand and profess our Faith in God from whom all Good things come.

Fr. Paul O'Reilly, SJ <fatbaldnproud@yahoo.co.uk>

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The Gospel according to Aesop

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

John 135-42

The Farmer and his Sons

A rich old farmer, who felt that he had not many more days to live, called his sons to his bedside.

“My sons,” he said, “heed what I have to say to you. Do not on any account part with the estate that has belonged to our family for so many generations. Somewhere on it is hidden a rich treasure. I do not know the exact spot, but it is there, and you will surely find it. Spare no energy and leave no spot unturned in your search.”

The father died, and no sooner was he in his grave than the sons set to work digging with all their might, turning up every foot of ground with their spades, and going over the whole farm two or three times.

No hidden gold did they find; but at harvest time when they had settled their accounts and had pocketed a rich profit far greater than that of any of their neighbors, they understood that the treasure their father had told them about was the wealth of a bountiful crop, and that in their industry had they found the treasure.

Industry is itself a treasure.

The example of the disciples reminds us to spare no energy and to leave no stone unturned both in our search for Christ and in our efforts to stay with Him our whole life long. To seek the Lord is, in a sense, to have already found Him. Our journey to Him, our discovery of His place in our lives is itself a treasure.

Rev. Martin R. Bartel, O.S.B.
Saint Martin Parish
5684 Route 982
New Derry, PA 15671-1008
724-694-5716 voice/fax
Emailmartinrbartel@yahoo.com
http//home.catholicweb.com/saintmartin

Epiphany, January 7, 2024

There are epiphanies in all of our lives; how do we recognize and honor them?

Matthew 2:1–12

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet: ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”

Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.”

After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.

They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.

Music Meditations

• “O Magnum Mysterium” (by Morten Lauridsen; sung by Robert Shaw Chamber Singers) [YouTube]
• “We Three Kings of Orient Are” (sung by Angel City Chorale) [YouTube]
• “Away in a Manger” (sung by Celtic Woman) [YouTube]
• “Glow” (by Eric Whitacre; sung by World of Color Honor Choir) [YouTube]
• “O Little Town of Bethlehem” (sung by VoicePlay) [YouTube]

Opening Prayer

Father, all powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks.
Today you revealed in Christ your eternal plan of salvation, and showed him as the light of all peoples.
Now that his glory has shone among us, you have renewed humanity in his immortal image.

Companions for the Journey

From “First Impressions”, a service of the Southern Dominican Province, 2011:

We do not know much about the Magi. For example, the text does not tell us there were three, as they are often depicted in paintings and creches. We do not know if they came from different nations or races. We are not sure if they were priests, royalty or astrologers. Their anonymity makes it possible for Christian tradition to place much symbolic meaning on them: they have come to symbolize diversity of race, ethnic background and nationalities. As today’s reading from Ephesians suggests, God’s grace has revealed the mystery to us that all peoples, not just a chosen few, will come to discover their place as, “co-heirs,” partners in the promise in Christ through the gospel. Matthew has depicted in the Magi the gospel truth that seekers from all nations will come to recognize Christ and be welcome in his presence. And, that the promise of Israel’s being a light for the nations, as the prophets anticipated, is now fulfilled in Christ.

Contentment isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Coasting along may feel smooth and familiar but it won’t take us anywhere new. It won’t take us on an uncomfortable journey where we don’t know the landmarks; where we will have to keep trusting the voice inside that urges us not to turn back or stop. Leaving contentment behind will require us to keep looking up ahead, placing one foot in front of the other, asking questions and trusting. There will surely be doubts and regrets along the way, but new life will also open up for us and eventually, like the Magi, we will come to the place where God waits for us. What will God look like at that moment? Certainly what the Magi saw was hardly impressive; a poor family in a nondescript village and an infant. However, the Magi had been led by the light of the star. Was it a star in the heavens or an interior light that kept them looking and then shone brightly for them, revealing the truth at the end of their quest?

God was present among the obscure; hidden in an out-of-the-way place. No splash, no “color commentator” to make God’s presence exciting for the sporting spectator. Yet, it took three strangers from another place and tradition to recognize someone special. Does it take the outsider in our midst to help us see beneath the surface or admit what we have been afraid to admit about our lives? So many disclaim the presence of God in their lives or down play and hide the gifts they have. Sometimes it’s the stranger or the person outside our familial surroundings who makes us aware of how gifted by God we are. People like teachers, mentors, religious guides, friends, etc., are often like the Magi visitors, who come from elsewhere and spot the divine light in us. They “manifest” (for that is what Epiphany is about, the manifestation of God in our world) to us the God we have been overlooking. These are light-bearers, stars that guide us to meet the Holy Presence in our lives and in the world around us. They shine a light before us and encourage us to venture out, to see life and ourselves from another perspective.

For those of us who leave the familiar and follow a distant light we may find ourselves in a place we never would have imagined going. There we will meet the divine—but in disguise, of course. For the Magi it was the infant in the crib. For us, the journey may take us to entirely new places: teaching religion to teenagers in the church basement; our wedding day and a person we have found and with whom we have decided to journey the rest of our days; a new way of praying; a bereavement group that begins to open new life for us after a death; a vocation in ministry; old age, faced not with dread, but excitement and discovery; new friends who have less materially to share, but more spiritually, etc.

We have come to church to celebrate Epiphany. How else might we celebrate this feast of recognition? We might recognize and honor the divine presence in the less important of our society: the children around us; those who clear our tables in restaurants; who sell us newspapers on the corner; who collect our garbage; who harvest our crops; who are very aged; who are weak, infirm or dying.

Today we also ask God to shake us out of our religious complacency and, like the Magi, stir up a hunger for God in us. Ask for the courage to let go of the comfortable and familiar and request the energy to once again go looking for God. Ask to be open to finding the holy in unfamiliar and “unholy” places. Ask for forgiveness for accepting what is immediately around us and for being satisfied with the status quo. Ask for the grace not to be disappointed when God isn’t found in the routine of familiar prayers and predictable ritual. Ask for a sense of wonder and awe in the little things of life that contain the spark of the divine. Ask for the spirit of a searcher, one willing to look up and follow a star beyond familiar borders. Ask to be able to put aside barriers that keep us apart from “the others”. Ask for the help to recognize the revelation of God, despite all appearances to the contrary. Ask for an Epiphany.

Further reflection:

• Commentary on Epiphany from “Living Space” >>

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

Where is the newborn King of the Jews?

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

• What does this tale of the Magi say about where God is and who God is?
• The visit of the Magi does not show up anywhere in recorded history as a factual report; it is a biblical story full of meaning for us. We should not be asking: “Did it really happen like that?”, but rather: “What does it mean?” What did the story mean to you as a child?
  What does this story mean to you now?
• Magi were outsiders, who did not consider themselves special in God’s eyes. Yet it was to them that the reality of Jesus was revealed.
  Do you know of any outsiders that have had insights or experience about God, or the church?
  What does that tell us about who God welcomes into the mystery of God’s life and presence?
• Have I ever viewed anyone else as a religious outsider?
  Have I ever viewed anyone else as an outsider in my friends, my family, my ethnic group, my country?
  What does this tell me about staying in my comfort zone?
• What do you think helped the Magi to persevere on this arduous journey?
  Do I respect the spiritual journeys of others, even if I do not understand where they are going or why?
• Someone said Christianity is lots of long walks. What have some of yours been?
  Have you always known of the ultimate destination or were you figuring that out as you went along?
• What is the role of an open mind in a spiritual quest?
  What might be the role of doubts in a spiritual quest?
• Where is God in the dark, lonely and uncertain moments of your life?
  Where are the stars in my life, guiding me to something?
• To US a child is born. Do I believe that, really?
• The magi brought gifts to the child Jesus and his parents. Since God has everything, what gift can I give to God?
• What gifts can I bring to the world—and are they what is left over after I have every experience, every comfort, every honor, every material advantage I want for my self and my family, or are these gifts something I am sharing with the least of my brethren?
• The Magi were not followers of the tradition into which Jesus was born. Which comes first in the quest for God?:
  faith in a particular set of theological principles,
  an unblemished moral life,
  obedience to those who hold positions of leadership in the church,
  theological degrees or scholarship,
  a yearning for meaning and union with Jesus
• Do we ever sit in judgment on those who we think might be/ought to be excluded from God’s love (gays, unmarried mothers, those in the opposite political party, the rich, those whose lives are not in line with Catholic doctrine)?
• The Magi followed a bright star which brought them a revelation of a new truth.
  Are you a bright star for anyone, helping them see, for example, the way to God’s love?
• Epiphanies are sudden moments of truth, joy, clarity and hope which emerge when we least expect it.
  Have you ever experienced an epiphany, even a small “aha!” moment?
• From First Impressions, a service of the southern Dominican Province:
  Where are we looking for Jesus today? Even if we had no other gospel story than this one, we should know where to look: among the newcomers and displaced; among the newborn poor and their families; among those who have no roots and are searching; among those pushed around by an uncaring system of laws and decrees.
  Would I describe myself as one of the modern-day magi, a searcher for God?
  How do I go about that search each day?
• From First Impressions, a service of the southern Dominican Province:
  The Magi remind us that our quest for the living God must never end. Nor can we be complacent with where we are on our faith journey, or satisfied with our current spiritual life. Such satisfaction can be a form of darkness. There is always more about the mysterious ways of God to be discovered if only, like the Magi, we are willing to make the journey our inner light prompts us to begin.
  Do I feel my faith life is something I do out of habit and routine?
  What steps might I take to renew my spirit?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

From Fr. J. Ronald Knott, a priest of the Archdiocese of Louisville, Kentucky and a blogger:

[In the church], instead of talking people into going on spiritual adventure, we often just led religious tours. We give up the goal of transforming people and settle for conformity. If you think taking a tour of shrines of the Holy Land is the same as walking in the footsteps of Jesus, you’re not on a spiritual adventure, you’re on a package tour. These Magi people were not on a tour. They were on a scary, spiritual adventure–one that took massive amounts of personal courage…
Too many of us just don’t believe in going places. There is so much about our church that values keeping people in bounds, constraining the adventurous. We often punish the adventurous and reward, protect and coddle the mediocre. Just like the Magi, Jesus left his carpenter shop and went on a spiritual adventure. He went about inviting others to drop what they were doing and follow him without looking back.

Religiously, Am I on an adventure or on a package tour?
What form does my membership in the Catholic Church take?

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination:

Adapted from “An Epiphany” by Rev Bob Wicker:

I had been doing some calculations in the sand when like a thunderbolt two of my old friends walked up the road to meet me. They said they heard stories of people beyond the river where wondrous signs foretold big changes – changes that would make the world different forever. So we stood there in the road a long time, three old friends now living in faraway places only to find ourselves called together by events and stories and signs we did not understand. We argued first about what we knew, then we argued about what we didn’t know.

What do these things mean, we wondered? What should we do? What can we do?

Next we began to plan our journey with the same excitement we had when we first encountered each other on a pilgrimage three decades earlier. We knew once again that we had to travel where the heavens directed us. Wandering planets, stars and great comets pointed the way. Will it be a wedding, a coronation, a death or a birth, we wondered. Who are the people in this faraway land whose royalty is marked by signs in the heavens? Whatever the occasion we would honor it with gifts suitable for a royal event. We packed and set off in the cold darkness guided only by our reckonings of the path the heavens gave us.  The long journey fueled many doubts and more arguments over campfires. This desert is not safe with wild animals and robbers. Why are we doing this anyway? What brought us all the way out here? Yet each time doubt and fear rose in our bellies like indigestion, one of us would point out that you do not take a journey because you know all the answers. Someone else would note how our path seemed to be set out before us like a long carpet. We all knew just where we had to go. We just weren’t sure why.

Has there been a time in your life when you wondered where you were headed and why? It is comforting to know that others who have come before us have often felt the same way. Pray the following prayer of Thomas Merton: “My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always, though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”

Poetic Reflections:

Here are some lovely poems for you to just enjoy this week and throughout the Christmas season:

"The Journey Of The Magi”
by T. S. Eliot

A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.
And the camels galled, sorefooted, refractory,
Lying down in the melting snow.
There were times we regretted
The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces,
And the silken girls bringing sherbet.
Then the camel men cursing and grumbling
and running away, and wanting their liquor and women,
And the night-fires going out, and the lack of shelters,
And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly
And the villages dirty and charging high prices:
A hard time we had of it.
At the end we preferred to travel all night,
Sleeping in snatches,
With the voices singing in our ears, saying
That this was all folly.

Then at dawn we came down to a temperate valley,
Wet, below the snow line, smelling of vegetation;
With a running stream and a water-mill beating the darkness,
And three trees on the low sky,
And an old white horse galloped away in the meadow.
Then we came to a tavern with vine-leaves over the lintel,
Six hands at an open door dicing for pieces of silver,
And feet kicking the empty wine-skins.
But there was no information, and so we continued
And arriving at evening, not a moment too soon
Finding the place; it was (you might say) satisfactory.

All this was a long time ago, I remember,
And I would do it again, but set down
This set down
This: were we led all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly
We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death.

“The Wise”
by William Everson (BROTHER ANTONINUS, O.P.)

Miles across the turbulent kingdoms
They came for it, but that was nothing,
That was the least. Drunk with vision,
Rain stringing in the ragged beards,
When a beast lamed, they caught up another
And goaded west.
For the time was on them.
Once, as it may, in the life of a man,
Once, as it was, in the life of mankind,
All is corrected. And their years of pursuit,
Raw-eyed reading the wrong texts,
Charting the doubtful calculations,
Those nights knotted with thought,
When dawn held off, and the rooster
Rattled the leaves with his blind assertion—
All that, they regarded, under the Sign,
No longer as search but as preparation.
For when the mark was made, they saw it.
Nor stopped to reckon the fallible years,
But rejoiced and followed,
And are called “wise”, who learned that Truth,
When sought and at last seen,
Is never found. It is given.
And they brought their camels
Breakneck into that village,
And flung themselves down in the dung and dirt of that place,
And kissed that ground, and the tears
Ran on their faces, where the rain had

“On the Mystery of the Incarnation”
by Denise Levertov

It’s when we face for a moment
the worst our kind can do,
and shudder to know the taint in our own selves, that awe
cracks the mind’s shell and enters the heart:
not to a flower, not to a dolphin,
to no innocent form
but to this creature vainly sure
it and no other is god-like, God
(out of compassion for our ugly
failure to evolve) entrusts,
as guest, as brother,
the Word.

“The Three Holy Kings”
by Ranier Maria Rilke

Legend

Once long ago when at the desert’s edge
a Lord’s hand spread open–
as if a fruit should deep in summer
proclaim its seed–
there was a miracle: across
vast distances a constellation formed
out of three kings and a star.
Three kings from On-the-Way
and the star Everywhere,
who all pushed on (just think !)
to the right a Rex and the left a Rex
toward a silent stall.
What was there that they didn’t bring
to the stall of Bethlehem!
Each step clanked out ahead of them,
as the one who rode the sable horse
sat plush and velvet-snug.
And the one who walked upon his right
was like some man of gold,
and the one who sauntered on his left
with sling and swing
and jang and jing
from a round silver thing
that hung swaying inside rings,
began to smoke deep blue.
Then the star Everywhere laughed so strangely over them,
and ran ahead and found the stall and said to Mary:
I am bringing here an errantry
made up of many strangers.
Three kings with ancient might
heavy with gold and topaz
and dark, dim, and heathenish–
but don’t you be afraid.
They have all three at home
twelve daughters, not one son,
so they’ll ask for the use of yours
as sunshine for their heaven’s blue
and comfort for their throne.
Yet don’t straightaway believe: merely
some sparkle-prince and heathen-sheik
is to be your young son’s lot.
Consider: the road is long.
They’ve wandered far, like herdsmen,
and meanwhile their ripe empire falls
into the lap of Lord knows whom.
and while here, warmly like westwind,
the ox snorts into their ear,
they are perhaps already destitute
and headless, for all they know.
So with your smile cast light
on that confusion which they are,
and turn your countenance
toward dawning with your child:
there in blue lines lies
what each one left for you:
Emeralda and Rubinien
and the Valley of Turquoise.

Closing Prayer

Jesus, you are a mystery to me: mysterious are your words; mysterious are your teachings. Help me to be open to you and your message, in whatever guise you choose. Help me to see you in the mundane, ordinary events as they play out in my life. Help me to see you in those who are strangers, different, insignificant. Help me to make my home a place of welcome, for when I welcome others, I welcome you. What star am I asked to follow this new year, Lord? What of my gifts and talents can I bring to you this year, Lord?

Commentary on Epiphany from “Living Space”

FROM “LIVING SPACE”, A SERVICE OF THE IRISH JESUITS

Commentary on Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:2-3,5-6; Matthew 2:1-12

Today we celebrate the second of four great manifestations of God in our midst.  The word epiphany comes from Greek and it means a ‘showing’ or ‘manifestation’.  We call today’s feast the Epiphany of the Lord, but the term could equally well be applied to the other three.

The first of these four manifestations we already celebrated on December 25, when God revealed himself to us, manifested in the form of a helpless, newborn infant.  He is presented as born homeless and in poverty and surrounded by the poor and outcasts (that is who the shepherds represented).  This manifestation fits in very well with the theme of Luke’s Gospel, and it is he who tells the story of Jesus’ birth. In today’s feast, we see the same recently born baby in similar circumstances, but the material and social surroundings are hardly touched on.  The emphasis here, as we shall see, is different.  Here are strangers, foreigners, total outsiders coming to give royal homage to this tiny child.  This will be the theme of Matthew’s Gospel:

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations… (Matt 28:19) The third manifestation we are skipping this year, but it normally closes the Christmas celebration of the Incarnation.  Jesus, now an adult of 30 years or so, is seen standing in a river together with a multitude of penitents.  He is solemnly endorsed by the voice of God as the Son of God:

You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.(Mark 1:11)

This event is recorded by all the evangelists.

The fourth manifestation is found only in John’s gospel.  It is not part of the Christmas liturgy but we read it on the Second Sunday during the liturgical Year C, immediately after the Christmas season.  This revelation occurs during a wedding banquet (symbolizing the Kingdom of love, justice and peace which is to be established through Jesus).  Water (symbolizing the Old Covenant) is changed into new wine (symbolizing the New Covenant to be signed and sealed on the cross of Calvary).  Mary (representing the Church, God’s people) is seen as the intermediary through whose request this is brought about.  It is the first of seven ‘signs’ by which Jesus reveals his true identity in John’s gospel.

Story or history?

Coming back to today’s feast, we may ask is the story of the “wise men” a factual report or is it just that – a story?  Primarily, it is a story.  A report is concerned with hard facts – the temperature dropped to 10 degrees last night or there were 10 mm of rain yesterday.  But a story, especially a biblical story, is concerned much more with meaning.  In reading any Scripture story, including Gospel stories, we should not be asking, “Did it really happen like that?”  Instead, we should be asking, “What does it mean?  What is it saying to us?”  The truth of the story is in its meaning and not in the related facts.

Epiphany
Certainly in this story the facts are extremely vague and not at all sufficient for a news report.  The standard questions a reporter is expected to be able to answer are: Who? What? Why? When? Where? How?  In this story it is difficult to give satisfactory answers to these questions.

Although Jesus is still an infant and still in Bethlehem, we do not know how long after his birth this incident is supposed to have taken place.  We are not told because it does not matter. It is not relevant to the meaning of the story (also, compared to Mark, Matthew tends to be notoriously short on details).

Magi
Who were these “wise men” and where did they come from?  In the Greek text they are called magoi, which is usually rendered in English as “Magi”.  Magi were a group or caste of scholars who were associated with the interpretation of dreams, Zoroastrianism, astrology and magic (hence the name ‘Magi’). In later Christian tradition they were called kings (“We three kings of Orient are…”) under the influence of Psalm 72:10 (“May the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts!”), Isaiah 49:7 (“Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves”) and Isaiah 60:10 (“Their kings shall minister to you”).

We are not told what their names were or how many of them there were.  Tradition settled on three individuals, presumably because there were three kinds of gifts.  And they were also given names – Caspar, Balthazar, and Melchior.  Caspar was represented as black and thus Magi were understood to represent the whole non-Jewish, Gentile world which came to Christ.

We are told, too, that they came “from the east”.  This could be Persia, Eastern Syria or Arabia – or indeed any distant place.  The Asian theologian, Fr Aloysius Pieris, points out the significance for Asians that it was wise men from the East, and not the local wise men, who recognized the light that led to Jesus.

A star in the east

There is talk of following a star.  Was there indeed at this time a comet or supernova or some significant conjunction of planets which would be particularly meaningful to these men?  As well, how does one follow a star – have you ever tried?  How do you know when a star is “over the place” you are looking for?  You could travel several hundred miles and the star would still be “over” you.  Probably, we are wasting our time looking for some significant stellar happening.  The star is rather to be seen as a symbol – a light representing Jesus as the Light of the whole world.

There really is not much to be gained in trying to pinpoint facts here.  We are dealing instead with meaning, and the meaning is very clear from the general context of Matthew’s Gospel.  God, in the person of Jesus, is reaching out to the whole world.  More than that, the religious leaders of his own people – the chief priests and experts in the scriptures, although clearly aware of where the Messiah would be born, made no effort whatever to investigate.  Yet Bethlehem was “just down the road”, so to speak, from Jerusalem.

King Herod, an ambitious and ruthless man (and that is a fact of history), was prepared to travel there, but only to wipe out even the remotest threat to his own position. These pagan foreigners, on the other hand, went to great lengths to find the “King of the Jews” and “pay him homage”.

As part of that homage they offered their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.  The gifts seem inspired by Isaiah 60:6 quoted in today’s First Reading:

“They shall bring gold and frankincense and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.” (Is 60:6)

In later tradition, the gold came to symbolize the kingship of Christ, the incense his divine nature, and the myrrh his redemptive suffering and death.  They also came to signify virtue, prayer and suffering.

No outsiders

All in all, today’s feast is telling us that for God there are no foreigners, no outsiders.  From his point of view, all are equally his beloved children.  We all, whatever external physical or cultural differences there may be between us, belong to one single family which has one Father, “our” Father.  It means that every one of us is a brother and sister to everyone else.  There is no room for discrimination of any kind based on nationality, race, religion, class or occupation.  There cannot be a single exception to this position.

The facts of today’s story may be vague, but the message is loud and clear.  We thank God today that there are no “Chosen People”, whether they be Jews or Christians (or even Catholics).  Let us try to understand more deeply God’s closeness to us, which is also a reason for us to be close to each other.  There are no outsiders.  All are called – be it the Mother of Jesus, the rich and the poor, the privileged and the lonely, the healthy and the sick, the saints and the sinners.

Yet, we can become outsiders.  We do that every time we make someone else an outsider, whether we do that individually, as a family, a community, or an ethnic grouping.  To make even a single other person an outsider, that is, to deny them the love and respect which belongs equally to all, is to make an outsider of oneself.  It is to join the ranks of the Pharisees, the chief priests and every other practitioner of bigotry.

Where are the stars?

Finally, we might ask ourselves, Where are the stars in my life?  The wise men saw the star and followed it.  The people in Jerusalem did not.  How, and to what is God calling me at this time?  Where does he want me to find him, to serve and follow him?  Some have their priorities already fixed, and so have stopped or have never even started to look for the real priorities, the God-sent stars in their lives.  That is like first making a right turn at a crossroads, and then wondering where you should be going.  Saint Ignatius Loyola, in his Spiritual Exercises, speaks of people who get married first and then ask, “What does God want me to do?”

This very day, let us stop in our tracks.  Obviously, at this stage there are many things which, for better or worse, we cannot change some decisions, right or wrong, which cannot now be undone.  But it is not too late to look for our star and begin following it from where we are now.

The wise men did not know where the star would lead them.  They just followed it until it brought them to Bethlehem – and to Jesus.  They never, I am sure, regretted their decision. If we can only have the courage and the trust to follow their example, I doubt if we will have regrets either. If we have not already done so, today is the day to make that start.