Even if it was arduous, laborious, and even painful, I learnt a lot of lessons for my life during the process of drafting my doctoral thesis. There was a moment in which I was completely stuck, and I did not see any light at the end of the tunnel. I felt that I had no direction and that my thesis was going nowhere. One day, out of the blue, I received an e-mail from my director of studies asking me if I had managed to make any considerable progress. I replied in a very honest way relating how stuck I was and how I did not see any possible way to finish my thesis. She encouraged me and told me that we would speak during my upcoming residential period.
Sure enough, I went there, and I had a meeting with her, and after three hours of discussion and reflection she helped me clarify my ideas. At that moment I felt as though a very bright light shone upon me and showed me a path towards completing my thesis. After months of wandering and despairing, a bright light showed me a way out; I followed it and I was filled with joy, with satisfaction and with a sense of fulfillment, when, eventually, I defended my thesis and got my Doctorate. Safeguarding the proportions, of course, I am sure that was the experience of the Magi, as it is related in today’s gospel.
Magi
Regardless of who they really were; where they came from, and what their life was like before they saw the star, they recognized in the star a light that shone brighter than any light they had ever seen. That light made them leave everything and start a journey. This is clear from what they say to Herod: “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” The light of the star came to enlighten them in such a way that they wanted nothing more than to find the King of Kings, and by doing him homage, place their lives at his feet.
This is also made clear by what the text says later, when it reads that the star they had seen at its rising, “stopped over the place where the child was” and “they were overjoyed at seeing the star.” Finally, encountering whom they had so much yearned to see, “they opened their treasures, and offered him gifts.” Encountering the baby, and contemplating his glory, glory that matched the bright light effusing from the star, they found the meaning of their journey and the meaning of their lives. Through the gifts they left him, they were indeed placing at his feet, their very lives.
Start a Journey to Joy
Through this gospel that the Church proclaims on the Solemnity of the Epiphany, the Lord is calling us also to start a journey and to find joy in our lives. How often do we find ourselves lost in the darkness of our problems, our conflicts, and our sufferings! How often do we find ourselves lost in the midst of the uncertainties of our lives and the precariousness of our existence!
Well, a star is shining for us also. That star is Christ, Himself, present in His Church. The Word of God, the Sacraments, and the life within a community of faith carry the light of the star of Bethlehem; a light that can guide us always to find our savior and to discover the meaning of our lives.
Let us also go to meet Him and offer Him gifts; the gift of our desire to convert, the gift of our desire to do His will, the gift of the desire to love Him and love our neighbors. Let us allow ourselves to be so surrounded by the Spirit of this newborn king that we may see our desires fulfilled, and our lives transformed. Courage! May Lord bless you all!
[Readings: Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6; Matthew 2:1-12]
Lord! I offer you my whole being as a gift to you to do as you will. Thank you!