Homily, January 8, 2023
From The Pastor
One of the challenges over time is to stay fresh in our relationships. This is universally true in marriage, friendship, work life, and overall self-awareness. Our faith relationship is the same. Consider that we generally engage faith from the outside. This is not unimportant as a first step. Maturing faith is realized when it is accepted and motivated from the inside.
As active participants in Church religion, we hear readings, listen to homilies, respond to prayers, and move with the actions and gestures of the congregation. Mostly, these are things coming to us from the outside. Faith as a relationship must be known and desired from the inside. Nourished by what is received from the outside our interior faith is motivated and directed by what is heard and experienced. This calls for inner attention.
This is a great challenge when the cycle of readings and the format of our worship is so routine. We are all familiar with the cycle of readings we hear. What keeps the ear and the heart alert for growth and inspiration so our interior faith is nourished and kept fresh?
The Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord may be a good example. This feast is considered the fulness of Christmas because it unites the human birth of Jesus to the revelation of his Divine nature. This is all true and, in fact, very powerful for we who believe in the Lordship and Divinity of Jesus of Nazareth. How do we unlock this power beyond the common hearing of the words?
This feast is filled with signs and symbols. The Light of the Divine Christ is in contrast with the darkness of fear and control seen in Herod. The wonder of a star guides three Magi in their search and desire to find its meaning. Coming into the presence of the Child Jesus and his parents, they are immediately moved in the depth of their hearts. Their souls are awakened. Lastly, they leave the sign of their most perfect gifts. The gifts are perfect because they symbolize what the Magi hold as their greatest treasures. They also symbolize the nature and path of the newborn Divine Messiah. Gold for a King. Frankincense represents the sweet aroma of holiness. Myrrh is an ointment used for healing and burial preparation.
These are interesting and important details that convey to us the mystery of God. How do we allow them to inspire and freshen our interior faith in the Lord Jesus as human and Divine? Perhaps we could consider the gifts we would like to give Jesus as Our Lord and Redeemer. Signs and symbols of religion are most effective when we can make them meaningful and personal to our faith.
The best gift we can give to Jesus is ourselves. Jesus desires our hearts; that we seek and desire to know and love Jesus in response to his love for us. This can only happen from the inside beyond exterior contact with religion. It must come from the core truth of who we are committed people of faith. Faith comes as a gift from God, but it is a gift we must open and actively engage over the long haul.
Jesus loved his human life. Most of us love our lives. With all the beauty and goodness of being human, it cannot be denied for Jesus or for us that life is difficult. It is hard to be human. It is hard to stay fresh in love and not have all the negatives of life get in the way. Like any relationship, faith takes time and effort. If we are going to give ourselves to Jesus as gift, our inner work of faith will create the beauty.
In our post-modern culture, against the pressure of media and the demands of consumerism, relationships are often run over in the fray. How do we give our best self to Jesus as gift? Love yourself as one loved and valued by Jesus, freed from sin, and liberated for eternal life. The scriptures that are so familiar to us offer many clues for the ‘how to’. To know and love ourselves is to accept our human nature. Jesus did not distain being human. Accept the imperfections of life: your body, your faults, weakness, sin, even your poor credit rating. To be human is to be humble in the acceptance of all we are and all we are not.
Jesus was obedient to the love of his Father’s will. He surrendered to the Father’s love in their united desire to reconcile the world against sin and death. Obedience and surrender are virtues of humility. They bring beauty to any gift offered to Jesus. Prayer is relationship. Any love or friendship needs and wants time with the friend or beloved. Gifting Jesus with your time as you share yourself with him is icing on the cake that will swell the Lord’s heart.
It is hard to be human, but Jesus showed the way. This should be a great hope for us. Lastly, the greatest gift we can give Jesus is to actively accept the gifts he has given to us: love, mercy, forgiveness, redemption, hope, acceptance, and all else we need to find our way to eternal glory. These are good as gold, sweet as frankincense, and healing as myrrh. Praise God!
Father John Esper
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