20230108 THE SEARCH
08 January 2023 Sunday, The Epiphany of the Lord
First reading | Isaiah 60:1-6 © |
Above you the glory of the Lord appears
Arise, shine out, Jerusalem, for your light has come,
the glory of the Lord is rising on you,
though night still covers the earth
and darkness the peoples.
Above you the Lord now rises
and above you his glory appears.
The nations come to your light
and kings to your dawning brightness.
Lift up your eyes and look round:
all are assembling and coming towards you,
your sons from far away
and your daughters being tenderly carried.
At this sight you will grow radiant,
your heart throbbing and full;
since the riches of the sea will flow to you,
the wealth of the nations come to you;
camels in throngs will cover you,
and dromedaries of Midian and Ephah;
everyone in Sheba will come,
bringing gold and incense
and singing the praise of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 71(72):1-2,7-8,10-13 © |
All nations shall fall prostrate before you, O Lord.
O God, give your judgement to the king,
to a king’s son your justice,
that he may judge your people in justice
and your poor in right judgement.
All nations shall fall prostrate before you, O Lord.
In his days justice shall flourish
and peace till the moon fails.
He shall rule from sea to sea,
from the Great River to earth’s bounds.
All nations shall fall prostrate before you, O Lord.
The kings of Tarshish and the sea coasts
shall pay him tribute.
The kings of Sheba and Seba
shall bring him gifts.
Before him all kings shall fall prostrate,
all nations shall serve him.
All nations shall fall prostrate before you, O Lord.
For he shall save the poor when they cry
and the needy who are helpless.
He will have pity on the weak
and save the lives of the poor.
All nations shall fall prostrate before you, O Lord.
Second reading |
Ephesians 3:2-3,5-6 © |
It has now been revealed that pagans share the same inheritance
You have probably heard how I have been entrusted by God with the grace he meant for you, and that it was by a revelation that I was given the knowledge of the mystery. This mystery that has now been revealed through the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets was unknown to any men in past generations; it means that pagans now share the same inheritance, that they are parts of the same body, and that the same promise has been made to them, in Jesus Christ, through the gospel.
Gospel Acclamation | Mt2:2 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
We saw his star as it rose
and have come to do the Lord homage.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 2:1-12 © |
The visit of the Magi
After Jesus had been born at Bethlehem in Judaea during the reign of King Herod, some wise men came to Jerusalem from the east. ‘Where is the infant king of the Jews?’ they asked. ‘We saw his star as it rose and have come to do him homage.’ When King Herod heard this he was perturbed, and so was the whole of Jerusalem. He called together all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, and enquired of them where the Christ was to be born. ‘At Bethlehem in Judaea,’ they told him ‘for this is what the prophet wrote:
And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
you are by no means least among the leaders of Judah,
for out of you will come a leader
who will shepherd my people Israel.’
Then Herod summoned the wise men to see him privately. He asked them the exact date on which the star had appeared, and sent them on to Bethlehem. ‘Go and find out all about the child,’ he said ‘and when you have found him, let me know, so that I too may go and do him homage.’ Having listened to what the king had to say, they set out. And there in front of them was the star they had seen rising; it went forward, and halted over the place where the child was. The sight of the star filled them with delight, and going into the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, and falling to their knees they did him homage. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. But they were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, and returned to their own country by a different way.
THE SEARCH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [IS 60:1-6; PS 72:1-2,7-8,10-13; EPH 3:2-3,5-6; MT 2:1-12]
Everyone is searching for happiness in life. This is what is driving every person on earth. But where do we find lasting happiness? This pursuit of happiness has led many to chase after dreams only to realize at the end of the long struggle that these dreams are mere illusions. It is tragic that one can spend one’s whole life labouring day and night for something that does not last.
Indeed, the path to happiness is full of deception. This is the greatest weapon of the Devil to mislead us. That was what he tried to do with Jesus when He began His public ministry, by distracting Him from doing the will of His Father and His Mission. He tempted with pleasure, power, and wealth. This was the way of King Herod as well. He tried to deceive the Wise Men into believing that he wanted to find the King of the Jews too, so that he could “go and do him homage.” The way of the world is to entice us to things that cannot offer us real happiness in life. The Devil knows that because we have a body, we are susceptible to temptations to pleasure; whether it is for food, comfort, or sex. Because we have an ego, he tempts us to power and glory. The question we need to ask ourselves is, whether the things of this world can really offer true happiness in life. How many rich and successful people in the world are happy? Again, how many of us who live a life of pleasure are really happy?
What can satisfy us is the ultimate in life. What is the ultimate in life if not truth and love, meaning and purpose! We cannot find happiness unless we live a life of meaning and this meaning is love and service. Only such a life is worth living. Even then, the ultimate meaning of life comes only when we find God who is the source of truth and love. In finding God, we find ourselves. This is what St Augustine said, “Unless our hearts rest in Him, we remain restless.” The truth is that the things of this world can satisfy us at most for a while. After that, the search will continue. But the search for God is a search of the ultimate, the highest and the most supreme goal of life. When we find God, we also find our purpose, our identity, meaning and goal. Only in God can we find true happiness and joy. This was the case of the Magi who laid their “gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh” before the Infant King.” In other words, in finding God in man, in the child Jesus, they were transformed. They found new meaning and a new vision of how they should now live their lives.
What does it mean to find God in Christ? St Paul says, “It means that pagans now share the same inheritance, that they are parts of the same body, and that the same promise has been made to them, in Christ Jesus, through the gospel.” In Christ Jesus, we come to understand what it means to be a true man and a man who has fullness of life. Jesus reveals to us our identity as man in assuming our humanity. Through His life on earth, He showed us the Way to live our lives in selfless service and compassion for others, especially the sick and the poor. Most of all, He demonstrated to us His love for His Father by living a life of obedience, which is a life of sonship. By living for us and for His Father, He shares in the life and love of God.
How, then, do we search for God? The search for God is an arduous journey fraught with many dangers. This explains why many get lost along the way. Many are deceived by the illusory offers of the world. Instead of keeping their eyes on their destination, they are distracted by the beauty of creation and the joys of this world. Others, because of so many voices, opinions, and views in the world, are confused as to what is true or false. Indeed, the Devil is the liar and seeks to deceive us by confusing us about our faith. So if we want to be sure that we are on the right track, we must let the three wise men show us the way to Christ.
Firstly, we need to be sincere. There must be a spirit of inquiry and genuine search. It begins by asking the fundamental questions of life and death. Such questions deal with origin, destiny, meaning and purpose of life. Unless, we ask these questions, we cannot arrive at the question of God. In our search for the ultimate truth and meaning, we cannot but come to recognize that everything is contingent except God who is absolute. Like the wise men, we must go beyond just eating and drinking like the people during Noah’s time, without asking the more basic questions of the origin of life and what happens after death.
Secondly, we must be willing to take risks. The magi took the risk of travelling from afar to a foreign land to find the baby Jesus. They were willing to move out of their comfort zone and enter into new terrain to satisfy their hunger for God. Faith always requires us to take risks, like Abraham and Mary who trusted in God. They were ready to do the impossible and expose themselves to the unknown.
Thirdly, we need to be focused on following that star, the dream of our lives. We must persevere to the end. They met with many obstacles along the way but they persevered. They did not give up easily. They were convinced that they had seen something. They had a glimpse and they refused to give up their dream. We too must sustain our dreams. In our case, our dream for a happy and loving family, for a vibrant and evangelizing Church and, most of all, to know Jesus can be realized only when we persevere in walking the direction that the Lord has shown us and which we have started.
Fourthly, at times, the star might disappear. We may feel lost, confused, and unsettled. This is all right, because faith is a process. Today, we find Him, but tomorrow we lose Him. This is true even in relationships. There are highs and lows in building relationships. So too in our relationship with the Lord, there will be times when we are passionate and deeply in love with the Lord. That love at times can become lukewarm or we could enter into the desert when we cannot feel the presence of God. But we must continue to persevere in faith. If we do, the star will appear again after some time.
Fifthly, we need to find assistance and guides. We must be humble enough to ask and to search, and study the scriptures. We need to turn to the Word of God and have people of faith to share that Word with us, whether formally or informally. That was what King Herod and the Wise Men did. “He called together all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, and enquired of them where the Christ was to be born.” Today, we need to turn to the Church’s magisterium to help us to understand the Word of God.
Sixthly, we do not travel alone. It is significant that the wise men did not search individually. They went together as a team although they came from different lands. They worked together, consulted each other, and walked together in good and bad times. Although from different cultures, they showed communion in mission, unity in purpose. We too cannot travel alone in our search for Christ. Unfortunately, many Catholics want to travel alone. They have no Catholic friends to share their faith with. Or else we work against each other, even though we are working for the same Church. We must imitate the three wise men who worked together for the greater good of all, learning how to give way to each other and be humble in accepting each other’s differences. We need to join a Catholic faith-sharing group that meets regularly to share our faith and pray together if we want to know Jesus more and more and to strengthen our faith.
Finally, we need to pray and contemplate like the Magi who bent low and offered Jesus their gifts in adoration and worship. Only in worship can we encounter God directly. Our relationship with God cannot be at a cerebral level only. It cannot be just bible and theological knowledge alone. It is ultimately a relationship. The crown of theology is liturgy and worship. The purpose of scriptural and theological studies is to know Jesus so that we can worship Him and relate with Him.
However the journey of faith does not end here. The point of arrival is now the point of departure. Having encountered the love of God in Christ, we must now walk a different way, the way of Christ, the way of light and truth and love. This was what happened to the Magi. “They were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, and returned to their own country by a different way.” To go back to Herod is to walk the way of deceit, revenge and evil. Herod is a symbol of insecurity, anxiety, and the desire for power. But to walk a different road is to walk the way of peace shown to us by the Lord. It is the way of vulnerability, the way of innocence, the way of gentleness and compassion, as manifested in the baby Jesus.
Secondly, the evangelized now must be the evangelizer. Like St Paul who encountered the Risen Lord, he realized that the great gift that he had received was not meant for himself alone. It was given to him so that he could share the Good News with others. As Church, we must lead all men to come to know Christ the Lord so that they can worship Him and serve Him. In announcing the Good News to others, our faith will also increase and strengthen. In this way, all of humanity will come to find salvation, meaning and purpose in life in Christ.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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