A Lively Faith - Our Gift to the Lord (Epiphany Homily)

Homily for the Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord (January 8th, 2012)

READINGS:
First Reading: Isaiah 60:1-6
Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13
Second Reading: Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6
Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12

FOCUS: Let us offer to Jesus the gift of a lively faith that reaches out to others in love.

FUNCTION: Practice the Catholic faith in thanksgiving to God for the gift of Jesus. 

           There’s a rich history around gift-giving during the Christmas season.  Some of it is connected to the tradition surrounding Saint Nicholas, a 4^th century Greek bishop of the city of Myra in Lycia (part of modern-day Turkey), whose feast day we celebrate every December 6^th.  Saint Nicholas was known as a secret gift-giver, doing such things as putting coins in the shoes of those who left them out for him.  No doubt, that’s why people still put their shoes out for Saint Nicholas to fill with gifts on December 5^th, the night before his feast day. 

          And certainly some of the history around the gift-giving that happens during the Christmas season comes to us from the feast we celebrate today: the Epiphany of the Lord.  Today, we honor the coming of the Magi from the east to do adore the new-born Jesus.  They came bearing sacred gifts, fit for royalty: gold for one who would be a king; frankincense for one who would be a priest; and myrrh, for one who would offer His life as a sacrifice.  These gifts are rich with cultural, social, and religious significance.  They speak depths to us about the identity of who this new-born baby, the Son of Mary, really is.  It was only fitting that the new-born Son of God should be adored by the Magi, who were also supposedly Kings, rulers of the gentiles.  This “Epiphany of the Lord” is really a Divine revelation of God’s promised salvation to the gentiles in the form of a little Child – the Child Jesus – poor and meek, humble and lowly.    

          Several passages from the Old Testament foretold this sacred event.  Speaking in reference to Jerusalem, the first reading told us that “…the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you, the wealth of the nations shall be brought to you.  Caravans of camels shall fill you, dromedaries from Midian and Ephah; all from Sheba shall come bearing gold and frankincense, and proclaiming the praises of the Lord.”  What a prediction!

          And the psalm mentioned that “The kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts; the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute.  All kings shall pay him homage, all nations shall serve him.”  And of course the second reading gave us the meaning of all these things: “…the gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”  The message of the Epiphany is this: God’s promised salvation is not exclusionary; it is open to all people, to Jews and gentiles alike.  No wonder, then, the Magi from the east brought their gifts before the feet of the new-born Jesus!  God’s gift of Jesus was not an exclusive gift; it was meant to be received by all people.

          While we’re on the subject of gift-giving, we might think about what gift we want to lay before the feet of the new-born Lord Jesus.  What gift do we have to offer to the new-born Christ child?  What offering might we bring before His feet?  The Magi offered gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  Those are fine gifts, and they say a lot about both the faith of the Magi and the identity of Jesus.  But they are probably not the best gifts to offer to God’s promised Savior.  So what would make a better gift?  I’d like to propose this: we should offer the Savior the gift of a lively faith that reaches out to others in love.

          That’s the kind of gift that will really put a smile on Jesus’ face.  Jesus doesn’t need gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  He is God: all that’s in the world belongs to Him.  But what does not belong to Him – what belongs uniquely to us – is the gift of our faith and how we chose to put it into action.  The only worthy gift that we can give to Him is the same gift which He first gave to us.

          Think about it this way: if you gave your loved one a brand-new car, the best response from that person would be for them to put that car to good use.  If the car only sat in the driveway for your loved one to admire from afar, you’d probably wonder what was wrong.  After all, cars are made to be driven, not just admired!  If your loved one only admired the car and never drove it, you’d probably think they didn’t really like it or care for it that much.

          The same thing is true of our faith!  We have this great gift of faith that sometimes, for whatever reason, we prefer to admire from afar rather than put into action.  This Christmas, God has given us the best gift that we could ever ask for: the gift of a Savior – the gift of Jesus Christ.  And God has also given us this gift of our Christian faith.  The best thing to do with it is put it to good use!  We must not let our faith just sit on a shelf and collect dust.  We must not come here to Mass and simply go through the motions.  We must not live in the world practically indistinguishable from atheists.

          The best gift that we can offer the Lord on this Feast of the Epiphany is a lively faith that reaches out to others in love.  That’s the best response we can make to God for giving us the gift of a Savior.  If we profess to be Christian, but are Christian in name only, then our faith is a sham and we are no better than liars.  Faith that is living is a faith that uses the gift that God has given; living faith then becomes our offering to God, in thanksgiving for what He has given us.

          And so living faith, for instance, means avoiding tendencies towards gossip in ourselves and/or gently correcting the same tendencies in others; it means appropriately coming to the aid of people who ask for our help; it means actively contributing to the needs of the parish so that the parish can continue to shine forth the light of Christ to others.  Living faith means standing up for that which is morally good; it means being steadfastly opposed to those things which are morally evil; it means making prayer a priority in the home and wherever; it means only supporting those public policies that are consistent with our Christian values.  Living faith means reaching out to others – our family and our friends – in a spirit of Christian charity and service; and it means proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world by our words, and most importantly, by our actions.    

          That’s what we can offer the Lord on this Feast of the Epiphany!  That’s the gift that means so much more than gold, frankincense, or myrrh.  And, oddly enough, that’s exactly what the Lord asks of us and that’s what the world most desperately needs in our day.  Saint Catherine of Sienna, great Dominican mystic and Doctor of the Church, once said, “If you are what you should be, you will set the whole world on fire!”  And even though we’re Catholics and not Evangelicals, our response should be a rousing “Amen!  Yes!  Let it be!”  The world is in need of our active witness to Christ by living intentionally in the world as Christians.  If we do that, there’s no telling how many lives could be changed.      

          So what do you think?  Does this any of this sound possible?  It may be difficult, but it’s definitely doable.  So let’s allow our Christian faith to be a lively faith that reaches out to others in love; let’s allow that to be the gift we offer the new-born Jesus on this Feast of the Epiphany.