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Sunday, January 06, 2013

A Call to the Church: Reflecting on This Sunday's Readings

“Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem!”

This weekend’s readings are a wakeup call to the Church. The Solemnity of the Epiphany is when we celebrate the revelation of Jesus Christ to the world.
The 3 Magi in the readings of today represent the world. The Magi weren’t Jewish; they were foreigners from the east. For the readers millennia ago, the Magi would have been exotic, unknown, coming from the parts of the world that were barely known.  They, though, were the ones who first recognized the full significance of the coming of Jesus. They brought him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Only rulers were rich enough to own gold. The gift of gold is recognition that Jesus would be king. The frankincense was used in the practice of sacrifice of animals in the ancient religions, a very practical way to cover up the smell of burning flesh in the altar fires. Giving Jesus frankincense was a recognition that Jesus would be priest. Myrrh is a balm, a perfumed oil that was often used in the preparation of bodies for burial. Just as the incense reveals that Jesus would be the priest offering the sacrifice, the myrrh reveals that Jesus would be the sacrificial victim that is offered. In his life, he is King, Priest, and Sacrifice.
The Magi came from worlds away to this little nowhere town, not really knowing that it was Jesus they were seeking, but knowing what it was they were hoping to find: a king who would give them piece, a priest who would advocate for them to the Almighty God, and a victim that would be sacrificed for the forgiveness of their sins.
Why is this a wakeup call to the Church? The last command that Jesus gave to this disciples was to go out into the all the world and make disciples of all nations. How do we do that?
We “rise up in splendor!” Whenever we hear the Old Testament readings, and we hear references to Israel or Jerusalem or God’s Holy People, these are foreshadowings of the Church. The prophets are calling us to “rise up in splendor.”
Here’s the Truth, Church: we have Jesus. Jesus is the Light of the World. When we live in Him, He radiates from us, and draws people to himself. By shining in the splendor of Jesus, we draw people to him, people who will come, not really knowing that it is Jesus they are seeking. They come looking for something that will bring peace to their lives. They come looking for someone who they feel like is on their side. They come looking for forgiveness, even if they don’t realize yet that it is forgiveness that they seek.
So how are we to shine? First, and above all else, by being the beautiful Christian that God has recreated in the new life we find in Jesus. In Christ, you are a new creation. In Christ, you are beautiful. In Christ, you have the strength to meet the challenges of life. In Christ, you have the knowledge that the sufferings of this life are not the end of the world. In Christ, you have the peace that surpasses understanding. In Christ, you are beautiful. Be beautiful, and your beauty of heart and soul will draw people, just as surely as the star drew the Magi. When they come to you, and they will, drawn by your other-worldly beauty, you will show them Jesus.
We also shine by our sincerity of worship. I think sometimes our Sunday celebrations do more to drive people away from the Church than lead people to worship. What message is heard on Sundays? Not just the words that are prayed or preached. There is message and there is meta-message. The message is what is prayed and preached. The meta-message is what is actually communicated. Do people come and experience a community centered on Christ, and truly lifting their hearts up to him? Or do people come and experience a community that is there because that’s just what we do on Sunday mornings? Do visitors experience a people fully participating in worship and offering sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving? Or do visitors experience a people who are wondering why they go to Church because they just don’t get anything out of it anymore? This extends to our priests and leaders in worship, too. Does the congregation gathered experience a leader in worship who is sincere in his prayers, or someone who is just mindlessly reading words or reciting the same things over and over?
Our Sunday worship is a wonderful opportunity to be beautiful together, to experience the Lord shining upon us, the Lord’s glory appearing over us. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Jesus was a baby in Bethlehem and Nazareth. These two towns were dumps. The Magi weren’t drawn to the palaces of the king or to the wonder of the temple. They were drawn to Jesus.
This weekend’s readings are a call to the Church. We have Jesus. Are we drawing the world, or our neighbors, to him?

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