happiness - epiphany C 2019

Before I start, I want you to greet each other Happy Three Kings.  I have asked you to greet each other happy three kings because after this homily you will get so confused you may not know how to greet each other.  Why?  Because there is no such thing as a three kings.  First, they were not kings.  These strange people from the east were learned men, people who have studied the heavens, the stars, the ancient manuscripts, the alignment of the planets and their meaning, and they were called the magi and not kings for they never ruled anything except their household and their classrooms.  Second, they were not three.  Scriptures never mentioned three kings or even three magi. Probably some people presumed that since there were three gifts there must be also three kings bearing the gifts. But that does not follow.  Last Christmas day I was given two gifts by one person, so does that make her two?  

So it seems that the only right thing about our greeting today is the word happy. Nevertheless, isn’t it that this is what is important, that we are happy whether they are indeed kings or scholars, whether there are three or 5?  Today we learn from the magi the way of finding happiness and fulfillment.   Two points.

First, happiness is discovered.  You don’t create happiness.  If you do that, you will have to create parties the whole year through. And how do you discover happiness - by discovering your star.  “We have found his star and we have come to adore him.”  The magi believed that the destiny of this child in Mary’s arms is in the sky, in the stars.  For they believed that every person, every child was born with a place and a destiny in the world.  The star is just a sign that when God creates, he creates with a purpose in mind. The star is a sign that when God creates, he does so for a reason and he does so with a mission.  We do not chart our own destiny, no.  Instead we discover God’s purpose for us, and in discovering and fulfilling them, we find our place in the world, we discover our happiness.

Second, and this one follows the first.  If you notice, the gifts of the magi are weird.  It’s not exactly gifts you bring for a baby shower.  These are symbolic gifts.  Nowadays we give practical gifts nowadays – gifts people can use, and we have become so practical we give cash.

The magi however gave symbols, symbols of the reality they see with their eyes of faith.  They see a babe lying in a manger and they offer him gold, symbol of kings, for they see even in the misery and squalor of a stable a king. They offer him frankincense, symbol of the gods, for they see even in this helpless babe a powerful God.  They offer him myrrh, symbol of death, for they see even in the splendor of the stars above and angels singing, a man who will die to set all men and women free. The magi are persons who see reality with the eyes of faith.  This is what we must recover– we have to learn to see in events, places and faces God’s presence, God’s message, God’s invitation, God’s revelation.  Epiphany is not merely a revelation of who God is. Epiphany is also a manner of looking. So many suicides nowadays because of hopelessness, too many mass killings because of deep-seated anger. Why? because many of us no longer see the events in our lives with the eyes of faith.

So what is the magi’s way to happiness? First, let us discover our sense of purpose, God’s purpose for us, and we will discover happiness.  Then second, we train our eyes to see events, places and faces with the eyes of faith.

Trivia: do you know that in the eastern church they believe there were 12 kings.  Imagine what it would look like there … plus their camels. Victor and Fernando did a marvelous job in setting up our nativity scene this year, and I should add, thankful that we have only 3 kings.  So, let’s just keep it that way - happy 3 kings.