Brothers and Sisters:
Peace of Christ to you! You probably noticed that the greeting line from your pastor’s column looks atypical. That is because your humble transitional deacon penned your pastor’s column! Fr. Stephen took time away to enjoy the Christmas season with family and requested a “guest writer” during the time in which this article would be due for publishing. I pray that you find this disruption from your regularly scheduled programming to be a small, unexpected gift.
This feast of the Epiphany highlights gifts in both of our readings, prophetically proclaimed from Isaiah and truly bestowed to the Christ child in Bethlehem through the Magi. It stirs to memory a certain ministry that I encountered while at St. Ambrose in Brunswick two years ago on my pastoral internship. A collection of parishioners would come together and identify individuals in the parish who experienced a significant loss or trauma over the course of the last year, and thus would face an emotionally fraught holiday. Then, each identified person would have a present dropped off to their house every day for twelve days leading up to Christmas Day. It was orchestrated incredibly well by the staff and parishioners.
The material reality of this kind gesture is surpassed by the spiritual. This is a spiritual work of mercy: to bring comfort to the afflicted. On this feast day that so focuses upon the gifts which the philosophers from the East brought forward to Christ, we must emphasize our ability to bear gifts to those whom we know who need them. Although the Church begins its exit from the Christmas liturgical season, consider who nearby could use something left at their door to their surprise and comfort.
Epiphany also demonstrates how the Lord desires for us to see and know exactly who He is. I am fond of Ven. Fulton Sheen’s observations on the feast, of which he has written extensively in his masterfully crafted work, The Life of Christ: “They brought three gifts: gold to honor His Kingship, frankincense to honor His Divinity, and myrrh to honor His Humanity which was destined for death. Myrrh was used at His burial. The crib and the Cross are related again, for there is myrrh at both.”
God does not obscure information or keep secrets from us. Even as a babe, the life and purpose of the Messiah was communicated in the Scripture through signs and symbols evidently known to the Church. We do not need to sacrifice, earn, or pay for the knowledge of our salvation. But we must seek it out as the Magi did. But do not be worried! The Father is guiding our journey as he guided theirs. Even as we gaze up to the stars, God points towards His Son for our sake.
Dcn. Nathan Frankart
