The Way of Welcome

Feast of the Epiphany

Let us emulate the Magi: able to see God in the face of an impoverished child, conceived out of wedlock, without a home, born in a stable, forced into exile as a refugee.  The Magi, men of royalty and wisdom, were humble enough to see true royalty and wisdom, and to know that all power and wisdom has its source in God.  Do we see Christ in the faces of the homeless, the poor, pregnant teenagers and single parents, immigrants and refugees?  Can we, like the Magi, approach them in humility, ready to offer the most precious gifts we have?  Can we see in them the face of God on earth?

Let us emulate the star, as Pope St. Leo exhorts us: “The obedience of the star calls us to imitate its humble service: to be servants, as best we can, of the grace that invites all men to find Christ.”  Indeed, the wise men themselves emulated the star: their humble service to the Lord points the way for us.  It is in serving others that we will draw the world to Christ.  Let us be lights that shine in the darkness, lights that burn not for our own sake, but to illumine the way for others on their own journey to Bethlehem - to the place where Christ where be born in their hearts.

Let us emulate the Holy Family, who welcomed these strangers from afar into their homes.  Let us emulate Mary, who showed her willingness to learn from these foreign men, keeping their words and deeds in her heart.  Let us emulate Christ, who opened the gates of heaven to all people.  Let us not be Herods who operate out of suspicion and fear., for these lead to murder and death.  Let us, rather, choose the way of life, the way of joy: the way of openness, of welcome, of embrace, of grace.