My friends, we are into a new month, February, and the chosen Scriptures since Christmas have not ceased to speak about, “light” and the light we are to be in our world.  Isaiah begins the message showing us what, “shining our light” will look like: share your bread, shelter the homeless-poor, clothe the naked and so on. 

   Isaiah goes on to say that, “your integrity will go before you and the glory of God, behind.”  So, in other words, our actions do speak to the persons that we are!  And the prophet continues… “if you do these things, “light will rise for you in the darkness,” almost as if to say, “the good we do will come back to us!” 

   It could be said, because we follow our brother, Jesus, we are part of a very, very large family that he cares for—us included! You will recall that when Jesus graced our earth he said, “I will no longer call you “servants,” but “friends” and this means that our relationship with our God will always go through the “heart” first—he showed us that so many times through his own human life. 

   I often lift up for each of us the balance that we must try to establish in our lives, between “law and love.”  Those who would live by the letter of the law and that practice be devoid of love, have somehow, simply missed the point of Jesus’ whole presence on earth. 

   Recently at Mass, we used the gospel message of the Beatitudes—blessed are the poor, gentle, those who mourn, are merciful, are pure in heart, who are persecuted and who are peacemakers—these are the ones Jesus wanted to make sure we, as his followers, didn’t overlook—didn’t forget.  This Sermon on the Mount says nothing about lifting up the rich and well-off, those with power and control, who unfortunately often use it selfishly—to advance themselves personally. 

   Jesus attempted, often, in his earthly life to get this message across—recall the story of the rich man with the huge harvest who in response said, “I will build bigger barns!” That very night Jesus said, “ his life was asked of him!”

   I think many of us have been disillusioned these past several years to hear elected officials spouting rhetoric that is clearly about uplifting those already enjoying material wealth and comfort and taking away the helps that would clearly give those in need a hand up in life.  And worse yet is the rhetoric about lifting up the speaker and advancing their career.  What part of the oath that they take is about any of this?

   Just this week, Minnesota lost a fine, former politician in Dave Durenberger, and I believe he was a fine politician because he was first and foremost, a fine human being, who tried to live out his “humanity” in his political life as well.  Those who eulogized him added that he also, lived by “his faith.”  I always enjoyed writing to him as our former U.S. Senator, because as a Republican he was a middle-of-the-road kind of guy and really tried to see both sides of an issue.  This is something we all need to try and do. 

   Today’s office-holders, to some extent seem to be more adversarial toward each other, rather than working across the aisle to do what is best for the greatest amount of the people.  Dave Durenberger was someone who earnestly tried to do what was best for most of the people. 

   In today’s gospel, Matthew shares Jesus’ words, “You light a lamp, set in on a stand where it gives light to all in the house.” Keeping this Scripture in mind, I was shocked to hear that our present state senator, who in the past has been unable to vote positively for any issue that uplifted the down-trodden, did, this past week, propose a bill to make on-line horse-race betting in our state legal! Part of his explanation as to the “goodness” of this bill was that now, Minnesota, instead of Iowa would get the revenue. 

   Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians today speaks to the issue of how hard it can be at times to do the right thing.  He tells us not to rest on our “human wisdom,” but instead, “on the power of God, [in] the Spirit.” 

   Writers, theologians and the like—those who have been able to “break out of the box” in their ministry, have encouraged us to claim the power and strength of the Spirit that Paul talks about.  One such individual is Jim Wallis, creator and editor of Sojourner magazine.  In his book, Christ in Crisis: Why We Need to Reclaim Jesus, he minces no words:

Preachers should preach ever more prophetically, teachers should teach formation and not just information, writers should write ever more honestly, lawyers should fight courageously for those who need their help, [and] reporters should report the facts ever more diligently and speak truth to power regardless of what the powers think about that.” 

And he goes on through the arts—that artists would inspire, that those who know about climate change, would work for that, those concerned about a living wage, work for that—that human rights, voting rights, refugee and immigrant rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and women’s rights would all be advocated for and advanced. And he says, we should all do this, without fear because the Spirit will guide us.

   So my friends, all the Scripture passages today call for more from us than the status-quo—Christians, that is, true Christians, cannot be bystanders.  Jesus expects the best from each of us, and that means that we must respond each time we see an injustice in our world.  Sometimes we will be able to physically lend a hand to help, sometimes we can give financially to a group who with our gift can physically do the labor. 

   Our All Are One Catholic community received a very gracious THANK YOU this week from our local Habitat for Humanity.  Amanda Hedlund, the director shared that two families received new houses and 40 more families had improvements made to their homes through the support we and others gave to them financially this year. 

   Sometimes our advocacy can be through letter/postcard writing/calls to our senators and representatives.  The only thing we can’t do when we see injustice and suffering in our world is NOTHING! It should in fact, upset us when we see sisters and brothers, they who are abused and mistreated in our world.  And when it seems we can’t make change come about, then we need to implore the Spirit to show us a way. 

   Living in our world today calls us Christians to be, “tenderhearted.”  The psalmist speaks of, generosity, mercy, and virtuous living” — ways that truly show that our hearts are engaged. 

   I think many of us Christians become disillusioned at times with hierarchy who simply won’t act, proclaiming, ad nauseum, “that the Church moves slowly.” I would say, if you can’t get things done, or won’t, then stand aside, or enlist the help of women, of the laity, for the work that is so needed.

   Isaiah prophetically says in today’s 1^st reading, “God hears our cries, and will answer.”  We will have to present ourselves though, as the conduit through which God can work! Paul says, that even in fear, a place that, from time-to-time, we all live, we are strong, [always] in the Spirit. 

   Our brother Jesus, in today’s gospel, compares us again, to “light” set on a lampstand, to give light to the whole house.”  To that image, he adds, “salt,” an image no doubt taken more seriously by those first hearers of the Word, due to the need of its preserving qualities in the absence of refrigeration.

   Even so, the message of Jesus can’t be missed, or dismissed—we need to realize that we are called to truly make a difference in our professed lives as his followers. We are to “show the way,” in dark times, we are to “preserve” life and health, in all ways.  Let it not be said of us one day, that our lives mattered little, that nothing changed for the better because we had lived!  Amen? Amen!

   My friends, I would laugh, if it weren’t so sad that Christians, in our world number 2.2 billion, Muslims 1.9 billion, and Jews 15 million, and yet, there is so much inequality in our world of nearly 8 billion people.  If we look at today’s Scriptures, this inequality really should not be present if we Christians are walking in our brother Jesus’ footsteps.  Jews and Muslims too, have like religious texts challenging them toward basic goodness in life. 

   The prophet Jeremiah in today’s 1^st reading speaks of seeking justice, of being humble, speaking the truth, of a people who is indeed “holy.”  Being “humble,” in my mind, means knowing who we are, and who we are not.  Seeking “justice” is quite self-explanatory, but just in case, I would say it is giving everyone, and I do mean, “everyone” a fair shake in this world.  Being “holy” is perhaps a “catchall” for all of the above. 

   In addition, Jeremiah encourages the people to basically [pastor and care for] their flocks.  With all that he says here, I think we have to assume that he means the “pastoring” should extend to people as well as animals.  Present day hierarchy should heed this message. 

   A present-day example seems appropriate.  It has been suggested that the All Are One Catholic community reach out to the new bishop of the Winona/Rochester Diocese, Robert Baron, as he hasn’t yet reached out to us, which would be the “pastoral” thing for him to do.  Given that, our board reached out to him the end of November 2022 via regular mail.  To this day, we have not received any response at all—not very pastoral of him. 

   Wanting to assume the best of this new, “shepherd,” who responded initially upon receiving this appointment to our diocese, that he was happy for the opportunity of, as Pope Francis teaches, being a shepherd with the smell of the sheep “on him,” we checked with the Pastoral Center in Winona to see if our letter had even arrived. We were basically told that this bishop doesn’t respond to letters, and that the best way to get a “meeting” was to go to the website and ask for same, and that we would hear if he accepted our invitation in 3-5 weeks!  Sigh! Not very pastoral I would say. 

   Continuing on then with today’s Scriptures, the 2^nd reading from First Corinthians has Paul saying that “those without anything in this world have been chosen to reduce to nothing those who were something.”  Psalm 146 and the gospel selection from Matthew today mirror each other in content as, “the poor in spirit” are lifted up in both. 

   Jesus calls these “poor” those who are, “sorrowing, lonely, who are single-hearted, who show mercy, and who are persecuted for holiness sake,” the ones who, “will be filled.”  And the psalmist concurs that our God will, “give food to the hungry, sight to the blind, will protect strangers, and raise up those bowed down.”  So, it would seem that the needy are, or will be, taken care of. Right?

   My friends, I am always called back to Jesus’ words before he left us physically, “You will do greater things than I…” This would seem to say that, we are called to continue his work!  So if we ever feel like there are so many things wrong in our world, that nothing ever gets better, perhaps we have to check and see what we are in fact doing to better the situation. 

   As you know, I was asked to give the homily last Sunday at the Unitarian Service and I was graced in the Q and A afterward to be able to update what I  say in future about the “Golden Rule” –of doing to others what I too would want.  The questioner said that he thought the Golden Rule needed to be updated because it may very well be true that what I want done and need is not what someone else might need and want.  I thanked him for this fine-tuning of an old and trusted rule, which just goes to show how everyone’s voice is needed and shouldn’t be discounted!

   This reminds me of a piece I read several years back when the Women’s March on Washington happened the day after the former president was inaugurated.  In this piece, a woman was quoted as saying that she, personally, did not see a need for the Women’s March and another woman, took her on, basically saying, you know, I’m probably a lot like you—I have everything I need, secure home, food, car, the luxury of stopping for a [$6] latte at [my] favorite coffee shop, and so on. She then said that she was marching for all those who couldn’t march and who fall far below what is needed to live comfortably and without fear, especially now, under an administration that plans to gut many of the programs that raise subsistence living above poverty level as well as social programs that protect women and children from violence in their own homes.”

   The present-day news calls me to lift up another example: Minnesota Public Radio had a speaker this past week who mentioned that the new  House of Representatives in Washington, wants to do away with the IRS, replacing it with a 30% across the board sales tax! And we know who that would benefit—certainly not the poor! 

   Friends, whether we live by a golden rule that basically says that, “all the good I want for myself, I want in turn for others,” or Jesus’ words, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” we are called to live beyond our own personal needs and, throughout our lifetimes, we have heard many people affirm this thinking in both Church and State.

   One of my personal [s]heroes in this regard is, Eleanor Roosevelt. In 1934, she had this to say:

          “To deny any part of a population the opportunities for more enjoyment in life, for higher aspirations is a menace to the nation as a whole.  There has been too much concentrating wealth, and even if it means that some of us have got to learn to be a little more unselfish about sharing what we have…I think the day of selfishness is over; the day of really working together has come…all of us, regardless of race or creed or color.  We must wipe out any feeling…of intolerance, of belief that any one group can go forward alone.  We all go ahead together, or we go down together.”

   Wise words that could have been written today.  Amen? Amen!

   Friends, the Scriptures this week continue the message of “shining our own particular lights,” and we know, if we are listening to the Scriptures, not only is this call, “to shine our lights” for this week, but since Christmastime, we have been told, that we will do this best, by keeping our eyes, “on the glow” coming from our brother Jesus.  And part of what Jesus makes clearly known in the glow around him is that we are loved by our God—that is the only message we really need to get in Jesus entering into our human existence. 

   My friends, I am quite aware that many of my homilies speak about the “why” of Jesus’ coming.  And that is precisely because I want each of us to hear again and again this true reason—because we are loved —and I want to say it again and again, until the notion that his coming was just that of “reparation for our sins,” and this mean-spirited, controlling idea is a thing of the past. 

   I long for the day when I can hear Christians say, “Can you believe what people used to think, that Jesus became human just because an “Almighty” God needed to be appeased!” “How ridiculous!” “Who ever thought of such a thing?”

   Friends, this may shock some of you, but if this teaching weren’t indeed untrue, why would Jesus have ever told such stories about his Abba God as that of the Prodigal Child or the Good Shepherd who left the 99 to go in search of the one lost? The Prodigal, we must remember is all about a selfish kid who went off, squandered the family fortune on riotous living and when eventually had nothing left and was starving, returned to a loving parent who when that returning kid was within clear sight, ran to embrace and welcome this lost one home. 

   Unfortunately, so much of the preaching around Jesus’ coming into humanity is emphasized by men, and soon, with the coming of Lent, we will hear more of the same.  I say, “men” because they are the only ones who have been given “permission” to do this awesome task, and they tend to concentrate on this archaic notion of a mean-spirited God, that has really done so much damage in our Church, as opposed to that of one who loves us beyond all imagination. 

   Isaiah says clearly in today’s 1^st reading that the People of God have had “the yoke that has burdened them…removed.” Additionally, he tells them that, “their reason for gloom is gone…because they have seen a great light.” 

   Further, the prophecy of Isaiah and the gospel selection from Matthew, are united through the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali, mentioned in both, showing us the continuous love of our God through the prophets of old until the prophet Jesus, our brother came and confirmed through his life and ministry, the “great light” that he truly was then, and now, for all who, from time to time, “walk in darkness.”

   And Paul’s letter to the Corinthians today, gives us our call… [we are sent], “to preach [this] gospel” [of light and love]. Paul goes on to be more specific… “you must not quarrel.”

   This reminds me of what a friend shared this week, of a way that she was recently, “blessed.” She was talking with an acquaintance who held differing views from her own and rather than have that conversation turn argumentative, she went into it making the decision that even if she disagreed, she would simply try and listen.  This she did, and at the end, even though she still disagreed, she felt that perhaps, a door had been opened for more in the future. 

   My friends, this “standing in the glow” of our brother Jesus will not for the most part be easy, but we must always try to see the truth and get to the message intended.  If we get caught up in the surface message that, Jesus came to die for our failings, looking no further, then we will miss the deeper message that Jesus wants us to get—that we are loved and because we are, we have the responsibility to love others in return.

   And what might that look like in our daily lives? The gospel from Matthew today tells us that Jesus moved among the people, curing all their illnesses.  Will anyone after we are gone, be able to say that of us—that we cured the illnesses we found in life?  Granted, what we may “cure” will look different than what it did for Jesus, but to be able “to listen” as my friend, in the above example did, will indeed “cure” more than a physical affliction! 

   We should always look beyond the words on the pages of Scripture to their deeper meanings. Jesus, in today’s gospel found men who worked daily to harvest a catch of fish from the sea.  His call to each one of them was that they now become “fishers” of the people in their village and beyond. 

   In my reflections for this homily, I looked back at what the Spirit gave me in the past that might still be meaningful today and found some comments from Chief Justice John Roberts at the beginning of Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial that seem to speak to this issue of “standing in Jesus’ glow,” speaking and doing what is needed whether ultimately in our own personal best interests or not.  His direction to the Congress people at the outset was that they try, “to be their best selves, if they expected to be heard by others.”

   Think back to the example I shared earlier about my friend attempting to truly listen to someone that she disagreed with. In the end, we can’t expect that others will listen to us if we don’t afford them the same. 

   In today’s 2^nd reading to the Corinthians, Paul is taking “counsel” it would seem, from Chloe and “members of her household.”  Paul is following Jesus’ example too, “of conversing with women and allowing himself to be influenced by them.  And what of men in our Church today? Isn’t it time that they do the same?  Jesus and Paul, in their times did shine the light on inequality as they found it, and can those who wish to lead in our Church today, do any less? 

   Another issue most present to us in our day would be that of racism, and I am not speaking of individual “racist” acts, but the “cultural racism “out of which white people in this country live, and probably for the most part, are unaware of.  And if you are thinking, “Oh, that is not me,” it might be good, for each of us to consider, why our prisons are still filled with mostly black brothers and sisters, living with far greater sentences for similar crimes than their white counterparts, why COVID struck black folk with a much greater vengeance than it did white folk, and the examples continue. 

   The fact that racism is deep in the culture to the point that we are often unaware of it, can be the only explanation for why white Catholic Sisters’ congregations, nearly across the board, for many years, denied entrance of black women into their convents, to pursue their God-given calls. And if black women were allowed entrance, they were treated abominably, giving them the lowliest and most undesirable tasks.  This is all well documented in the 2022 book, Subversive Habits by Shannen Dee Williams. 

   As I always say, to all of us, this Christian living is no easy thing, but keeping our eyes on Jesus should give us great hope in not being afraid, knowing that we do not do it alone.  That is why I had us sing today, “You are my light and my salvation, of whom should I be afraid?” Singing these words seems to go straight to our hearts, instead of our heads, which I think we have to allow, if their true meaning is ultimately to make its mark. 

   Jim Wallis, creator, and editor of Sojourner Magazine says this a bit differently, but I think makes the same point. We need to “let Jesus into our boat” he says, when all of what we are called to do seems too great. 

   I am part of an Interfaith Council here in Winona and when COVID hit back in 2020, we stopped meeting in person, and reverted as so many groups did to Zoom meetings, and with time, those fell away too.  Coming this spring, this Interfaith Group will be meeting again, doing the work of our brother Jesus, who prayed before he died, “that all would be one, a really universal prayer, and along with the work of all other religious and spiritual groups, who show us together, the most complete face of our loving God. 

   Along these lines, your pastor has been invited to give the homily tomorrow for the Unitarians here in town.  They asked me to speak to one of their principles—that of “acceptance of others.”  So, my friends, we continue on being our best for ourselves and all others.  Amen? Amen!

Friends, am I alone, or does it seem that time just goes faster and faster?  Here we are at Ordinary Time once again—a series of weeks of our Church Year that takes up nearly 2/3 of that time.  As I always say, Ordinary Time is full of its own challenges, even though it doesn’t encompass a special theme like Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Eastertime. 

   All of today’s readings are about “call,” and by that we mean, “our individual calls” as Jesus’ followers, to “shine our lights,” to basically, be our best in this world, for ourselves and for others.  Now, this may seem like a simple message, but for any of us who have ever tried, we know that it takes work, patience, and long-suffering, at times, to find that balance in giving to others without giving ourselves away, totally.

   For many of us, we might have some old messaging about “giving totally” and that this is a good worth striving for.  This old messaging was often devoid though, of “caring for ourselves”—someone, in fact, that we must consider when giving to others—a cup never filled eventually runs dry—so, BALANCE, my friends. Remember that even Jesus went off occasionally, to be alone, to pray and no doubt, just to rest.

   Let’s look then to today’s Scriptures to see the wisdom that our brother, Jesus, lived by.  The prophet Isaiah tells us in the 1^st reading that it is God’s wish, basically, that we will be “light” to the nations.  And he also goes on to say that this doesn’t just mean, [restoring] “the tribes of Jacob” …evangelizing as it were, but God wants The Word of God, “to reach…the ends of the earth.” 

   Now to me, this means that there will have to be “actions” to go along with the “words,” or the words won’t mean that much. I find it interesting that in the past several years in our Catholic church, there has been much talk about “evangelizing” or in everyday parlance, “getting more people into the seats,” not realizing that perhaps it’s the “message” or lack of, that is keeping them away.  The words of the psalmist today seem to speak to this: “Here I am, I come to do your will.” 

   This reminds me of a phrase that was common among the first of the Roman Catholic women priests in this country, me included— “Here I am, I am ready!”  I even made a set of banners for my ordination liturgy with these words affixed because that was my stance then, as it is today, nearly 15 years later—to be present and “ready” to do the work God is calling me to.  In fact, my friends, it needs to be the work of us all—to present ourselves, and to be ready, to do God’s will in our world. 

   This is further affirmed in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians where he says, [we are] “called by God’s will to be an apostle of Jesus, [the] Christ.” And in John’s gospel, we hear the testimony of the Baptist, that indeed. “Jesus” is the one that we are to follow. 

   I think that it is interesting that even John, the Baptist doesn’t, at first, recognize Jesus, “as the One.”  This tells me that as we live out our lives, trying “to see Jesus” in our world, we may not, at first, recognize him either, and will have to be patient with ourselves, asking our brother, Jesus, to help us, “see what he sees” in those we encounter from day to day—seeing past the imperfect human qualities, to the best that is there.

   John only knows Jesus when he saw, “the Spirit descend upon him in the form of a dove,” as he was told would be the sign. We too will have to get past the surface designations; skin color, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion and more, to see Jesus within, and that should be our prayer, asking our heavenly brother to help us get past all that can get in the way of seeing clearly. 

   I would like to share now, a good story, as we all like a good story! This is one I heard recently that speaks well to seeing beyond what might initially, meet-the-eye—and perhaps throw caution-to-the-wind, in order to do the right thing.

   Steve Hartman of CBS News, known for finding good stories, shared this one recently.  It seems a family—mom and dad and four children arrived from Ghana to make their way in this country. One day, the dad heard some beautiful music and tracked it to the attic of the home they were renting to find his young son playing on an old keyboard he found there.  The wonder was, the boy had never had a lesson and yet was producing some very exquisite music! 

   The boy’s dad, wanting to encourage what he was hearing, bought him a bigger/better keyboard to play on.  This remarkable story made it to the news where another man heard it and interestingly enough, was a piano tuner.  This set of circumstances, the boy musician would call a miracle, as he did later when Steve Hartman interviewed him about his magnificent ability to play.  The piano tuner was so taken with the boy, whose talents he recognized to be of “Mozart quality,” that he threw caution to the wind and used his family inheritance of $15,000 to gift the boy with a grand piano.

   The boy was beyond joy as he expressed his gratitude.  The boy’s father expressed tears of wonderment that a total stranger could show such generosity! It seems that these “strangers’” families will be united forever as the piano tuner said he will tune the piano every month, “as long as he lives” and has arranged too for piano lessons for the boy.  Talk about shining one’s light! 

   My friends, not all of us will be called to such generosity, or at least, in the same way, but we will each be called to, “shine our own particular light” in some way.  We can’t just talk about the titles we claim for ourselves—that of “Christian, human,” whatever it might be—we have to act! 

   Today, the words of the psalmist are indeed good ones to reflect on as we move into a new Church Year with Ordinary Time: “Here I am, I come to do your will.”  The psalmist’s words remind me of Barack Obama’s words in a speech after he left the White House, indicating that, to his mind, his work wasn’t over, that there was still so much to do, not only for him, but for all of us! He said simply to his audience, “We all need to lace up our shoes, put our feet on the ground, and get going!

   Another interesting way to look at this life task is through the words of one of my favorite authors, Anna Quindlen, in her A Short Guide to a Happy Life. She speaks knowingly of the wisdom she has gained over the years, as she realized that “she is no longer the center of the universe,” simply stating that, in raising three good children, being a faithful friend to her good husband, and to her other good friends and acquaintances, it is only important that she, “show up, listen, and try to laugh.” 

   The clarion calls of the psalmist, of Isaiah, Paul, Jesus, Barack Obama, and of Anna Quindlen, are there for each of us today, asking that we answer, “Here I am, [I am ready!] to do your will—whatever that might be!  Amen? Amen!  

   My friends, this feast officially marks the end of the 12 Days of Christmas, and it officially came on Friday of this past week.  Our Church wisely, I believe, usually moves significant feasts to Sundays so as us common folk don’t miss their significance, being that most of “the faithful” don’t attend Mass on a weekday, as a rule.  So, we might ask, what is so special about the Feast of the Epiphany so as to raise it to the importance of a Sunday?  Sit back and I will tell you! 

   The word, “epiphany” comes from the Greek, meaning, “manifestation.”  In everyday parlance, we might say, “Epiphany,” or as most of us think of this feast, “The Coming of the Three Kings,” is an “aha” moment.  Further, we might say, “aha” moments are about when, “we finally get it!”  But we can leave that idea for a moment and see what the Scriptures tell us. 

   Isaiah gives us the familiar words that we hear each year at this time, “Arise, shine, your light has come!”  We all know from our earliest religious training that the “light” Isaiah speaks of, is our brother and companion for our human journey, Jesus, who became the “Christ” for all believers—across the board.  It is important for us the understand that “Christ” is not Jesus’ last name, but a concept much bigger for a God who includes us all, beyond religion. 

   Paul in his letter to the Ephesians, basically tells them the very message that we at All Are One believe, and proclaim by our very name, that, “everyone is welcome!”  Paul’s exact words are, “the Gentiles are heirs, as are we!”

   The gospel from Matthew tells the story of three, apparently, “wise men,” who traveled a great distance and ultimately had an “aha” moment in the stable in Bethlehem.  We don’t know by anything definite in the written Scriptures, why these men set out on such a journey, but we have to believe that they were people of faith, much like each of us as we say our own “yeses” to things that we don’t totally understand.  Besides being astrologers, they may have also been students of Scripture in whatever ways holy texts were available at the time and from within, simply heard that, “they should arise.”  They seemed too, to have a sense that, “manifestations in the heavens” (the Star) often had a counter part on earth (the birth of Jesus). 

   But, for whatever reason, they did arise and go, thinking perhaps, as we do today, “we need to check this out!”  Earlier, I spoke of these wise men having an “aha” moment in the stable in Bethlehem—they went looking for a king and found one—only what they found, caused them to reconsider what “kingliness” is really all about.  They found that a true king, queen, or leader shows that character not in the “who”—their lineage, but in the “how” they act in the world.  What an “aha” moment this must have been for them!

   In the first reading today from Isaiah the prophet, after encouraging the people to “arise,” gives them a second command, Scripture scholar, Diane Bergant says.  That second command was to “shine,” or in other words, act upon what you have come to know.  Prophetically, Isaiah gives us our marching words, “though night still covers the earth and darkness the peoples…

   My friends, Jesus our light has come, has shown us the way—how we must act so as to dispel the “night” and the “darkness.”  In this New Year, 2023, so new—so young, we only need listen to the news to agree that the “night” and the “darkness” haven’t yet been dispelled.  Just as the Wise Men witnessed something so great, so astounding at the simple, lowly crib in Bethlehem, we too must, through our attention to Scripture and in our own personal prayer, discover that our life here is about so very many, “aha” moments if we can open our eyes and ears wide enough to recognize them.  Some of the “aha” moments for me this past week are the following:

• The International Group of Roman Catholic Women Bishops, placed an ad in the New York Times decrying recent comments in the America magazine by Pope Francis, that basically, “the door to women’s ordination is closed.”  We can applaud these women for acting on their well-formed consciences (something the Church tells us to do) to speak truth to a blatant lie formulated by men seeking power instead of love within our Church.  Pope Francis needs an “aha” moment in this regard. 
• The condition of a young, 24-year-old Buffalo Bills football player, by the name of, Damar Hamlin, is being watched and prayed for by many in our nation.  This past week, during a game, he collapsed on the field suffering a cardiac arrest.  He had to be resuscitated then and there and has been fighting for his life ever since.  After several days of being totally sedated so that his body could mend, he is now making steady progress.  My reason for mentioning him here is not because of his prowess on the field, but for his good work off the field, using his status and position to assist the lives of children who have less, as was once his case.  Damar apparently had an “aha” moment on his way to fame. 

• For nearly a week the new 118^th Congress, have struggled to elect a new speaker. It has been contentious and has blocked the work of the people because a small, but significant number of the members have forgotten, if they ever knew, why the people sent them there in the first place.  The group that was blocking action, while finally electing their speaker after 15 unprecedented votes, are, in my mind, still in need of a collective, “aha” moment in order to truly do the work of the people, going forward. 
• This past week also marked the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.  I believe he was on the cusp of his “aha” moment during the years of the Second Vatican Council when he was known for his more liberal thinking with regard to proposed changes within the Church.  Unfortunately, he got “lost in the weeds” in the shadow of the long pontificate of John Paul II. 

   My purpose here friends, is not to speak against others, but to remind us all that, being a Christian is no, as they say, “walk in the park.”  Following Jesus will take the best we have to give—and no doubt, many “aha” moments throughout our lives.

   So, as we officially close the Christmas Season with our liturgy here today, it would be good to spend some moments, “at the crib” in our personal lives, contemplating its true messages.  Primarily, we “should get” the concept of our loving God wanting “to be one-with-us—wanting to be close.  As we then, in future liturgies move through this new Church Year, let us strive to keep our eyes on the one, Jesus, our brother, for whom being a “Christian” is really all about!  Each new Church Year calls us again to this one task and this one task alone—trying to emulate his life in our own.

   We shouldn’t allow ourselves “to get lost in the weeds” as the holdouts in Congress demonstrated so well this past week, and as Pope Benedict XVI too, demonstrated in his papacy.  We all, must keep going back to the source, our brother Jesus, trying to model our lives after his. 

   There are those in our Church, if they could have their way, would have us go back to pre-Vatican II times, to a time when much of Church life was pretty, “black and white”—do 1-2-3 and heaven would be assured.  Sister Joan Chittister, a prophet in our times, is known for proclaiming— “we need to go back further” [past the rules and regulations] “to the memory of Jesus of Nazareth.”  Now that would be a collective, “aha” moment!  Amen? Amen!