Reading for Treasure

Epiphany                                                                                                         January 6, 2019
Fr. Albert                                                                                            St. Peter’s, New Iberia

Why read books? Entertainment? School or work? To discover something? That last one is what motivates today’s events. Epiphany, the feast of the wise men, the magi, the three kings and their three gifts. Thanks to the creche, we envision three men of different races riding camels across vast deserts searching for the long-awaited king of the Jews; like these men are searching for some hidden treasure. Adventurous and a little exciting. And, it ends with gifts!

Look closer and you’ll see something easily overlooked: reading books. Magi are “wise men,” which meant they read books… a lot of them. It’s partly how they knew to look out for this star and the new king. And when they get to Jerusalem, what’s the first thing people do? Read another book – or scroll, really – to find out where the baby will be. Yes, the unappreciated character in this story is the written word.

Ever since we figured out how to write down our words, they have played a crucial role in human history. Books allowed these foreign men to know about some ancient promises made to the small nation of Jews. Books allow us to hear this story today. We love books so much that we collected 73 of them into the sacred book called the Bible, the Word of God. The Quran – Islam’s holy book – even calls Christians “people of the book” because of our love of the written word. On top of all that, St. Peter’s has an Epiphany present for each of the families in our parish. You guessed it, it’s a book!

And yet, as great as books are, they aren’t enough. The wise men had their books, but they still needed a star, a journey, and the visit of an angel to complete their search. The scribes in Jerusalem had the books of the prophets, but they didn’t even know to look for Jesus until the Magi showed up. In reality we are not “people of the book.” The Word of God is not primarily the words printed on the pages of a bible. It is a Divine person, the God-Man Jesus Christ.

All the reading in the world does not replace an encounter with the living God. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t read. Today’s feast, the Epiphany, is about many things like prophecies and king cakes and presents. But what is the central meaning of it all? The word means “manifestation.” It is about God’s plan – and his Son – being manifested to the world outside of Judaism.

For thousands of years, God has focused intensely on the Israelites. The promised land, the kingdom of Judah, the messiah who would be king. But throughout that time, there have been hints: prophecies and allusions to a wider vision, one that spread beyond a single country to the whole world. Then, suddenly, these foreign wise-men show up and figure out something that the Jews won’t realize for another 30 years: that the messiah is not just a king, but a God, the God of the universe.

And God bless the books that helped them get there! Not just dusty old scrolls, but the book of nature. These men were paying attention to the stars, to the little signs written into the fabric of the world that pointed to God. From early on, the Church has interpreted these events to teach us that God reveals himself in nature and we can discover things about him there – by reading the book of nature.

And every human being can know something about God from looking for him in the world around us. The Magi managed to get all the way to Jerusalem by following a star. But it wasn’t enough. God also reveals himself in a special way through the book of Scripture. It wasn’t until their natural wisdom was enlightened by the supernatural revelation of Scripture that they could actually find God.

And still the Jews who had Scripture the whole time couldn’t find God even after the Magi’s arrival woke them up. The Jews were so content with having the answer that they never though to ask the right questions. The Magi didn’t really tell them anything new, but the Magi had something they did not: a desire to discover the truth. God uses these three kings to teach the Jews and the whole world two key lessons: One, that God wants the whole human race to be his children, not just the Jews. And two, that having the right books and knowing the right answer isn’t enough.

Both of these lessons still haven’t been learned. First, so many Christians are complacent, happy with being God’s children but making no effort to help the rest of the world share in that gift. Over two-thirds of the world’s population does not share the gift of being God’s adopted children. God wants them to, but these people will remain outside that plan until they are evangelized and baptized.

Second, Christians are complacent in growing up with the faith. They’ve always had the answer, so they never ask questions. They know the destination, so they never make the journey. Converts are often like the Magi. They didn’t have the faith growing up, so they are excited to discover the sacraments, to learn the ancient teachings, to see the incredible perspectives offered by the faith. We tend to just shrug our shoulders and say “well, yeah.” Learn from converts; Magi in our midst.

Much of the world is like those who knew the wise men but did not follow them. Many of us are like the Jews who had the answer in Scripture, but never found it; they never looked. Don’t stay that way. God wants people who seek him. He wants disciples, not pew potatoes.

The book we are giving you is can help you become that disciple: to learn from the Magi to ask the right questions and from the Jews where to find the answer, and to learn how to share both the questions and the answer with others. This book will help, but you’ll also need the books of nature, of life, and Scripture – then there is how you read them.

The Magi read books the same way they travelled and did everything else – to discover the truth. Do you seek the truth? Do you strive to share that truth? God is infinite; There is always more to discover. Are you like the Magi who never stop seeking him? Who bring him gifts not just of gold, but other souls and believers? Or are you like these Jews who keep to themselves? Who think they know him and, in their presumption, miss out on the greatest gift of all, God Himself?