Epiphany Homily - January 3, 2021

 

Homily for Epiphany

January 3, 2021

The Mission Ad Gentes

 

            In the early 1900s, a group of French missionary priests called the White Fathers (so-called because of their white habits) began mission work in French Guinea in Africa. The people there were animists – they worshipped the rocks and the trees and the animals. But through the tireless efforts of the missionaries, many were converted to Christianity.

            There was one family of converts who had a young boy whom they baptized Robert. Robert was an intelligent young man, deeply religious. He was very impressed by the White Fathers missionaries, who traveled from another continent amidst great hardships to bring the Gospel to his people. When he was about twelve years old, one of the White Fathers mentioned to him that he might consider the priesthood. Robert was shocked, because up until that point he had never met any priests who weren’t Caucasian, but he so loved the missionaries that he said yes to their suggestion and entered seminary. He became a priest, bishop, and now cardinal – and now he is known as Cardinal Robert Sarah, who works at the Vatican and has written many profound books about the Lord. What faith was planted in that young boy by those missionaries who brought the Gospel to his land!

            It has been said that the Church doesn’t have a mission, the Church is a mission. The entire reason why the Church exists is to bring the world to Jesus. Here we see the beginnings of this mission, as these wise men from the East come and encounter Christ.

            But have you ever wondered how these wise men knew to expect the Messiah? It all goes back five hundred years before Christ. The Chosen People were meant to be “a light to the nations” as we hear in the readings – every tribe and tongue, every race and demographic, was meant to encounter God through Israel. But Israel didn’t live out their mission. They gave a bad example to the other nations through their idolatry and sin, and they refused to welcome other nations to encounter the Living God. In fact, even to this day, if someone wants to convert to Judaism, rabbis are instructed to turn away inquirers three times before they finally welcome them into Judaism.

            So God forced the issue by allowing the Jews to be exiled into Babylon. They remained in Babylon for seventy years, but even after they were allowed to go home, not all the Jews chose to do so. Some stayed and became friends with their Persian, Greek, or Roman neighbors – and these foreigners learned about the Jewish faith and the promise of a Savior. So, by a circuitous route, God prepared the pagan world for the coming of the Savior.

            Since that time, we have once again lapsed into a pagan world. Sometimes we think, “Oh, everyone in America knows about Jesus” – but truthfully most people’s knowledge of Jesus comes from “The Simpsons” or “Saturday Night Live” and not from the Bible or the Church. We live in a post-Christian nation – when forty percent of Millennials say they have no religion, we find a world ripe for the Gospel. Of course, there are many nations where the Name of Jesus has never been preached – only 31% of the world’s population is Christian – so we must not forget about those souls who need to know the love of Christ and the hope we find in Him.

            If you are a member of the Church, then you must participate in the Church’s mission of bringing the world to Jesus! Everyone’s role to play in this mission is different, but no one can excuse themselves from this most critical task! I’d like to suggest four ways in which we might be called to participate in the mission of evangelization.

            First, by becoming missionaries. My dear young parishioners – does your heart burn within you to lead souls to Christ? The need is great! St. Francis Xavier, the great sixteenth-century missionary to India, Japan, and the Philippines, once wrote back to his friends in Paris: “We have visited the villages of the new converts who accepted the Christian religion a few years ago. The native Christians have no priests. There is nobody to say Mass for them; nobody to teach them the Faith. I have not stopped since the day I arrived. I baptized all the children and taught the older children [their prayers]. I noticed among them persons of great intelligence - if only someone could educate them in the Christian way of life, I have no doubt that they would make excellent Christians!

“Many, many people hereabouts are not becoming Christians for one reason only: there is nobody to make them Christians. Again and again I have thought of going round the universities of Europe, especially Paris, and everywhere crying out like a madman: ‘What a tragedy: how many souls are being shut out of heaven and falling into hell, thanks to you!’”

Some of you, I am certain, are being called to the mission field – whether New York City or Africa, whether Hollywood or China. If God is calling you, may you have the generosity to say yes and go wherever He sends you!

Second, for those who cannot go to the mission field, you can support the missions both financially and in prayer. It is only God’s grace that changes hearts and helps them encounter Christ – so call down that grace, through prayer, upon the efforts of missionaries!

Third, closer to home, we can live as missionaries in our own neighborhoods and families simply by living radically for Christ. There’s a great story of this from the life of St. Josemaria Escriva. He was an ordinary teenage boy growing up in Spain in the early 1900s, with dreams of a family and a career. But on one snowy day, he went out about the town when he was shocked to see that there were footprints of a barefoot Carmelite priest – and he began to consider, “If that priest can walk barefoot in the snow for Christ, Jesus must be worth every sacrifice! How can I sacrifice my life for Him?” And Josemaria became a priest, the founder of Opus Dei, and a saint – all because one unknown Carmelite priest lived radically for Jesus.

And our lives will only be witnesses to Christ if we are counter-cultural. So be generous to God with your family size; don’t be afraid to skip sports games to attend Mass; tell your boyfriend or girlfriend that you won’t move in with them until you’re married; speak up for the person whom everyone is making fun of; be joyful when you face a heavy suffering. Just being a “nice person” won’t evangelize anyone – but being radically counter-cultural for Christ, at great personal cost to yourself, is a profound witness that makes the world sit up and take notice.

Finally, invite people to take the next step. Invite a co-worker to Mass with you; invite your spouse to pray with you. Share your own spiritual journey with your family member; publicly thank God for your blessings. How many people are just waiting for an invitation!

Recently you may have read about the death of millionaire Tony Hsieh, the internet mogul who died a few weeks ago in a tragic house fire in Bridgeport. Even more tragic than his death was the way he lived his life. His motto, as he put it in his autobiography, was: “Happiness is really just about enjoying life.” And he tried to enjoy every moment through drugs, partying, and drinking. After he sold his company to Microsoft for $250 million, he and his friends went on a three-day cruise to celebrate, complete with alcohol and every pleasure known to man. On the last day of the cruise, at last call, reality hit.

Hsieh realized in this moment that he had no ultimate goal; no real purpose. He asked himself a series of questions culminating in, “What am I working toward?” And then: “I still didn’t have the answers. So I went to the bar, ordered a shot of vodka, and clinked glasses with Sanjay. Figuring out the answers could wait until later.”

Later never came, as he committed suicide by barricading himself in a shed and lighting it on fire last month. What would have happened if he knew the hope held in store for him in Jesus Christ? How many people like Tony Hsieh are aching, hungering, longing for “something more” – and waiting for you and I to tell them about Him?

The Wise Men sought Jesus, and upon finding Him, rejoiced exceedingly. The Church is tasked with bringing that same joy of knowing Jesus to the rest of the despairing world. What is your role to play in that ultimate mission of salvation?