My friends, as we leave the Crib in Bethlehem behind now, returning to Ordinary Time, our call as Jesus’ followers couldn’t be clearer as evidenced by today’s Scripture readings.  First of all, as I always remind us, Ordinary Time simply means “no big feasts,” but as far as challenge coming our way, there is plenty to go around!

   The first reading today from Samuel, shows us a young boy, by the same name, who at a very young age, was given back to God by his parents, to serve in the temple.  Such young ones were taught to be ever on the look-out for “the voice” of YHWH in their lives.  So when the long-awaited call from YHWH does come to Samuel, it seems that Eli, his master is a little slow on the up-take, as it takes 3x for him to realize that his young one is indeed being called. 

   It’s wonderful to think though that Samuel was taught to respond, “Here I am,” to a strange call in the night.  The Scripture tells us that because Samuel had never yet encountered, “the voice of YHWH,” the young boy responded to Eli, who did eventually realize that it was God who was calling Samuel.  It is equally wonderful, I think, that once Samuel knew that it was God who was calling him in the night, that he could respond, “I am listening.”  I wonder how many times our God calls us, and we fail to  listen, or respond. 

   Psalm 40, serving as today’s response, adds to the challenge of being present, “here I am,” and adds, “I come to do your will.”  We see too that as Samuel grew into manhood, his relationship with God grew too, as the Scripture says, “YHWH was with him.” It would seem then, that having a relationship with God is a two-way street—God calls, we respond, and God, “is-with-us.” 

   This apparent desire that God has to be in relationship with us is played out in today’s gospel as well. Would-be disciples, Andrew, and John, have apparently been coming “to know” Jesus, and are seeking to know him even better.  They literally follow him at a certain point, and in a very intimate way, ask him, “where are you staying?” 

   Jesus answers them in a likewise, very intimate way, “Come and see!” To me, it would seem, that if our God didn’t love us, or really care about us, this encounter with Jesus wouldn’t have happened—the would-be apostles, in their desire to know Jesus better, wouldn’t have run after him, wanting to know “where he lived,” and likewise, Jesus wouldn’t have responded, almost playfully, “Come and see.”  Truly, what we have here is a relational, heart-felt encounter—a desire to be, “one-with” the other. 

   In this encounter, Jesus also asks John and Andrew, “what are you looking for?” We can look at Jesus’ question to these would-be followers as a “heart question,” better phrased perhaps for our understanding, “what is it that is on your heart?” –what indeed are you searching for, looking to do? 

   Each of us friends, in saying, “yes” to God, to Jesus, throughout our lives is answering with Samuel, “here I am, I am listening, and with the psalmist, “I come to do your will.”  And, as with John and Andrew, if we are listening, we will ask, with them, “where Jesus lives.”  And he, wanting to be in relationship with us will say, “Come and see!” 

   Whenever I speak about Ordinary Time in our Church Year, I remind us that this is not a time to coast, but really a time to settle in to the day-to-day challenges, to become our best selves, for ourselves and for others. 

   Earlier, I indicated that following Jesus’ ways will be about “trying to find him” in our everyday lives. Intellectually, in our heads, we know that we can’t find him physically, but, in and through our hearts, we should remember that we can find him in all the poor, the lonely-sad, the abused, and those who suffer in any way in our world, because it was for, such as these, that he originally came. 

   Paul says in his letter to the Corinthians today, “Glorify God in your body,” which is what we do when we look for Jesus in all who are suffering in our world, as he did in his. This is not to say that we can’t find our brother Jesus in the joyfulness of life, as he wants to share that with us too, but we must not forget “to look for him,” and “find him,” hopefully, in the suffering.  This is about truly being one-with our God in the only way we can in our limited, human existence. 

   We are beginning a new year of grace and new beginnings serve as times to be challenged once again to being and becoming our best selves, for ourselves and for others, “committing,” as it were, acts of justice, peace, mercy, and love.  In this good work, which isn’t always easy, I look to others to get some encouragement, –the following being examples:

• These words of Pope Francis are most helpful to me in this regard: “The Church is called to form consciences, not to replace them.”  His words are most instructive in light of our own national bishops seeming inability to say anything challenging to us with regard to any of the concerns in our world, wars in Ukraine, and the Middle East, poverty and homelessness in our world, lack of justice and equality for non-whites, women, the LGBTQ community and so on. 
• My family member and friend, Sister Gina Redig, who at 93 years of age is still, “active with,” her congregation’s Shalom Catalyst Group, who has her, “working on the abolition of the death penalty, nuclear disarmament in war weapons, climate crisis, human rights and more.”  She does much of this work through writing and phoning, and just listing it all here, makes me tired!  Sister Gina is indeed a little spark plug, and she challenges me to be my best!
• And if we need a “reality check” in what we can and can’t do, Sister Gina gives that too, “Healthwise, I am doing as well as I can, knowing I’m not the same as I was, and never will be again.”  And yet, she gives me, and I know others, great hope.  In her concluding words on her Christmas letter, she states simply, “We keep on keeping on, looking for and finding the good that is under everything.”
• A final wonderful challenge came to me this past week from Valerie Bertinelli, TV star in many areas, but probably most remembered for her role in the (1975-1984) sit-com, One Day at a Time.  Valerie was a guest on PBS’ Finding Your Roots.  She shared her struggles with physical appearance, as I believe is the case for many actresses, and stated that she has learned over the years that when hurtful comments are thrown at her, to just say, “That’s not meant for me,”—and basically ignore it, not giving it any power. 

   So friends, as we move into this New Year more with each passing day, may our hearts be filled with hope and anticipation as we strive, “to listen” to our God, through the world around us, the poor, the suffering, those without “voices,” as we likewise strive after what is right and good at the “heart” level—doing all that we can—to be our best selves, not only for us as individuals, but for all of our brothers and sisters in this world.  And know that the by-product of doing what is “right” is peace, for the most part. Anxiety, tension, and anger, likewise, are the by-products of what is evil or wrong. So, look for peace…

Amen? Amen!

Ok friends, here we are in the New Year, 2024!  Religiously, or maybe better, spiritually, we gather today on the final, official, last day of Christmastime, but the beginning of a time, “to shine our own personal lights” in a world that we probably would all agree holds a great deal of darkness, needing the “light” that we all have to bring.  Let’s leave that for a bit and look at the feast we have come to celebrate today. 

   Officially, Church-wise, we name this feast, “the Epiphany,” a Greek word meaning, “showing forth.”  In everyday language, most of us think of this feast as the coming of the “Three Kings.” 

   As the story goes, these “kings” were astrologers who watched the stars for what these heavenly bodies could tell them. It was thought that when a new, even grand star appeared, it would have an equally grand “manifestation” on earth.  Thus, when this new heavenly body appeared, the astrologers followed its “journey” to its destination, which we believe to be Bethlehem. 

   The Wise Men, as they were also known, were aware of ancient writings –Scriptures that foretold, “a child being born” one who would save the people… To start out on such a journey would require a great deal of faith, not knowing what they would find at its end, but it was a journey that they felt compelled to make.

   Now whether the visitation of the three astrologers, who were perhaps kings, who visited from a far land, and returned there to proclaim what they saw and experienced, happened as the holy book says or not, the idea that when we experience “light” in our lives—some might think of as a miracle, we are meant to share it with others. This idea is one that I feel we should hold onto.  That having been said, I have no problem believing that these Three Kings did arrive in history—that they did experience something wonderful and that they did return to their home country and share the “good news” with others. 

   Now we can get caught up in the fact that we never hear about these royal visitors again, or we can simply hold onto the truth that they did arrive, along with many others, over time, to confirm for Jesus’ parents that their baby truly was the gift from God that they believed him to be.  And if we only stay on the surface of the story, it is a good story! 

   But, as I always tell you, and Jesus our brother told all who followed him, always go deeper to find “the pearl” that the surface story only suggests. 

   The prophet Isaiah, in the 1^st reading today, foretells what the Epiphany really means: “Arise, shine, for your light has come!”  In the beginning of this homily, I make mention of the fact that there is much “darkness” in our world.  Isaiah continues: “though night still covers the earth, and darkness, the peoples, [remember], “your light has come!”  Going deeper friends, means that we don’t just “see the light,” but we allow it, to “show us the way,” to what we need to do. 

   The “manifestation” that the Three Kings should represent to us, is our call to “shine our [own, personal] lights” too, in our world, so in need of that light.  I am always saddened when I hear so-called religious people trying to unite the Incarnation of Jesus at Christmastime, with the Crucifixion, not even waiting till his death is remembered in the sequence of the Church Year, but in effect saying by this connection that the only reason for Jesus’ coming was to “save us from our sins!” 

   If we were to believe this fact, then what is our purpose in having a human experience? Do we honestly believe that our God put us here with so little expectation for us as to allow us to live for a while our “imperfect human existence,” and ultimately be “shamed for our imperfection, with Jesus “riding in on a white horse” to save us?  If that is the case my friends, then I feel that I don’t need such a God! 

   So here is perhaps a better story.  What I believe the Three Kings did when they returned home was to share the miracle they experienced in the face of a child and his poor parents—what that was exactly, we don’t know, but we do know that they wished to protect the baby by helping to keep him safe, so that he could, “grow in wisdom and grace” and do all that was expected of him. 

   Each of us too friends, as followers of our brother Jesus are expected to live as he did, showing us the way.  The psalmist today encourages the same, basically telling us that “we aren’t there yet,” if the poor, the lonely-sad, the homeless, and the abused are still among us. 

   Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians reminds us that, “all are welcome” in the family that our brother Jesus started, and as in all good families, the invitation, “to be part” comes with the expectation, “to do our part,” “to shine” and bring “light” to our world.

   Anna Quindlen, one of my favorite authors, in A Short Guide to a Happy Life, says it like this of the expectation of doing her part to make her world better, “I show up, I listen, I try to laugh.”

   The Three Kings, in the gospel from Matthew today spoke their truth, “We [saw] his star rising.”  And as the story goes, they followed the star, and when they found what the heavenly body represented on earth, they shared with others what they had found! 

   Martin Luther King Jr., in all his tireless work fighting against racism in our country said clearly, “Darkness cannot put out darkness, only light can do that!” These are profound words as we contemplate war in Ukraine and in the Middle East in this New Year. Another thought that came across my desk the other day comes from Charlie Munger, long-time business associate of billionaire, Warren Buffet, who said, “Stay away from all that is toxic!” –we Catholics used to call these “occasions of sin!”

   So my good friends, with a new year upon us, as we strive again, “to be our best selves,” shining our personal lights in the way that only we can do, don’t be easily discouraged by all that seems, at times, impossible to change, or fix, but keep your focus on one good thing, at a time, and believe that the good will win out. Amen? Amen!