Homily: Solemnity of Epiphany
“Be a Light and a Refuge”
by Fr. William Holtzinger
Jan. 7/8, 2006

 
I am a pretty confident person.  I believe in what I am doing and I know that I am in the right place.  I’ve had my share of bumps and bruises and I’ve often been able to pick myself up and move ahead.  But in the past several weeks, I have had several experiences which have made me stop and re-look at myself and ask what darkness and sin has gradually taken up rent my heart.  Some significant people in my life died recently.   And the repercussions within my family and the surrounding family have made me see how important community is to the well being of a person.  We are meant to be in community.  I have always believed that fact, but something new about it has become more readily apparent in my life.   Something new has been revealed to me.  Living in the Northwest, we have a pioneer spirit about us. It pervades everything we do.  It’s in the air and in our food.  It is in our speech and in our behaviors.  It is also in our sense of faith.  In some senses it is good for our faith, but in other senses it is bad.  Briefly put, we as Christians are always better together than apart.  We as persons of a global community are best in solidarity than we are apart or on our own.  This is my personal example of an epiphany.
 
This weekend we celebrate Epiphany, the word which means a “showing” or “revealing.”  It is a time for us to rejoice in the light which Christ himself has revealed to us, a light upon our path to follow, and a truth which pierces through the darkness of sin.  It’s also a time for us to challenge ourselves about what biases or sins we carry and how they may darken our judgment and prevent the light of the Gospel to live in our hearts.
 
The journey of the Magi to the newborn messiah remind us that we, too, are on a pilgrim way to meet Jesus and that we must keep our hearts trained on the things above in order to know our way.  We are reminded that it is the very person of Jesus who will enlighten our hearts amidst the difficulties of our lives.  And finally, while darkness may shroud the events of our world, we should claim the promise that the darkness will not overcome, but rather that our faithfulness will all the more reveal God’s glory.  You see we are people of the light.
 
Any honest spiritual journey will be fraught with challenges and temptations.  And in order for Christ’s light to pierce them, we should open the doors to our hearts and examine what areas need to be brought into the light.
 
On way of doing that is by walking the journey with the Church as she marks this coming week as “National Migration Week.” The theme is “Journey to Justice.”  Recalling back to last week’s homily, in order to seek out justice, we must look into our hearts and determine where truth and falsity may reside and then move outward to see where both exist in our world.  
 
Within this context, the church desires that we be aware of those who are migrants, immigrants, refugees as well as those who suffer from human trafficking.  What attitudes or beliefs do you carry about these groups?  Are your attitudes and beliefs resonating in the truth?  What people come to mind when you think of these groups?  For the most part, people don’t like to be given labels, especially the label of a refugee.  It is somehow degrading.  When we ponder upon the events that follow the Magi’s pilgrimage to see the Christ child, we know that even the Holy Family had to flee for Herod was after their son.  
 
We are a country founded by such people.  And today, we struggle with the continual influx of immigrants who are looking for a better life as were many of our own ancestors.  Did you know that today we are the refuge for over 30 million displaced persons from across the globe?  Even within our own borders we have been the place of refuge for victims of disasters (think Hurricane Katrina).  Strangely enough, many of these victims have refused the label of a refugee.  I’ve spoken to many families whose adult children have returned home because of some tragic situation.  In a sense, they are refugees too.  Are they not coming to a place of shelter or safe environment that will support them in their difficult time?  Yet, we struggle with it as we see it as demeaning.   How does your attitude resonate the same towards them?  Do you have more or less compassion for them than for the group you were previously thinking about?  Why or why not?  Well, this homily cannot answer all these dilemmas, but I would point you to a bishop’s document  entitled, “Strangers No Longer, Together on the Journey of
 
Hope” which we can make available through our web site.  Additionally, Archbishop Vlazny has reflected upon these situation in his latest e-column.  I highly encourage you to download these texts for prayerful reading this week.
 
Epiphany encourages us to allow for a new light to be revealed in us.  We are all Christians, but that is not the end of the journey, for we all have growing to do.  Truthfully, we are all pilgrims seeking refuge.  And as a community, we need to be that shelter for each other.  We need to seek out our areas of darkness and fill them with the light of Christ.  And as we allow the light of Christ’s truth shine in each one of us, we will more just people. We will be more open to the foreigners in our own lives.  We will more easily welcome the stranger.  So, let the pioneer in you journey out of your comfort zone and make new connections within your own community.  Let God reveal himself in a new way this week.  Then maybe you can be a light for others.