Epiphany Homily

Homily for Epiphany

January 5, 2020

Seeking God

            A few years ago I was out camping in Idaho on my way to Glacier National Park. We stayed in a campground overnight and I got up early the next morning to pray my breviary. As I sat on the picnic table bench, praying, an older man with a long ponytail came up (a classic hippie) and we started chatting. He asked what I was doing, and I told him I was praying the Liturgy of the Hours. He looked pleased and replied, with all sincerity, “That’s cool, man. Real cool. Me, well, I worship the trees!”

            I laughed and thought to myself, “Well, I worship the One who made the trees!”

            But the desire for God and religion runs deep within the human person. This man wanted to worship, but he worshipped the creature instead of the Creator. Every human being who ever existed has a desire for God, and a capacity to know Him and love Him.

            But by our own devices, we get lost along the way. That is why we needed God to reveal Himself to us – in the Scriptures, in the Church, in the Sacraments. It was through an active intervention of God – a miraculous star – that drew these wise men (probably Zoroastrian priests from Persia, who worshipped one God and were looking for a Messiah as well). These men, having the same spiritual hunger that we all share, wanted to know more about God – and they found Him.

            Twenty-first century men and women long for God as much as the Wise Men did. After all, as St. Augustine said, “You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” But many modern men and women fall into one of three errors in their search for God.

            The first error is idolatry – making something else into God. It surprises me how rarely this sin is confessed, but how frequently it is practiced! There is a phrase in vogue among young people today – they say, “I am such a god at basketball” or video games or whatever. No, you’re not a god – and more than likely, you have made basketball into your god!

            In centuries past, if you had a gathering of people who wore special clothing and came together weekly in a giant building on Sundays, no matter the weather, to chant and respond in unison, it would have been called church. Now it’s called the NFL – and there is certainly a great deal of religious fervor there! For many people, it has become a religion, much like money, technology, or public opinion has become a religion.

            Now, obviously there is nothing wrong with watching football or making money. So how do we know when it crosses the line from healthy to idolatrous? We look at three things: our time, our money, and our enthusiasm. How much time do we spend on football or our job or our physique, versus focusing on our immortal soul and our relationship with the Lord? How much money do we spend on these things – is it a healthy and balanced amount? And are we far more enthusiastic about these things than about the Lord?

            Someone once asked me if working out three hours a day was sinful. I asked him in response how much time he spent in prayer. Our bodies will be worm food in a hundred years; our souls will live forever. We have a desire for God, but too often we fill it with the idols of this world. King Herod did this – he was more concerned about keeping his power than about serving the Lord – and thousands suffered for it.

            But the second error in our search for God is to turn to an amorphous “spirituality” instead of religion. Have you ever met those people who say, “I’m spiritual but not religious”? Or those who say, “I follow Jesus but I don’t believe in the Church.” But in their search for God, these wise magi, who would have been part of a well-to-do, powerful priestly caste, had to humble themselves to accept God as He was – as a baby in a manger. They didn’t get to refashion God in their image. And this is what people do when they decide to throw out the Sacraments or the Church – they say, “Oh, I’ll just pick the teachings of Jesus that I like” or “I’ll just pick whatever traditions and rituals I like, and toss out the rest.” When we search for God, we must allow Him to reveal Himself as He is – through the Scriptures, and through the Church that He established to teach in His name.

            The third error - our search for God will never be satisfied with New Age mysticism or the occult. Some people, in their desire for the supernatural, try to seek out spirituality in other ways – with energies, horoscopes, Ouija boards, palm readers or mediums. All of these open us up to the world of evil spirits and demons. Even things like Reiki and yoga  and the New Age Movement and certain types of Eastern meditation can be very dangerous, as they are spiritualties that do not seek after the God of the Scriptures. One can open themselves to incredibly dangerous demons by seeking spirituality through occult mysticism. I’ve worked with many people who dabbled in these things only to regret it!

            So, in sum, everyone has a desire for God. But we must seek Him in the ways He has revealed Himself: in the Scriptures, in the Sacraments, in the Church. He will be found by those who seek Him in these ways, since He established them as His continuing presence in the world.

            I will close with this story. Back in 1979, Pope John Paul II returned to his home country of Poland, which at this time was still behind the Iron Curtain. The Communists reluctantly allowed it, but were doubtful that anyone would come to see the Pope. After all, the Polish people had been under an atheistic Communist regime since the 1940s – hadn’t they destroyed all the religion in the country? Much to their surprise, over a million people gathered in Krakow to hear the Pope. At that gathering, the Pope spoke of the need to keep Jesus Christ at the heart of history, at the heart of their country. In response, the people started chanting, softly at first, “We want God! We want God!” Their chants got louder and louder until it became a tremendous thunder throughout the whole city. And the Communists knew it was the end – a few years later, Poland was freed as Communism collapsed across Europe.

            We want God – the magi wanted God – every human being who ever lived wants God. We will not find Him in our idols, in vague spirituality, in the occult or New-Age meditation. We will find Him in the crib, on the Cross, in the Sacraments, in the Church.