Time to Examine Our Lives

We may have been thinking about how blessed those magi were. They were among the first to see the Christ child, and they had the honor of bringing him gifts. Yes - they were blessed, but – you know what? You and I are much more richly blessed than they were because we know Christ in an even deeper way than they ever did. We were baptized into Christ Jesus; we are one with him. His Spirit poured unto us at our baptism.

Most of us – I wish I could say all of us – most of us will receive his Body – Christ Himself - in Holy Communion. The magi never did. They never had the opportunity to receive Jesus in their bodies as we do - literally – physically receive Jesus – body, soul and divinity in Holy Communion. You see – that is how much more blessed we are!

Today is the feast of the Epiphany – not Feast of Three Kings – but Feast of Epiphany - which means manifestation. To manifest means to make something or someone easily perceived by the senses especially by the sight and understood by the mind – to make obvious.

The Feast of the Epiphany is NOT about the Three Kings or Magi or Wise Men bringing gifts - it is about God revealing Himself - in the person of Jesus Christ - not only to the Jews but also to the Gentile world – represented by the Magi - which is us – because - God is the God of all creation. God wants everyone to be saved.

Our gathering hymn is so beautiful – “All are welcome; all are welcome in this place.”

The beauty of the Catholic Church - is that – that of being catholic, universal. The Church cannot be the Mystical Body of Christ; cannot be God’s living sacrament of His love unless the Church is open to all… welcoming to all.

Our problem is often with people who claim to have “found the Lord” – or who claim to have experienced the presence and love and the power of the Lord in their lives and yet are uncharitable, impatient and intolerant of others.

You see - if we are intolerant, unkind, impatient, not generous towards others, then others will be denied seeing or experiencing God’s presence in us.

God reveals himself to us - so - we can reveal Christ to others, to be Epiphanies (so to speak) of the Lord for others, to be living sacraments of God’s love; to proclaim the Good News of God’s love by our very lives – the very purpose of our existence, of our life.

We must reveal Jesus to people who do not know him. We must reveal Jesus to people who need to know him better, like our families, friends, and neighbors. I’m sure that all of us can think of people who are the face of Christ to us. We, in turn, must be the face of Christ to others…and reveal his presence to others.

Each of us are called to let the light of Christ shine through us and brighten our own corner of our troubled world… because so many people live in darkness… with no hope, no peace, no joy; many are not experiencing love…wandering from one pointless, frustrating experience to another.

People seek for “light”, happiness, hope but do not know where to find it. It is up to us to show the presence of the Lord to others.

The magi worshipped Jesus and gave him their most valuable gifts. And so, the question is: What would be our most valuable gift that we could give to the newborn Jesus? There is no greater gift we could give than the gift of ourselves… and the question is - What is this life or selves we are offering to God?

A new year is a good time to examine our lives – our selves… It is a good time to look and ask ourselves: Where have we been, where are we in our lives – what have been the focus of our lives? Where are we going – what are we planning to do with our lives?

Are we better persons today than we were a year ago? Better yet: Are we better Christians than we were a year ago?

Do we see a need to change the course and direction of our lives? – Just as the three magi after finding Christ, after worshipping Him and presenting Him with gifts – as the gospel says - “They went back to their own country by another way…” Meaning – to truly encounter Christ is to be transformed.

In looking at our lives – where we have been –we need to remember - No matter what we have done, no matter how bad we may seem to have been, no matter what the world has done to us, there is always the grace of God. There is always forgiveness available. There is always the possibility of beginning again. In Christ, we are a new creation.

Yes - We are sinners; and we cannot save ourselves and so, we stand in need of grace. We need a savior.

Christmas celebrates the Incarnation. Incarnation means God becoming one of us in the flesh. Therefore, Incarnation means the coming of help from beyond ourselves… because we cannot save ourselves. We are helpless and we are lost in the journey of life without Christ.

The good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that God accepts us as we are, even in our failures and sin. God’s love is greater than our sin. God offers forgiveness and new life. Our salvation lies in accepting God’s forgiveness… in cooperating with the grace of God.

With Christ – everything is new…He is the Good News of God’s infinite love and mercy. That is why He is the Good News… “new”.

Christmas is a summons – a call - to each one of us to allow the love and compassion of Jesus to become flesh in our lives – so to speak… That is why we hear: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

To follow Christ is a decision we have to make every day – and intentions or making New Year’s Resolutions are not enough. If our goal in life is to be like Christ – to be in communion with God – to be epiphanies of God’s love to others - but – if we go back to the same daily habits of selfishness, self-centeredness, intolerance, dishonesty and compromising our Christian values – we will never be another Christ.

We are called to be other Christ in the world. Like Mary, we are called to give birth to Christ in our lives, so to speak.

So, as we put away our Christmas lights and decorations, PLEASE! let us NOT ALSO put away in a box and storage the Spirit of Christmas. Christmas actually reminds us of how life ought to be all year round. .. life filled with sense of self-giving, joy, peace and hope… regardless of this pandemic or circumstances we might find ourselves in.

So - Let us pray that in receiving the Eucharist - Sunday after Sunday, and for some - day after day - that we might be transformed even little by little, into Christ… that we become what we receive… the Body of Christ.

At every Mass - the priest would say: “Lift up your hearts.” And we respond: “We lift them up to the Lord.” Let us pray that we all really mean it – consecrating our lives to God - not only in words but to be expressed in our daily lives… that we lift up our hearts to God everyday - and do His will everyday.

At the end of the Mass – when the priest or deacon says: “Go in peace – Glorifying the Lord by your life.” – let us pray that we really mean from our hearts – our response – “Thanks be to God!” and really be living Sacraments of God’s love… that when others see us, may they not see us - but Christ shining through us.

God bless… Holy Grace-filled Christ-centered New Year to all!