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Wise Men Still Seek Him
Jan
6
Written by:
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Epiphany
January 6, 2008
It seems like you never see bumper stickers anymore, at least not many interesting ones. Several decades ago, one could see this saying on a number of bumpers at this time of year: Wise Men Still Seek Him. Why did these "magi" travel such a great distance? They were seekers.
Here's another saying that I like even better: Be careful of what you are seeking for, because you may get it. We do tend to gather around ourselves that for which we are seeking. What is it that you and your family are seeking? What we seek tells us a little about ourselves. Are we not, in fact, all seekers?
The first thing to notice is that the wise men did not come to ask or to take. They came to give. They gave the newborn king homage and they offered him gifts. They were among the first people to realize that Christ is a destination for our life's journey, and not only a place to receive gifts! Nevertheless, if we are truly seeking the Lord in our prayer, Mass attendance, spiritual reading and service to others, we will find Christ giving us gifts at every turn.
I received an interesting catalog before Christmas. It said, "Shop for Joy." Shop for Joy. Well, I don't know about you, but most men, at any rate, don't equate "shopping" with "joy." Nevertheless, I really did "shop for joy" this year, when I sought after and purchased our "joy" sign by the entrance of the Church. But the best gifts in life, like joy, do not come out of a catalog or a store at all. They come from what we give.
The magi have many things to teach us again this year. We are all travelers, wishing to journey to the place where Christ lives (heaven), and yet paradoxically finding him at various places along the way, for Christ may be found wherever we have been kind to another, or another has been kind to us. Christ guides our journey like the star in the east. He wishes to guide us through the scriptures and Church teaching to become more and more like him. Every step of the way, he will provide helpers so that we can continue on our journey to Bethlehem, even though Christmas is past. In this new year, let us ask Christ to make us open to the signs we receive along the way, to be true seekers, not our ourselves, but of Christ.
Father Gary
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