Which Star Are You Following?

Deacon Steve's Homily for the Feast of Epiphany - January 6, 2012

Today is the Feast of the Epiphany and it marks the end of the twelve days of Christmas.

In the old days, Christmas gift giving was a 12 day event, ending on the Feast of the Epiphany.

Imagine giving and getting gifts for 12 consecutive days!

For those of you who keep your Christmas tree up for the 12 days of Christmas, it’s now time to take it down.

As I reflected on this feast day, I thought about the star that led the magi to Jesus.  

This was not an ordinary star; it was a supernatural star.

Have you ever looked into the sky at night and seen all of the stars?

When you’re away from the city what an impressive sight the stars in the sky are.

On trips to Canada and Northern Michigan, I am always amazed at the night sky; there’s no city lights to brighten the night sky and it seems that all you can see is nothing but stars.

Brilliant stars fill the sky – there are more stars than we could ever see here in central Indiana.

Have you ever thought about how many stars there are?  Keep in mind, that our sun is a star.

A study a few years ago suggested that the universe could have 300 sextillion (300,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) stars.

That’s 300 with 18 zeros behind it. That’s a lot of stars!

Scientists also estimate that there are roughly 100 billion (100,000,000,000) stars in our galaxy alone.

Today about 2000 stars can be seen by the naked eye on a clear night away from the lights of the city.

That was probably true 2000 years ago when the magi followed the star to Jesus.

The magi followed one star, the brightest star, all the way from their homelands to Bethlehem.

Their homelands were far away and the journey was long and dangerous.

Yet they followed that one special, supernatural star that led them to Jesus.

Imagine you were there, 2000 years ago and you see these three mighty men showing up in Bethlehem at the holy family’s door, wanting to worship the Christ child.

They fall down and lie before him and give priceless gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

They tell the family that a brilliant star led them to Bethlehem to find the newborn King.

This was no ordinary star, but one that caught the eyes of the astrologers and served as a guide to Jesus.

In just a short period of time, from the Annunciation up until the birth of Jesus, Mary and Joseph experienced some unbelievable, supernatural events.

And now they were about to have one more.

Three kings, the magi are there, worshiping the One they call the King of the Jews.

What could the Holy Family possibly have thought except that this child of theirs was indeed very special? 

How special He was!  He was the Son of God, the 2^nd member of the Trinity.

This event, my friends, is the Feast of the Epiphany which means ‘a personal encounter with God’.

The three kings met God that day.

And they came bearing gifts of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh.

These gifts were significant.

Gold is a royal gift fit for Jesus the King.

Frankincense is a symbol of prayer, signifying that Jesus is the Son of God.

Myrrh is used to anoint the dead, signifying that Christ would die for the salvation of all people.

To know and encounter Jesus is to know God personally.

In the encounter of the wise men with Jesus we see God’s plan to give his only Son as King and Savior, not just for the Jewish people but for all the nations and people as well.

Jesus came so that both Jew and Gentile might find true and lasting peace with God.

In our second reading, Paul tells the Ephesians:

“that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body,
and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”

My friends, like the magi, we too can have epiphanies where we encounter our Lord.

Sometimes we recognize Him or sense Him. Sometimes we turn away.

The question for us today is: of all the stars there are, which star are we following?

Are we following the star that will lead us to walk in faith and grace towards Jesus?

Or are we following other stars, the ways of the world that lead us away from Him and His graces?

If we choose to follow Jesus, is our life reflecting that?

Are we like the three magi who bowed at the young Jesus because when they saw Him, they instantly recognized that they were in presence of a King?

Or do we just brush off His presence in our life and ignore Him?  These are good questions for us to ponder.

As we continue in our Year of Faith, let’s ignore all those stars that lead us away from Jesus and follow the star that leads to Jesus.

That star for us is the Church where we encounter Jesus in the Sacraments, in the traditions of the Church, in sacred scripture, and in each other.

Let’s take the time to pray and to read God’s word each and every day.

Let’s strengthen our relationship with Jesus by adoring him when we participate at mass each and every Sunday.

May our journey here on earth continue to be one that has Jesus as our final destination.

In 1857, John Henry Hopkins wrote a Christmas carol for the Epiphany.

He was not only writing about the magi; he was writing about our journey as well.

Does this sound familiar?

Star of wonder, star of night! Star of royal beauty bright; westward leading, still proceeding, guide us to thy Perfect Light.

My friends, may we like the magi, always follow the star that leads to the Perfect Light of Jesus!

God bless you all!