Hail, Infant King!

The Epiphany of the Lord

5 January 2020 – Bruder Klaus

Is 60, 1-6

Eph 3, 2-3a. 5-6

Matt. 2, 1-12

Praised be Jesus Christ!

        “Where is the newborn king of the Jews?” That was the question posed by the wise men, by the magi to King Herod! Granted, they had the wrong address in going to Herod’s palace in Jerusalem, but then again they were searching. Theirs was a question posed in the fullness of time and need not be asked again. The Savior has come; history and the work of salvation is complete. Even so, the question must be asked anew in every age, because it reflects the central importance of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for each one of us and for the life of the world. We too must ask as did the magi. “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.”

Maybe more important than telling the story of the wise men’s quest would be to ask about the status of that important search in our lives for our day and time. Who is posing the magi’s question yet today? Who today has been moved, as they were, by the equivalent of something as subtle or passing as the appearance of a star? Whether from hearsay or intellectual curiosity, who today has left his home environment to seek the One, the only One, Jesus, Whose holy Name is written in the stars? Who has taken the risk? Who among Catholics today gives Jesus the first place in the order of things in this world? Who among non-Christians is drawn to Jesus in the fullness of the dignity, the kingly majesty, which is His?

The Epiphany, the word means manifestation, is often billed as the Gentile’s Christmas; it is acclaimed as Christ’s coming for the nations, for the outsiders, for us, if you will! The event as a part of the Christmas mystery is most important, but my question remains. Following the example of the wise men, who is drawn to the Church, to Christ, these days? I think it is important to say that the dynamics of the very question of the magi reflect what the Church should be all about, especially in our world today. To ask their question is a rebuff to routine and in a sense a rejection of institutional thinking.

“And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.”

Gold, frankincense and myrrh are gifts for a king, even though he be a poor, young boy, just a baby, whose only attendants are this young couple Mary and Joseph. The King is made manifest to the nations in the very natural context of a simple, real live family. As often as people forget to give the traditional family its absolute importance, they fail gravely. It is wrong to try to redefine the Church in social terms that slight the intimacy and the beauty of ordinary family life. To every liberal-minded person out there who thinks that to carry on the work of salvation we should be into something new or different, advanced or otherwise future oriented, I say no! Let us never forget what was at the center of the magi’s search and discovery! Let us never doubt the object of this great manifestation! It was Christ, the King Who rules from the throne of His Mother Mary’s lap.

“And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage.”

Turn your back on Herod’s calculations! They led him to the massacre the Holy Innocents in hopes of snuffing out the life of an imagined rival for his miserable throne. Find freedom and salvation not in any kind of court intrigue, but rather with the wise men, bowed down at the tiny feet of this Child!

The other day I read one of those, end of the calendar year, doomsday articles about the Church here in Switzerland, with the German title “Five past Midnight!” The article said nothing about the good or bad news of who is, like the magi, or who is not eagerly posing the question, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews?” No, the article only contained employment statistics, as if the Church were some sort of service agency, which to their mind has failed when it comes to recruiting all the personnel seemingly required to meet a bunch of supposed social needs and for a much less clearly defined clientele. This article “Five past Midnight!” did not seem to care in the least about whether Jesus Christ plays any significant role in the lives of 95% of the people in this country and elsewhere in a nominally Christian world, who identify as Catholic yes, but for not much more than tax purposes.

Thinking about the Epiphany, the manifestation of Christ, thinking about the quest undertaken by the magi two millennia ago, we really need to examine our priorities today. We need to change our terms of discourse. To follow the star, the wise men left their homes. They showed us the way and they still do. They asked the only question really worth asking in life. “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.”

In manger scenes, in most crèches or Christmas cribs, the magi or wise men are portrayed as kings all decked out in their royal finery. This imagery teaches us well. It makes their bowing down before Jesus all that more shocking or impressive. If you listen to their dialogue though, you can see just how unselfconscious, how humble, really, how unpretentious these truly wise men were. Just like old Simeon and the prophetess Anna in the Temple, they confessed God-Incarnate in that little child. If we were about that, then we would truly be right with the world.

Too many unhappy or discontented people, some of whom rake in big church salaries, would have us think that everything is wrong and that the solution at “Five past Midnight!” can be attained through what amounts to social engineering. Folly! Follow the magi to Bethlehem! Seek out and reaffirm genuine Catholic Christian family life!

“And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.”

Hail, Infant King! Be moved by the star! Follow the wise men! Make their question to King Herod the one that defines your very life from this day forward!

“Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!

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