A SURPRISING ENCOUNTER
Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6; Matthew 2:1-12
A religious sister, travelling from Chennai to Guwahati, got off at Kolkata. Exhausted after the long journey, she fainted. When she revived, she found herself lying on a bench. Her luggage was by her side. So was a porter, wiping her forehead with a damp cloth. He brought her a cup of tea and some biscuits, and waited till she had recovered. She thanked him and gave him some money; he brushed it aside, saying: “Sister, it is nothing. You would’ve done the same for me.” She had tears in her eyes because she knew that wasn’t true; and because she had encountered God in an unexpected place and person. A surprising encounter!
Today we celebrate a surprising encounter between Christ and the magi. This encounter involved two moments: God’s initiative and human response.
The magi’s coming to Bethlehem was a response to God’s initiative. It is not we who search for God, but God who searches for us and manifests himself to us; he draws us to an encounter with him. God makes use of the most surprising ways to draw us to him! He drew the magi to himself by a star. It was something they understood, something that was part of their culture and religion, and therefore, part of their lives. This is what he does… uses parts of our lives to draw us to him.
Today’s Gospel presents three responses: Herod’s fear and hostility; the total indifference of the chief priests and the scribes; the adoring worship of the magi.
We can get so used to this story that we underestimate the faith of the magi. We take for granted that they saw what they were looking for. What did they see: A palace? Visible signs of power? They saw just “a child with his mother.” And they adored; no questions asked. The result: they were filled with great joy. Matthew is emphatic: “They rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.”
God uses surprising, unlooked-for ways to draw us to himself: a star, a motley group of fishermen, the seemingly insignificant bread and wine…
How does he come to me today? Am I open to his surprising ways? Or am I so sure of the way God comes that I fail to recognize him when he comes in unexpected ways?
We need to discern the stars in our lives. Then like the magi, we can “rejoice exceedingly with great joy.”
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