The Epiphany of Our Lord

January 4, 2009

Homily for the Anglican Usage Mass

of the

St. Thomas More Society

celebrated at

St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church , 1013 Wood Street

Scranton, PA

Matthew 2:1-12

            In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  Amen

            Mohandas Ghandi, that most famous modern advocate for non-violence, peace, and reconciliation between the peoples of the earth, was a Hindu.  Yet he once had an inkling that the Christian Gospel contained within it the fullness of the truth.  So while he was in South Africa, well before he became well-known worldwide, he sought out a church, in order that he might attend, learn more, and be attached to a body of people who believed in Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world and Prince of Peace.  The people at the church he went to were white, and they told him that since he was Indian, he had to go to the Indian church.  Ghandi never became a Christian because the truth he sought was not reflected in the body he encountered.

            Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Epiphany, when we remember the revelation of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, that day the wise men from the East followed their inkling and had a much different experience than Ghandi would have nineteen centuries later.  Far from being rejected by Mary and Joseph because, unlike their son Jesus, the wise men were not Jewish, the visitors from the East were received with open arms.  Perhaps even more importantly, the gifts that they brought to offer to the king were received, also.  The gifts were not rejected because they happened to come from the Gentiles.  Our Gospel thus holds valuable lessons for us, as we are all bound to encounter non-Catholics who, like the wise men, have an inkling that in Christ is the fullness of the truth.  What are we to do?

            First, we must recognize that the wise men 2,000 years ago seeking out Jesus are not an anomaly.  Wise men still seek the Savior of the world, the Prince of Peace.  Thus, we must expect to run into people who have seen certain signs and, as a result, have an inkling that they are being led to the King of the Universe.  For the wise men who sought Jesus, that sign was a star that indicated the king of the Jews had been born, and that this King was worthy of worship.  How much they did not know is reflected in the fact that they went to the wicked King Herod for help.  As we well know, their visit to Herod led eventually to the slaughter of the innocents as Herod tried to kill the child he perceived to be a rival.

            My point is that these inklings that people have, these signs that they observe, do not give them the whole story.  They are in need of more information, which in the case of the wise men, King Herod provided by assembling the chief priests and scribes, who indicated Jesus would be in Bethlehem.  The inkling and the sign were the start, but they needed more.

            This is the second thing we do to help non-Catholics come to the fullness of the Truth.  Not only must we expect to encounter people who have an idea where the truth resides, we must know where to point them when we cannot answer the questions they raise.  Herod had the chief priests and scribes.  We have the teaching office of the Catholic Church, the Magesterium, to help answer the questions of seekers. 

            Almost three years ago Bishop Dougherty asked two other priests and me to take a course offered by the National Catholic Bioethics Center.  Naturally, this course had to do with complex beginning of life and end of life issues, and it taught us the Church’s official stance, as well as the reasons for her teachings on matters such as embryonic stem cell research, euthanasia, and many other issues that come up with regard to health care.  The Bishop’s desire was to have in the Diocese some priests who could answer legitimate questions that might arise, as he knew that not all of us can become or are even inclined to become experts in this particular field.  Nevertheless, experts are needed who can point to the authority of our Church teaching.

            None of us can expect to be an expert on every facet of Church teaching, but we can know who the experts are or at least know someone who can point us to the experts.  If we want to help non-Catholics encounter the Truth, we cannot go off half-cocked with answers that barely resemble the truth, let alone the official Church teaching.  So even as we expect to encounter people who are seeking, we must have in our heads and in our hearts a list of people who are true to the Church and can answer the questions for which we do not have the answers.  We must know what we do not know and know who has the answers we lack.

            The wise men we see were not only interested in where Jesus was.  They wanted also to see Him, and so, seekers today want also the truth, but they want to see it in action, as well.  That is, Jesus came to us in the flesh.  He is God made man, God incarnate.  And so, just as the wise men wanted to see Jesus and worship Him, people who have an inkling of the truth want to see the truths Jesus preached incarnated.  This is what Mohandas Ghandi did not see in the Christians he approached, and so that seeker never came to Christ.  We must be able to show seekers a reflection of Christ in the members of the Church.

            For example, we must not only be able to articulate God’s will for marriage and family life, we must be able to show seekers stable marriages that reflect the love of Joseph and Mary, as well as obedient children who respect and revere their parents as much as Jesus did His own.  We must not only be able to teach the truth about compassion.  We must be able to show seekers that Catholics show compassion through their support of orphanages, crisis pregnancy centers, schools, and in their daily interaction with people who are alone and vulnerable.  We must not only talk about self control and the value of prudence and temperance, we must be able to show seekers priests and religious who have devoted themselves to lives of continence in order that they may most fully serve their fellow man.  Seekers want to see the truth in the flesh; so we must be prepared, we must have examples we can show that illustrate the truth with which our brothers are struggling.

            It is best, of course, if we ourselves can serve as the example.  Naturally, we are not going to have every gift, but at least one of the gifts of the Spirit, some reflection of Jesus Christ, must shine through in our lives.  While we lay out the welcome mat, point seekers to the fullness of the Catholic teaching, and show people the truth in action, our generosity of spirit and fidelity to the Truth must be the equal of the Holy Family’s.  If seekers do not see Jesus in us, they may not come back to take a second look.  But if we give them something worthy of the gifts they want to bring to Jesus, then like the wise men who found Jesus, they may leave us joyfully, returning to their homes, sharing the Good News that God became man and in the Catholic Church, still dwells among us.