Homily

"Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms." These words of the prophet open the celebration of the Epiphany. The Liturgy wants to show the path of people towards the Lord. There is an anxiety of universality and of urgency that goes through this day: it is the deep desire of the Church that the peoples and countries do not have to wait too long in order to meet Jesus. He was just born; still he is not able to speak and all the peoples can already meet him; they can see, welcome and worship him. "For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage," the Kings said to Herod as soon as they reached Jerusalem. They were men from distant lands, they were rich and intellectual and they started walking from the East towards the land of Israel to worship the king who was just born. The Church has always seen in them the whole of humanity, and with the celebration of Epiphany, she wants to guide every man and woman of this world towards the recently born Child. On Christmas’ night Jesus manifested himself to the shepherds, to the men of Israel, even if they were among those who were most despised. They were the first to bring some warmth in that cold stable in Bethlehem. Now the Kings come from the Far East and they can see the Child as well. The shepherds and the Magi, although very different from each other, have one thing in common: the heavens. The shepherds moved, not because they were good, but because they looked up at the sky, saw the angels, listened to their voices, and did what they had heard. The same is true of the Magi. They did not leave their land to embark on some new adventure or to satisfy an odd desire. They were certainly longing for a better, more just world. They were scanning the heavens. They discovered a "star" and faithfully followed it. Both the shepherds and the Magi suggest the necessity of taking our eyes off of ourselves, of scanning the words and signs the Lord puts on our path.
For the Magi, just as it was for the shepherds, not everything was immediately clear. The evangelist intentionally notes that at a certain moment, the star dropped out of the Magi’s sight. However, these pilgrims did not lose heart. Their desire for salvation was not superficial, and the star that they had seen truly touched their hearts. Upon arriving in Jerusalem, they presented themselves before Herod and inquired about the newborn king. They attentively listened to him and then immediately continued along their way. The Magi’s inquiry into the whereabouts of the newborn child seems to signify that Scripture had stepped in to provide for the star’s momentary absence. The Lord never fails to offer us signs: as they left Jerusalem, the star reappeared, and "they were overwhelmed with joy," says the evangelist. We, who often condemn ourselves to being our own guides, are often robbed of the joy of having a "star." There is indeed a sense of relief in seeing a star, in feeling that we are accompanied and not abandoned to ourselves and our destinies.
The Magi exhort us to rediscover the joy of depending on a star. Our star is the Gospel, the Word of the Lord, as the Psalmist sings, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (119:105). The light of the Gospel leads us to that Child. Without reading and listening to the Gospel, it would be impossible for us to meet Jesus. The Magi continued along their journey until the star stopped where Jesus was, and when "they saw the child with his mother Mary, they knelt down and worshipped him." It was probably the first time that the Magi had ever prostrated. But those Magi, who by now were able to look past themselves, recognized the Saviour in that Child; their gesture could not have been more truthful. Together with Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds, they had understood that salvation meant welcoming the weak and defenceless child into their heart.
The reactions of Herod and the inhabitants of Jerusalem were entirely different. They did not share in the joy of the Magi and shepherds when they learned of the child. Rather, they were upset, and Herod even decided to seek out the infant and kill him. The Magi now are the ones to save the child and protect him from the cruelty of Herod. The wise men returned home by another road, the evangelist writes. When we carry the Lord in our hearts, we cannot go along the same roads as before. Today, the Magi are with us, or perhaps just a bit ahead of us, to help us raise our eyes up from ourselves and direct it toward the star. They are close by, accompanying us to the many mangers of this world where small and weak children lie. Blessed are we, if in the company of the shepherds and Magi we become pilgrims on a journey toward the Child and affectionately take care of him. In truth, it will be he who will take care of us.