Deacon Steve's homily for Epiphany - Jesus came for all nations

Epiphany – A

A Savior to all nations

Children do the darndest things, don’t they?  I read this story the other day.  It was the day after Christmas at a church in San Francisco.  The pastor of the church was looking at the manger scene, when he noticed that the baby Jesus figure was missing from the cradle.  He immediately turned and went outside and saw a little boy with a red wagon walking down the street.  And in the wagon, was the figure of the infant Jesus.

So he walked up to the boy and said, "Son, where did you get that little baby Jesus that's in your wagon?"

The little boy replied, "I got him from the church."

"And why did you take him?" asked the pastor.

The little boy replied, "Well, about a week before Christmas, I prayed to the little Lord Jesus.  I told him if he would bring me a red wagon for Christmas, I would give him a ride around the block in it.”

Here’s another story that I read.

There were three little boys, five and six year olds, who played the role of the three King’s at their Kindergarten Nativity Play.  They came marching in before the manger with paper hats and each carrying one box.

The first boy laid his box before the baby Jesus and announced, “I have brought you gold.”

The second laid his box down and announced, “I have brought you myrrh.”

Now the third boy came down with sudden stage fright, but he plowed through it, remembered he had to put his box down but forgot his line.

So he announced, “Frank sent this.”    Out of the mouths of babes!

My friends, we just read in Matthew’s gospel this familiar story of the magi.

The 3 wise men traveled a great distance from the East in search of the newborn king of the Jews. 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. In this event, my friends, we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany and it is more than giving and receiving gifts. 

For the word Epiphany actually means ‘a personal encounter with God’. 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 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.”

This was a radical idea to the Jewish people of 2000 years ago. They believed that the messiah was to come for them, not for the entire world. They believed the messiah was to come to free them from bondage and slavery and lead them to freedom and peace. They believed that he belonged to the Jews; not to the Gentiles. Or so they thought. But God’s plan was for his Son to come for all peoples.

People of every race and ethnicity.  People of every language.

People of every culture.  People who are rich. People who are poor.

Jesus came to save all people.

And that, my friends, is what the feast of the Epiphany is all about.

The Jews didn’t have a monopoly on Jesus the Messiah. Jesus came to save all peoples of the world. Think about it, throughout his ministry on earth, Jesus reached out to the outsiders and the outcasts. He ministered to the Jews and the Gentiles, the rich and the poor, the sick and the healthy. 

Jesus founded his church to do the same. The word ‘catholic’ means universal. The Roman Catholic Church is Christ’s universal church reaching all 4 corners of the earth.

The church today truly epitomizes diversity.  Over 1.2 billion people worldwide make up the church, the Body of Christ.

Pope Benedict had this to say:

“Epiphany means manifestation. What the Church celebrates today is the manifestation of our Lord to the whole world; after being made known to the shepherds of Bethlehem He is revealed to the Magi who have come from the East to adore Him. All Christian tradition has ever seen in the Magi the first fruits of the Gentiles; they lead in their wake all the peoples of the earth, and thus the Epiphany is an affirmation of universal salvation.”

Today, let’s be thankful for the feast of the Epiphany – where the magi have a personal encounter with God though the Christ child.  May we be thankful for the great gift of salvation that God gave to all of us through his Son, Jesus. And may we be mindful of the fact that all people are made in God’s image and likeness and have been given this gift of everlasting life.  May we remember that that we are called to help spread this good news to all people throughout the world.

In a few minutes we will approach the altar to feed on Christ in the Eucharist. Let’s pray that God gives us the grace to do our part in spreading the good news. Let us also pray for the courage and strength to accept all people as the Body of Christ.

God bless!