Epiphany - January 6, 2019

Homily for Epiphany

Sunday, January 6, 2018

In the Mystery of God’s Plan

            Who were these “magi” anyway? We hear about them coming vaguely “from the East” following a mysterious star. How did they know that a star would lead them to a king? There’s actually a pretty good historical basis for who they were and why they were led to this stable in Bethlehem.

            First of all, magi were not kings. Rather, they were astronomers/astrologers/ philosophers/scientists who would be employed by kings as their advisers in both mystical and practical questions. They were indeed “wise men” – some of the most learned men of their day – and members of the priestly class of ancient Persia. It’s actually from the work of the magi that we get our English word “magic”.

            So, how did these magi find out about Jesus? It all starts over 500 years before the Lord was born…

            The Israelites had, for centuries, fallen into all sorts of sins. Idolatry, adultery, injustice, murder, violence and division…the Lord’s Chosen People were not acting much like the holy men and women they were supposed to be. They constantly broke the Lord’s commands. Now, Israel was supposed to be a nation of such holiness that other nations were attracted by their wisdom and holiness. Israel was supposed to be a “light to the nations” through their virtue. But on the contrary – they were more wicked than the nations around them!

            So in 587 BC, the Lord wanted to correct His children, so he allowed Israel to be taken into captivity in Babylon. One of the children brought to Babylon was a young boy by the name of Daniel. Daniel was gifted, and he was soon brought into the service of the Babylonian King, King Nebuchadnezzar. God gave Daniel the ability to interpret dreams, to give prophecy, and generally to be incredibly well-respected by everyone, including the wise men of his time. These wise men would have studied Daniel’s religion, and would have been familiar with the prophesies that there would be a King born to the Jewish people who would rule the universe, a King who would be a Savior and Redeemer of all.

            Sadly, Daniel never made it back to his homeland. He died in Babylon before the Israelites were released in 527 BC. But what he introduced to the Babylonian wise men – and then the conquering Persian wise men – was the Jewish faith with its prophesy of a Savior. So for five hundred years, these wise men continually watched the heavens to see when there would be a sign of the birth of the King. Finally, finally, they saw the star and traveled to meet the Lord. These men who traveled to meet Jesus then brought that good news back to their people, becoming the “light of the nations” that Israel was supposed to be, but weren’t.

            So what does this have to do with us? Have you ever had a circumstance in your life that seems meaningless? We often ask why – why did this person have to die? Why did I have to get sick? Why did my parents have to divorce? Why did I lose my job? Why?

            I can imagine Daniel asked that same question quite a bit. Why was he taken from his homeland, never to return? Why was he removed from his family as a young boy and taken to live in King Nebuchadnezzar’s palace, among these pagan people? What a heartache it must have been! But it was all part of God’s plan – if he had not been kidnapped and exiled by the Babylonians, these people would never have heard about the future Savior. Unknowingly, Daniel was showing them the way to the Lord – but it’s only now, hundreds of years after the fact, that we can see how Daniel’s sufferings fit into God’s grand plan of salvation!

            I once attended the funeral of one of my seminarian brothers who died in a car crash in his young 20s. I’ll never forget the priest’s homily – he began by saying, “In Heaven, we are going to spend eternity saying, ‘Oh! So that’s why You did that, Lord! That makes sense now!’” When things are senseless, we’ve just got to trust that it is part of a grander plan than we can see.

            This plan isn’t mysterious – Scripture tells us what God’s plan is for human history. He is, even now, restoring all creation in Christ. He is making right what went so drastically wrong in the beginning – when sin had separated us from God, caused death and suffering to enter the world. God is working to restore all things – and all of human history – all of your personal history and mine – is accomplishing that goal.

            So sometimes we just have to trust that our lives are a part of that plan. When we can’t see how our lives, our work, our suffering, our joys fit into God’s bigger plan, we just have to trust that God is up to something. After all, Daniel couldn’t foresee that his life would be used to bring the Magi to Jesus…and sometimes we can’t foresee how God will bring good out of every circumstance of our life. But He will. Our lives are part of a bigger plan, one that will see the restoration, healing, and salvation of the world.