THE FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY-A, January 6, 2008

Tradition has it that this is the day we remember the three wise men who came from somewhere in the East to pay homage to the infant Jesus. We know nothing about these men. We don’t know their names. We don’t know where they came from. We do not even know how many there really were. Matthew says they brought three gifts, expensive gifts, at that. No blankets or toys or diapers for these men. No, they brought gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. What we have done over the centuries is assume that because Matthew said there were three gifts, there were also three gift-givers. Maybe so, maybe not. We have even given them names. All of this is speculation. But it really doesn’t matter, does it?

Matthew says that it took these men at least two years to make that trip to find Jesus. It took two long years. When they did find him, Jesus, Mary and Joseph were still living in Bethlehem where Jesus had been born. That would not be surprising because Joseph’s family was from Bethlehem and he may even have been born there himself. So it made sense for the family to remain there instead of going back to Nazareth. All this is also speculation and, again, does not really matter.

But as long as we are speculating, I think it would be interesting to think about these men who came so far and traveled so long to find someone they knew so little about. I suspect they came alone. Can you imagine taking their families with them on this long trip? Can you imagine if they had children? If they had children, and if they had started out on that trip with their families, they would never have made it. How long do you think they could have put up with the constant whining about "Are we there yet?"

Yet I do not think these men needed whiny children to ask that question. They must have wondered themselves when they would ever get to Jerusalem, and if they did get there, if they would ever find the child they were looking for. All they knew was that the child was born somewhere west of them in the Holy Land. They did not know where. They did not know when. They just kept following a star that led them to Jerusalem. They only hoped that once they arrived, someone would point them in the right direction.

What amazes me about these men is their perseverance. I can’t imagine myself going on a long pilgrimage not knowing where I was heading, how long it would take or if I would even find what I was looking for at the end the end of my journey. Even if I had started out with all good intentions, it would take a mighty strong faith to keep on going day after day after day, one year leading into the next. I am not sure I have that kind of faith. I do know my faith has not been put to that kind of test, thankfully.

It took some very special people to do what these wise men did. That is no doubt the reason why they were chosen by God to make that trip. That is why they could persevere. That is why we remember and honor them this day. Whether all the details are correct or not does not matter. What matters is the faith and perseverance of these remarkable men. What matters even more is that you and I are not asked to simply remember the magi, we are called in faith to live out today the meaning of their story in our own lives.

So, if we use the imagery of this event, the truth is you and I are now the guiding star in the sky for others. We are that star, that person who leads others to Jesus. Back then something and someone had to lead these wise men to Jesus. Without that star they would not have known when to set out or where to go. Without that star they never would have set out and they would never have found Jesus. Without someone telling them where the baby was to be born, they might have returned home without ever seeing the one for whom they had been searching for so long.

Whenever I think of these men and then compare myself to them, I am reminded of a cartoon I saw several years ago. It showed three men dressed as we assume the three wise men were dressed. One of then men is talking to another traveler and says, "Say pal, could you help us out? We were following this star, but then we ran into a buddy of ours at happy hour and lost track of the time and now the star’s gone and we’re sorta lost." The caption underneath read: "Less famous than the three wise men – the three average men."

I relate. I suspect we all relate. We’ve all been there. We are there. We are all one of those average people God still chooses to do what these three above-average men did. In your lives and in mine, someone was that guiding star for us. We would never have found Jesus, never have found faith in Jesus, without that guiding star. There was probably more than one star, too. And I suspect, whenever you and I think back on who those guiding stars were for us, those people were not remarkable and extraordinary but simply average human beings. Their faith was not bright and shining but simply average and ordinary. But it was enough. We were led and guided by that faith, those stars, their examples. That is why we are here today.

Now we must be that guiding star to others. And we are. We are simply by the way we live out our faith each day. It is not a remarkable faith lived by remarkable human beings but an average faith lived by average human beings. That is who we are, no more and no less. If we want to further continue in the imagery of this day, there is not only the image of a guiding star but also the image of giving gifts. I suspect sometimes the problem we have is that because we are average, we think who we are, what we do and the gifts we give are not really important. But they are. They are.

Just as our star is not anything special but is enough, so, too, are our gifts. When we think of the gifts we give to God, they seem, well, average, nothing special. Our gifts are more like baby blankets and pajamas rather than gold or silver or the like. But the truth is blankets and pajamas and diapers are just as important as gold, frankincense and myrrh in the grand scheme of things.

The Feast of the Epiphany marks the end of the Christmas season but it does not mark the end of our guiding or our gift giving. There are very few truly remarkable and gifted people in this world. Most of us are simply average. But God uses average people to do remarkable deeds. We come here each Sunday to be refreshed and renewed by the Eucharist. We come to be strengthened and supported by one another. We come to learn and pray and be encouraged.

Then like the magi we go back home. When they went back home, they told everyone they met about Jesus. When we go back home, we tell those whom we see, those whom we meet, those whom we encounter all about Jesus. We do so by the way we live and by what we say. The star guided the magi. But we guide others by our example and by our words. The magi gave material gifts. We give greater gifts: gifts of love, compassion, and forgiveness. We may be only average people, but when it comes living out what the Epiphany means, the magi can’t hold a candle to us. Never forget that.