Epiphany! God is with us.
When these strange figures called the magi embarked on their arduous journey to find the “newborn king of the Jews” they were unsure as to what they would find. While certainly familiar with the legends and history of the ancient Jewish people and their kings, they would have had little sense of their present political and religious reality. Undoubtedly they expected a royal birth in the line of the reigning king, Herod the Great, who was yet but a vassal to the Roman Senate. Herod was an old man and had many sons, so exactly what the magi thought the omen in the heavens meant we are unsure.
What we do know is that they were so taken by what they saw that they made a pilgrimage and brought forth rather symbolic and expensive gifts to present to the small child who would someday reign as king.
They did not find any semblance of a royal birth when they arrived in Jerusalem. Indeed they found a king who had no idea of a royal birth, but who seems savvy enough to realize the messianic implications of this announcement.
When they arrived in Bethlehem the magi and their entourage found merely the modest home of a sheep herding family. There were no royal trappings, no centurions standing guard at the gate, no attendants looking after the needs of the child and his family. They encountered a simple family, going about their family business on the family farm which they likely held for centuries.
This is a very meaningful message for those who seek the Lord but are not sure who are what it is that they are actually seeking. So often we want, as did the ancient peoples, the majestic and miraculous; what we often find is the quiet and the simple, the regular events, moments and places of daily life.
Yes, we can experience a deep sense of awe when we enter St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome or St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, and while they are spectacular, Christ is no more present there than he is in our own parish church or adoration chapel. The realization of the presence of God comes to us in the midst of our daily life, our ordinary experiences, the signs and wonders that are often known only to us.
We do not know what the magi saw. A star, yes, but it was a star unique to their observation and experiences. The people of Judea were not in awe of a new star pointing to Bethlehem; the Romans were not sailing across the Mediterranean to follow a star. No, it was men devoted to star gazing and prognostication based on the stars who saw whatever it was that they saw. They even lost sight of it when they got to Judea and had to get directions to Bethlehem anyway!
We all have that star that guides us – and sometimes it guides only us – to the encounter with the living God who then says to us – “I am with you”. This is our own epiphany, the realization that God is with us – with me – on my journey. However you seek him, continue that search and look, consult the Scriptures and the teaching of the Church, until at last your star settles atop the place where you are called to encounter the living God.
Father Garry Koch is pastor of St. Benedict Parish, Holmdel.