"And behold, the star which was seen in the East went before them, til it came to rest over the place where the Child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star and on entering the house, they saw the Child with Mary, His Mother. They prostrated themselves and did Him homage. Then opening their treasures, they offered Him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way." Matthew 2:9-12
The Epiphany is when God revealed His Son to the Magi and to the world. When the Magi saw the Child with His Mother, they rejoiced, fell down and worshiped Him. Meditate on the Scripture and choose a word or phrase that touches your heart. Maybe it is the word behold, star, overjoyed, Child with Mary, fell down, prostrated, treasures, gifts, dream. Ponder the word or phrase that touches your heart and ask Jesus to reveal Himself to you.
I recall reading that Bishop Robert Barron said this Gospel is the summary of the "principal dynamics of the spiritual life." He reflected further that the Magi were attentively watching for God's purposes. As soon as they saw the star, they immediately went into action, they moved. When we discern what God is asking us of us, do we muster up the courage to act? When we do, Bishop Barren said we will always face opposition. Herod was the opposition the Magi faced. He said sometimes opposition comes from people and sometimes it comes from the invisible spiritual forces of evil. What do we do when we are doing God's will and we face opposition? Do we back off or do we face the opposition and work through it? Bishop Barren went on to ask what do we do when we come to the Baby Jesus. Do we offer the best of ourselves and break open all our gifts and give them to Jesus as the Magi did? He said, once we encounter Christ, we can never return in the same way. We will return a new creation, transformed through our encounter with Jesus. Bishop Barren reflected, "You can't go back to the way things were."
The Magi saw Love, Truth and Mercy when they gazed at the Child. After they saw Him, they were changed and they returned a different way. Every time we have an encounter with Jesus, we are changed forever and we can never go back the old way. Jesus desires to shine His Light upon you. He is calling you to an intimate encounter with Him. Open your heart and invite Jesus in. He will change you forever. When that happens, you can never go back to your old ways.
As we ponder the Epiphany, let us follow the light of the star. Watch as Mary holds the Babe and Joseph protectively looks over Him. Come close to Him and allow this encounter to transform you, allowing Jesus to make you a new creation...
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