Homily for Epiphany
January 7, 2024
The Gifts That Change Us
Katherine
was from a banker’s family, a wealthy Philadelphia heiress who was related to
Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Despite her socialite life, her family was devoutly
Catholic, and three times a week would open their home to the poor for food and
clothing – almost an early 1900s version of a soup kitchen and food pantry.
With her
socialite life, Katherine would frequently take long European vacations where
she would hobnob with the rich and famous. She was able to secure an audience
with the Pope, who said to her, “You have been given so many great gifts – how
are you using them to serve?”
This
struck her deeply, so she came home with a new mission and new direction in her
life. She gave away her fortune (which was a considerable $7 million, which
would be worth $200 million today!) to found Catholic schools for Blacks and
Native Americans. But once she started giving, she couldn’t stop. It seemed too
easy to give away money. What could she give that was more valuable? She decided
to give away her life and became a nun, founding the Sisters of the Blessed
Sacrament whose mission was to the poorest in America. We now know her as St.
Katherine Drexel, the second American-born saint.
Giving
changes the giver. In fact, Christ tells us that “it is more blessed to give
than to receive.” Sacrificing something – whether it be time, money, or our
very lives – puts love into action.
I think
it’s so significant that these three Magi came bearing gifts. They had no idea
if they’d ever find this King, and even if they did find Him, what would He be
like? Perhaps He would live in a huge palace with endless riches. But they
figured it would be unfitting to encounter a King without offering something.
And
their gifts have rich significance. They give Him gold, because He is the great
King of Kings. They give Him frankincense, which was used for worship, both
because He is true God and also the Great High Priest Who alone could offer the
perfect sacrifice of His life on the Cross. They offered Him myrrh, which was a
preservative used for burials, symbolizing that He would follow in the
footsteps of all the great prophets and be rejected and killed for His
faithfulness.
But
these three gifts also have significance for us. The gold symbolizes offering
God our money and possessions. Ultimately every last penny in our bank accounts
are His anyway – when we realize that, we find great freedom.
St.
Martin of Tours was a Roman soldier and a Christian back in the late 300s. One
cold winter day he was riding his horse and saw a shivering poor man begging by
the side of the road. Without thinking, he took out his sword and sliced his
cloak in two, handing the poor man half of the cloak. That night, in a dream,
he saw Christ standing before him, wearing the half of the cloak he had given
to the poor man. Upon awakening, Martin realized that he had to use all of his
goods to serve the Lord.
For us,
that means sacrificially giving to those in need, or financially helping the
Church in its mission of evangelizing the world. It also means not worrying
about finances or housing or work, but placing it all in the Lord’s hands.
The
frankincense, too, is a symbol to us – of giving time to God in worship and
prayer. Some of you know the Australian Catholic author Matthew Kelly, whose
books are often given out at Christmas and Easter here at St. Jude’s. His
conversion was rather unlikely. He was, in his own words, “restless and
unsettled” as a teenager. An adult mentor told him, “Your bike route to and
from school passes by the parish church. Why not stop in for ten minutes a
day?” He began to do just that – and Someone was there to meet him (that
Someone, of course, being Jesus Christ in the tabernacle). Day by day he found
a growing peace, a clearer mission, and the love of Christ. He later wrote,
“The most important things in life are rarely urgent – that’s why we need to be
intentional and schedule them.” So true – you think about the things that give
life meaning, like spending time with family and friends, growing as
individuals, and our relationship with God – we would all agree that these are
critical, but so often we are bogged down by our life’s mini-crises that we
forget to keep time for that which is most important. As I look out on this
Sunday morning, I guarantee that every single person in this church can give
God more time each day to sit in His presence, read His Word, and speak to Him
from our hearts. Very few of our spiritual lives are as solid as they should be
– I challenge you to make a commitment in this New Year to give God more – if
you pray for 2 minutes before bed, make it ten. If you pray for ten, make it
twenty. Give God more, and see if God doesn’t give you peace and joy in return!
Finally,
the myrrh, that bitter substance, is a symbol of giving God our sufferings. St.
Faustina once said, “If angels could be jealous of men, they would be jealous
for two reasons: receiving Holy Communion, and suffering.” How many saints have
been made simply by suffering well: patiently, joyfully, offering it all up for
Jesus! The youngest child on the path to sainthood is Venerable Antonietto Meo,
a six-year-old girl who became a saint solely through suffering well. She was
diagnosed with bone cancer and had to lose her leg, but she said to her father,
“I am very happy that Jesus gave me this problem so that I may be his dearest
one.” She also remarked, "Pain is like fabric, the stronger it is, the
more it's worth.” Not that suffering itself is good, but when immersed in love,
it becomes the finest jewel we can offer to the Lord.
And
these awesome gifts change us. Notice that the Gospel says that the Magi
“returned home by another way.” That has a literal meaning – they took a
different route – but also a spiritual one. They returned home changed, they
were not the same men who started out on the lengthy journey. In fact,
according to tradition, when they returned to their country, they abandoned
their worship of pagan gods and waited thirty years until an Apostle visited
their land so they could fully convert and become Christian. All three of them
became martyrs.
I
sometimes wonder if our faith is still so small because we are unwilling to truly
give of ourselves to the Lord. As St. John Vianney said, “If people did for God
what they do for the world, what great number of Christians would become
saints!” Sometimes our relationship with the Lord is transactional – we pray
only because we want things from Him. Sometimes it is perfunctory – we do the bare
minimum just to check a box. Sometimes it is half-hearted – we love God, but
only if it means we don’t have to make any changes in our lives. And we wonder
why we never experience Him, or why we make no progress in the spiritual life!
I
challenge you, this New Year, to be unafraid to give fully. Your treasure, your
prayer life, even your daily sufferings – offer more of yourself to Him.
Perhaps you may even find yourself changed by an encounter with Him.
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