During every Holy Mass we celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation. Priest is asking us to look into our hearts, so those hearts can be ready to forgive others and in that way be ready for Jesus. And that what Epiphany is about. Epiphany is a celebration of change, change were it really ought to happen.
The three Kings or Wise man stayed all the time with the star of Christ. It changed their lives so they could find Jesus.
As I said so many times, we live in a world where so many Catholics instead of following their faith, they run the other way, looking for something different, something new. Had the three kings followed a different star every night? No, because otherwise they would never be able to find Christ.
And we just heard in the Gospel, that when they came to Jesus they offered him gifts: gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. There are few interpretations of the meaning of those gifts. One is that:
- The gold is the most precious of metals, so therefore a symbol of royalty. A symbol that the Kings acknowledged the newborn Christ as King, a title that would later appear above Christ’s head on the cross.
- The incense is associated with prayer and divine worship. The kings professed their faith in Christ’s divinity as Son of God, the Word made flesh.
- Myrrh was used to dress wounds and embalm the dead. It symbolized the humanity of Jesus. The kings prophesied that Jesus will suffer for each and everyone of us.
The second explanation goes even further. It says that the three gifts also symbolize what we should present to Christ:
- First, the Gold signifies the loyalty and fidelity we owe to our prince of Peace.
- Second, the frankincense symbolizes our prayers to the Lord our worship of him in our homes and in the Church.
- Third, the myrrh represents the gift or our sufferings, our forgiveness and sorrow when we share in Jesus’ passion.
However, what if our coffers are empty because we haven’t been very faithful, or prayerful, or patient in suffering and not changing our hearts? Then we still have Jesus Christ to offer as our gift to the Father.
In the prayer over the Gifts we ask the Father: In mercy, Lord, our God, look upon the oblation of your Church. No longer do we offer gold frankincense and myrrh, gifts of earth; rather we sacrifice and receive Him Who is the gift of heaven. In other words, though we might be poor in good works, Jesus Christ will enrich us with Himself in the EUCHARIST. Though we may be destitute as far as devotion is concerned, Jesus Christ will supply what we lack.
My brothers and sisters in Christ,
We cannot be discouraged to approach our Heavenly Father. He doesn’t expect us to bring computers or other gifts like that. He wants our hearts to love him and to love our neighbor. He is interested in our prayers and in our problems. The Father does not care where or how far we came from. He wants to send us on our daily journey like the three Kings – overjoyed at having found his Son, Jesus Christ. Christ who ultimately is and will be our savior at the end of our times. Amen.