Moved to Another Way

“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.”

Matthew 2:9

On the feast of the Epiphany we celebrate the day when the Magi arrive at the manger, paying homage to the newborn King. They saw “his star at its rising” and followed it. These Magi were learned scholars and were probably well versed in the night sky, and so when they saw this star, they were intrigued, so much so that they got up and followed it! They must have saw plenty of stars but something about this one made them take action, action that brought them to Bethlehem.

Usually on the Epiphany we focus on the Magi and the star, but on a deeper level we focus on revelation — the fact that God has been revealed to all peoples, the Gentiles, as represented by the Magi. The God of Israel was now revealed in the flesh and Jesus came to tell the people that He is for all that the Creator God was not simply of the God of the Israelites and the Jewish people, but rather for all. So, the Epiphany is really the day when we as Christians have come to experience God’s revelation! On this day, God definitively tells us, “I am your God. I love you and I have sent my Son to show you this and to save you from your sins.” How blessed are we that God gave to us the gift of His Son, and how fitting it is that the Magi presented to Jesus, the newborn King, the Savior of all mankind, gifts — gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

When the Magi arrived they offered their gifts, paid Jesus homage, and probably visited with Mary and Joseph. I can only wonder and imagine what that looked like. We are told they prostrated themselves before Jesus, acknowledging His kingship with the King’s parents at His side. They must have saw the animals surrounding this King and smelled their excrements, yet the prostrated with their nose touching the dirty hay, affirming that this Baby indeed is a king, a king that deserved their homage and worship. How beautiful this is and how wise indeed were these Magi (wise men) that they recognized the presence of holiness in the ordinary, simply, and must humble of settings. Are we aware of God’s presence in our daily lives?

Finally, after their visit, they ignored Herod’s request to return to Jerusalem to tell him where this newborn King was as they were told in a dream to go home “by another way.” When we have come to see, recognize, experience that presence of God — when we have come to know Jesus — how can we but not leave our former ways and go on a new path, a path of holiness, a path that leads us always to God, a path that is the Way itself. Have we come to know Jesus? Have we come to receive His love and mercy? Do our lives and mode of living show this?

Today we are invited to go on this journey too — to follow this star, led and guided by its light, so that we might come to arrive at the source of this star, Jesus Christ, who is the Light of the world, the light revealed to the Gentiles that “shine on those who dwell in darkness and that shadow of death,” and that “guides our feet into the way of peace.” What gifts will we offer Jesus when we arrives? The Lord asks nothing of us really, but let us offer to Him ourselves — the good, the bad, and the ugly, allowing our hearts to be enlightened by His love so that we might come to share this light and love with others. This Epiphany may we allow ourselves to be led by the Light, to be moved by His love, and to move on with our lives “by another way.”

Family Roles

Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.
And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection.

Colossians 3:12-14

On the Sunday following Christmas, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. We are invited to meditate upon the virtues each member exemplifies and to ask Mary and Joseph to intercede for us to their Son who will bring before the Father all our petitions. What the Holy Family teaches us is exactly what St. Paul tells us in his letter to the Colossians: “heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience” as well as forgiveness and love. When we do our best to live out these virtues we are slowly and surely living out our universal call to holiness.

Each member of the family plays a specific role — the father protects, the mother nurtures, and the child grows in wisdom and obedience. Of course there are also other roles, e.g. both parents govern and teach their children. But there is a common role that all members share, and that is each member is called to help one another grow in holiness, that is, to help one another get to heaven! This call is really an act of love. To love someone means to want and will their good, and what, if not heaven and eternal life with God, is the ultimate good?

For Christians, our end “goal” should be heaven and communion with God, but how often do we really think about it, let alone be intentional with everything we do with that end in mind? Do we know the role we play in the Kingdom? Our role in God’s plan of salvation? Yes, Jesus has won for us salvation, so we do not and can not “earn” it, but we must live in a manner that is consistent with that desire for salvation. If our mentality is Well, Jesus died on the Cross for me, and as long as I go to Church and try my best to live a good, Christian life, then I have nothing to worry about, then we may have some work to do. Yes, Jesus did die for us and He did win for us salvation, but what we do here on earth matters and affects where we end up when our time here comes to a close. I have always thought that the aforementioned mentality was perfectly fine and will get me into heaven, but over the years that has grown and developed, specifically the “try my best” part. How do we define “try” and “best”?

When we say we try to live a life of holiness, do we mean we pray, go to Mass weekly, make holy hours, fast, keep the commandments, and give of our time, talent, and treasure to charity or does it mean praying once in a while, going to Mass when possible, and following the Commandments I see fit, and helping those in need begrudgingly? And, when we say “our best” does that mean “at out convenience” or does it mean “my number one priority”? If God is not at the heart of all that we do, and if heaven is not our number one priority then we do not really want it that badly for either ourselves or those we love.

Brothers and sisters, we are all part of a natural family but also a part of the family of God, and our individual roles in it matter. We all play an important role in the Body of Christ and this role is guided by our living out our call to holiness. And what does this call to holiness look like? Scroll up to the top of this reflection and the two verses from St. Paul’s letter to the Colossians paint us a perfect picture of it.

Blessed Holy Family Sunday.

Watch my reflection for Holy Family Sunday below.

Bottomless Love

“The LORD keeps faith forever,
    secures justice for the oppressed,
    gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.”

Psalm 146:7

Companies and restaurants often offer and promote “bottomless” products or services to draw customers. Bottomless brunch, unlimited breadsticks, all you can eat buffet, etc. Some may ask how do these restaurants not go bankrupt with these offers? In fact, I read in an article some time ago that one chain restaurant filed for bankruptcy because of this! They thought that the promotion would draw more customers with the hopes that they will order other items on the menu or invite others to come or come back more often, but their cost-benefit analysis seemed to have failed them. So in the end, their bottomless promotion did reach a bottom and it ran dry. We see a similar concern in the Old Testament when the Prophet Elijah visited the widow in Zarephath. The widow’s supply oil and flour were running dry and going empty; yet, Elijah asked for food.

If someone who is not a Christian reads this passage, they would think that Elijah is a selfish man who is abusing his authority to get food from a poor widow whom he knows is hurting. However, those with faith, know that God must be doing something greater in the background. To the faithless and ignorant eye, the widow’s supply of oil and flour is indeed dwindling and she and her son will soo starve to death, but to those with faith, we know that God’s Providence will come through. And it does. The seemingly empty jug of oil and jar of flour continued to feed the widow and her son until the day rain fell upon the land, just as the Lord promised. God’s word prevailed and Elijah’s encounter with the widow strengthened her, body and soul. The Lord stays true to His word.

In the Gospel we read about another widow who is struggling; however, even with the little that she has, she places her offering into the temple treasury. Jesus tells His disciples that this widow with her few coins gave more than any of the others because she gave from what little she had and not her surplus. It is not how much one gives that is important, but it is how one gives. As Christians we practice tithing or some form of gift giving. Traditionally, we are asked to give 10% of our income to the Church, in whatever form that may look like. However, in today’s world 10% can be a lot, especially for those who struggle to feed their families. So, does the Lord hold this against them? Of course not. The Lord does not need our offerings. We give because it ought to be the natural desire of our hearts — to give back to God for the many great things He has given to us. The rich gave from their seemingly bottomless surplus, but the widow gave from her all that she had, trusting that no matter how little she had, she ought to give to God because God has blessed her and will continue to. This is not to say that parents should use the money set aside for food for their families to instead put it in the collection basket. God never asks this of them. God will never ask parents to starve themselves or their children. The greatest commandment is to love God and the second is to love our neighbors as ourselves. In loving their children and feeding them and giving to them what they need is and expression of loving God.

Unlike the empty promises of bottomless benefits of this world, God’s love and mercy is truly bottomless. Just as the jug of oil and jar of flour continued to provide for the widow in Zarephath, so too will God’s love and mercy continue to envelop us. When we are able to experience and receive this bottomless, boundless, and unconditional love and mercy and see how much God has blessed us, our natural response will be like that of the widow in the Gospel — to give to God and neighbor what little we have because God has loved us so much and we know that what little we give, God will in turn multiply and make overflow.