Two Sets of Kings

Solemnity of the Epiphany 

When we think about the Epiphany, which we celebrate today in this country, we probably think about the Three Magi, or Three Kings.  We hard about them in the Gospel today searching for Jesus, the “‘newborn king of the Jews’” and how they presented their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to Jesus: gold for a king, frankincense for God, and myrrh for burial.  The Scriptures don’t actually say there were three, but we presume that each magi brought one gift, and that there weren’t other kings who arrived empty-handed.

We’ve likely heard tons of homilies about how we should bring our gifts to Jesus, and how wise men (and women) still seek him, and the like.  So as I prepared my homily, I was trying to think of a different homily other than the usual one we hear on the Epiphany each year.  I even looked back at last year’s homily, where I preached about how the word Epiphany means to show off, and how God shows Himself off, but without bragging, and how we are also called to show off Jesus.  And as I was preparing, my heart was leading me to speak about the Magi.  But then it struck me: the Magi were not the only kings searching for Jesus.

I have never really focused on it before, though I have heard this Gospel at least 32 times, but there are two sets of kings looking for Jesus.  One is the Magi, following the star.  The other is King Herod, who wants to follow the Magi, but not to do Jesus homage, as he stated.  On the one hand we have people trying to find Jesus to honor Him.  On the other hand, we have people trying to find Jesus to kill Him.  The Magi bring their gifts to Jesus to honor who He is.  Herod brings the sword to kill Jesus because Herod is afraid of who Jesus is.  The Magi can see God’s design even in the stars, and are open to how God is communicating, though they are not Jews.  Herod has to ask the chief priests and the scribes where the king of the Jews would be born, and is not aware of God’s Holy Word which reveals that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem.  There are two very different searches going on

Th same is true today.  There are those who seek Jesus because they believe He is the King of Kings, and the answer to all their troubles.  There are those who seek Jesus in disdain because Jesus ruins all the “fun” they want to have and He threatens the way of life they prefer.  There are those who see with the eye of faith and notice how Jesus is the answer to the deepest longings of their hearts.  There are those who try to find ways to disprove Jesus’ teachings and find examples of how His disciples don’t live Jesus’ teachings out.  There are those who run to Jesus to obtain mercy.  There are those who run to Jesus and condemn Him for all the troubles in the world.

If Jesus is who He says He is, then gold, frankincense, and myrrh are the smallest gifts that we can give Jesus.  If Jesus truly is God and Man and rivals to humanity what it means to be human, then our response cannot be anything other than trying to change our life to follow Him.  Those who believe Jesus find in Him a new way to live, not just as a set of rules, but as a relationship with a person who prepares them for heaven.

But others, feeling that same tug at their hearts to change their lives, are more like King Herod, and fear what Jesus will take away from them.  They are worried that the change which Jesus requires for His disciples will diminish who they are, what they can do, and the joy that they will find.  They seek to put to death anything which threatens the reigns of their own ego, and will search for ways to discredit Jesus and His life as much as possible.

If we’re truly honest, we’re a mix of the two.  At times we are convinced by the Gospel and we want to be more like Jesus.  At other times we are afraid that Jesus will take away from us something that we need, and we do not trust Him.  May this celebration of the Epiphany, and our reception of the Body and Blood of Jesus in the Eucharist, make us less like King Herod who feared Jesus’ reign and sought to end it, and more like the Magi, who honored Jesus and brought Him gifts that represented so much more.  May we seek after Jesus, who wants to be found by us, so that we can give Him the gift of our very life.