The
Epiphany:
In search of
God, God illuminates for us the Way
These days we may have
been wishing one another a “happy new year.” It is a simple tradition, but we
could ask ourselves, what would make 2020 a happy year? There may be as many
answers as there are people asking the question, but I think that for us,
people of faith, the happiness we want involves more than our psycho-social
well-being. The happy life, from the Christian perspective is illuminated by
the brightness of the face of God who became human in Christ.
Today, we celebrate how
some ancient men, went in search of the Light who became human. Magi from the
East went to pay homage to the infant Christ. They studied the stars looking
for God, and a star pointed the way. Their journey can point the way to our
search for happiness... For the magi, it was motivated by a sincere desire to
know the Truth, and it implicated a giving of themselves, symbolized by the
gifts they carried.
These words of St
Augustine can help us capture the sense of contemplation the Magi may have
experienced upon seeing Christ: “All things were made by the Word: whatever belongs
to the category of creature, everything that is fixed in the sky, that shines
from above, that flies under the heavens, and that moves in universal nature,
every creature whatsoever. I will speak more plainly, brethren, that you may
understand me; I will say, from an angel even to a worm. What more excellent
than an angel among created things? What lower than a worm? He who made the
angel made the worm also; but the angel is fit for heaven, the worm for earth.
Behold what for your sake He was willing to become, who in the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God!” (Tractate on St
John’s Gospel).
God bless, Fr. Carlos, O.S.A.
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