Florida Catholic | Sunday Word

The Epiphany of the Lord

The three Wise Men

January 6, 2008 :: Is 60:1-6; Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13; Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6; Mt 2:1-12

FATHER DAVID SCOTCHIE

The Magi have finally made it. After the shepherds had gone back to their sheep and long after the angels had sung Glory to God, after the garbage trucks have hauled away the Christmas tree and the strings of lights were balled into the attic, the Magi from the faraway East finally turned up.

Like guests a day late for a New Year’s party, what do you do with them? Set out the leftover appetizers? Uncork a bottle? Stop cleaning and ask how was their trip?

The Magi wanted to worship the newborn king. They didn’t want to play with a baby. They didn’t want to visit Mary and Joseph, nice folks as they were. They insisted on worshipping the newborn king.

The first gift the Magi brought was gold. The gift of gold was to say that Jesus was king.

You know the golden rule: Those with the gold make the rules. Kings claim their subjects’ loyalty, taxes, and swords in exchange for protection and prosperity.

The rules of the marketplace and government are to work hard, take care of your own and don’t rock the boat. In exchange, we expect security, good order and a chance to improve our lot.

Jesus Christ, however, has different rules. From the Old Testament, God gave us the Ten Commandments. The Lord made justice, especially for the poor, the law of his land. In the New Testament, Jesus added rules such as love your neighbor and your enemy, forgive and lay down your life for another. Those who keep his rules live in his kingdom.

In exchange, we get neither prosperity nor protection. We get the cross.

The second gift the Magi brought was frankincense. God comes first.

We’d like to have time to pray during the week, but there’s the soccer game, the doctor visit and work, work, work.

The way of joy is Jesus-Others-You, in that order. One family, to remind itself of faith, set up a family altar in the home. It had a candle, a crucifix and a Bible. Depending on the season, an Advent wreath was added.

Every Sunday we sing with the angels, “Glory to God.” We proclaim, “You alone are the holy one, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ.”

The First Commandment comes first and everything else falls into place. God comes first.

The third gift the Magi brought was myrrh. Jesus was born to die.

Myrrh was a spice used to embalm the dead. Like bringing formaldehyde to a baby shower, it meant that the birth of Jesus was not about precious moments and baby books.

The tree that saves is not the Christmas tree. The tree that saves is the tree of life upon which hung the Savior of the world. The immortal and eternal God became mortal that we might share eternal life.

The Christmas season has come and gone, leaving behind a newborn king. Like the Magi, we must place before him what we hold dear and near. Our New Year’s resolutions, our hopes for prosperity and protection, and our priorities, we must offer to the Lord.

To take to prayer: Which gift — gold, frankincense or myrrh — are you called to offer the Lord?

Return to Florida Catholic Online Edition Front Page