THE FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY, THREE KINGS!

There was an old grandmother who used to read the scriptures daily. She came to know through scripture reading that the long-awaited Saviour will be born in Bethlehem. So she gathered together all of her possessions and moved to David’s city. There, she lived in a simple house and prayed each day that God would let her know when the Saviour would be born. She intended to offer her possessions as a gift to the newborn king. One night after supper, she turned out the light and went to bed. But before she fell asleep, there was a knock at her door. “Who could it be at this hour?” she thought. She lit the lamp and opened the door.

There, she saw three strangers with camels standing before her. “The Saviour is born,” they announced, and we have come from the east to worship him. We were told in a dream to stop here and to bring you along with us. We have gifts to offer and we know that you do also.” The old grandmother rejoiced receiving this news that the Saviour is born." It was night and cold was very severe, so she decided to see the newly born saviour with her gifts the next day morning She ascertained from the strangers the exact directions and location to the stable and wrote them carefully down. Then she sent them on their way. The next morning, she arose early in the morning and gathered together all of her gifts: food, clothing, and money. She followed the directions and location directly to the stable. When she entered, it was empty. The holy family had already departed. The old grandmother stomped her foot, “I have missed them,” she said, “I should have come last night itself with strangers!”

But she was a determined woman. “I will keep looking for them,” she decided, “they couldn't have gone too far.” And so old grandmother began to look fo them. She asked everyone she met. Did they know of a poor child, perhaps to be found in a manager, perhaps even living on the street. She wanted them to tell her all that they knew. And they did. Some people knew of a poor family who lived on the outskirts of the city. Other people knew of a young child who was sick. Others heard of strangers who were in town with no place to stay. Old grandmother visited them all. But she could never be certain whether this child and this family were the same family that the strangers had told her about.

So she continued to look for that child and family, week after week, month after month. She found many children and poor children everywhere. She found many a cradle, many a manger, and many a mother nursing her child. In each place, she left a part of the gift that she was going to give to the Christ child: Here some food, to this family some money, to this child some clothes. In time, all that she had was gone. She returned to her own home empty-handed.

That night, Jesus appeared to her in a dream. “There you are!” she exclaimed, “I have looked everywhere for you and have not been able to find you. I had gifts to give you but now they are gone.” “I know,” said Jesus, and I have received all your gifts. For whatever you gave to the least of my brothers or sisters you gave it to me.” Old grandmother smiled. She was satisfied. She had not seen the Christ child in the manger, but she had lived her gospel.

A few of us here today have ever been to Bethlehem. Those who visited that holy place found that the manager was empty. But being a disciple of Jesus does not mean seeing him in the stable but it is living his gospel. Whenever we feed the poor, whenever we visit the sick or imprisoned, whenever we welcome the stranger, we are ministering to Christ himself. When we are patient with a relative who irritates us, when we are kind to the kid at school that everyone else mocks, when we listen to the person who is grieving or are generous with those who struggle, we are not only serving them. We are serving Jesus.

We cannot go with the Magi to Bethlehem, but we can offer Christ our gifts. Not the gifts of gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh but gifts of respect, compassion, and love and this is called Epiphany or manifestation, a desire to see Jesus. This desire star will guide you to the manger of a sick, the needy, the hungry, the naked and a downtrodden people and there you offer your gifts of compassion, service and financial assistance like a good Samaritan. This is the real Epiphany

 MARY; MAGICIAN OR MODEL!

SOLEMNITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, THE MOTHER OF GOD

A man who had a severe heart attack was brought to a hospital where he was declared dead on arrival. Soon, some friends and his priest son Tony arrived on the scene. As they moved the body of the dead man, a wallet fell from his pocket. While picking up the wallet, a photograph fell from it. It was a shot of his son Tony while he was still a seminarian. Later, one of those presents told this story to his son, "A few nights ago," he said, "I was having a few drinks with your father. During our conversation, he took out this photograph of you and showed it to me. He said, 'This photograph made me a different person. Before my son Tony entered the seminary, I was a womanizer. As soon as I saw him in a cassock. I said to myself that I wanted my son to be a priest, and I wanted him to be proud of me, his father. I was often tempted to go back to my old ways. Whenever this happened, I would take out the picture of my son and look at it, and from it, I got the strength to overcome my desires. Since my son entered the seminary until now, I have never touched another woman." His son was dazed for days, not only because of the sudden death of his father but also at hearing of how his father had struggled to be worthy of him as a son - had struggled to love him in a very concrete and real way.

Today, the very first day of the year, the Roman Catholic Church gives us a feast of Mary. This feast brings up a question that is dividing many homes these days. Should we have images? Do Catholics worship Mary? Do they worship images of Mary? I think the answer is in the story of Tony's father. His father carried around a picture of his son, and that picture empowered him to live consistently with his love for his family. If the pictures or images of Christ and the saints do the same for us, then their use is very valid and helpful. If they challenge or empower us to live consistently with our love for Christ, then they are most helpful. But if they are a sort of amulet that we expect to give us magical protection from danger, they may be leading us into religious immaturity. One of the worst things we can do in religion is to ask God to do for us what we should be doing for ourselves.

This brings us to distinguish two attitudes that we can have towards the Blessed Mother or towards the saints. There are two principal ways of looking at them: as intercessors or as models.

In most homes, there is an altar where we keep statues of saints, statues of Mother Mary, Joseph and Infant Jesus. This area is considered the most powerful area.These statues at the Altar are expected to protect us from harm and to help us with difficulties. Sometimes, they are asked to help us even in shady deals. They can be invoked to help a business transaction that is not quite honest or to pass an exam for which we have not studied. Mostly, we turn to the saints as intercessors to act as go-betweens with God to gain favours for us or to protect us from evil happenings.

The Feast of the Solemnity of Mary, the mother of God on January 1, is of recent origin. Its inspiration comes from the document Lumen Gentium of The Second Vatican Council. What is interesting in this document is that Mary is revered not primarily because she was the mother of Jesus but rather because she was his first faithful follower. What is highlighted is her response to God, and she is set before us as a model of how we should be before God.

The opening scene in St Luke's Gospel, where we find Mary encountering the angel, gives us one of the fastest diagnoses and treatments in all of history. "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found grace with God." The visitor, "Doctor Gabriel," notices at once how fearful Mary is, and he immediately gives her the correct prescription. He tells her to trust in a loving, caring God.

Fear is a condition from which none of us are free. If we try to overcome it by our own means, we tend to become more and more insecure. We will become more and more compulsive and addictive in our efforts to control the world around us. But if we can let go of fear - as we do when we try to meditate - and yield to the realization that we are loved by God, our fear will lessen.

In the Gospel stories about Mary, we see her often in fearful situations. She is told that soldiers are going around killing infants and that her baby is their target. Most parents can identify with her panicky feeling when Jesus talks back to her after he has been found in the temple. She is fretful about the embarrassment of the host at Cana when the wine runs short. She says to the servants - as she says to us - "do whatever he tells you to do."

When Jesus was about 30 years old, he left home and the family carpentry business. At first, when he worked a lot of miracles and healed people, he was very popular. Later, he challenged people's behaviour and told parables and stories that drew attention to the hypocrisy of the political and religious leaders of his time. When this happened, the leaders conspired against him and had him tried on false charges and condemned to crucifixion. Mary was on the sideline of many of these happenings. She was at the foot of the cross when Jesus died. She received no instant or magical relief.

Today, too, there are many mothers standing at the foot of the cross. It may be the cross of an unfaithful or cruel husband or of a drug dependent child. There are men carrying the cross of family situations that they cannot handle, and of fretful wives that nag them so much that their homes become hell. Mary is an example to us of someone who neither asked nor got easy magical solutions for her problems from the God with whom she was so close. Yet she lived for him alone and was ever faithful.

It is often easier to light a candle in the church than it is to follow the example of Mary, or of Tony's father, who expressed their faith in deeds rather than in words.

 *FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY! *

In an old Chinese story, a teacher who was talking about the beauty of family life asked his students, "What is the most satisfying thing in life?" "A happy marriage," some replied. Others said, "Good health." There were many more answers, but after everyone failed to give the correct one, the teacher said, "The most satisfying thing in life is to see a child confidently walk down the road on his own after you have shown him the right way to go."

Once again the Church reminds us of the importance of the family by celebrating the Feast of the Holy Family on the very first Sunday after Christmas. The Holy Family of Jesus, Joseph and Mary, living together in Nazareth is often called the model and example of all Christian families, however, when you think about the Holy Family as a model for our life, perhaps there is something in that idea we may find a little hard to swallow. For the Holy Family is so Holy, the child is so absolutely special, the relationship between Mary and Joseph so different from what we normally expect of a married couple, that it seems almost impossible to relate the circumstances of our daily family life to the lives of these three people in Nazareth. It was in such a family that Jesus learned the "right way to go" — a family which, though it had its moments of joy, was nonetheless not spared from problems and sufferings. To cite a few examples.

*Rejection*: When the hour for the delivery of Jesus came, He was born in a manger because there was "no room in the inn." What, irony! The Son of the Creator of the universe did not even have a decent place to be born in!

*Victim of power play*: Shortly after the birth of Jesus, a new family crisis occurred. King Herod regarded Jesus as a threat to his political security. For did not the Magi say that they were looking for the King of the Jews? Herod thus ordered the massacre of all male children in Bethlehem two years old and under. What some people are willing to go through to stay in power, even at the expense of the innocent!

*Political refugees:* Joseph must have been unaware of this development. But not God. In a dream, an angel told Joseph to take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. In contemporary terms, such people are called "political refugees." Joseph, using his carpentry skills, supported his family as a foreign worker.

*Lost and found:* When Jesus was twelve, the family went to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of the Passover as it was custom. On the way home, perhaps because Joseph and Mary left separately, each thought that the other had Jesus. It was only when they saw each other in the camp that evening that they discovered Jesus was not with either of them. Another suffering: They were parents of a lost child, an experience shared by many parents separated by divorce or its equivalent, man–made or natural calamities or war.

From these instances, we can easily see that the Holy Family was not exempted from problems and sufferings. But praying and putting their trust in God, they confronted them head on. Problems and sufferings, accepted and doing something about them in faith, strengthened their love for each other and consequently their family ties.

Blest as the Holy Family was by God, it did not dispense with the ordinary human qualities that each member of the family must work hard to acquire love and concern for one another, respect for each one's dignity and freedom and trust for one another.

The fact that God allowed His Son Jesus to be born and to grow up in a family shows the importance of the family in His plan of salvation. In the family, Jesus was not only nourished but also nurtured. There, seeing the example of His parents, He learned what to have an intimate loving relationship with each other and with God was. There He learned what love and support for one another can do in times of difficulties. There He learned about compassion for those with less in life. In short and in the words of St. Paul, they "put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another.... And over all these (they) put on love, ".

Nowadays, the family, the nucleus, and the bedrock of society are under severe attacks from all sides. From within, one reason why families break up is pride — husbands and wives are too proud to accept each other's weaknesses and faults. The consequences of broken families to each other and the other members of the family are too grim to imagine. And who suffer the most? The children, of course!

If only all families anchor their marriage in God, as did the Holy Family, then many of the problems besetting families today may be prevented. If only married couples allow the values of love and concern for one another, respect for each one's dignity, and freedom and trust for one another reign supreme in their marriage, then when problems arise, they can face them together in faith thus bringing them closer to each other. Then, for them, the family really becomes the place where they will find God and their sanctification.

May the Holy Family be the model of all families!

 *CHRISTMAS VIGIL MASS HOMILY! *

Today we have gathered here after a long preparation of four Sundays of Advent to celebrate Christmas, the birthday of our Saviour and master. We Christians believe in the miracle of Jesus' virgin birth, and we also believe that this miracle baby was God incarnate — God becoming human. The newborn Saviour was fully human and fully divine — a mystery that only heaven will fully reveal.

One of the best religion writers Louis Cassels of United Press International was wide read his column of "Religion in America" from 1955-1974. For several years he struggled to find an effective way to communicate the doctrine of the incarnation which he believed to be "the heart of the Christian faith that God has revealed himself in history in the person of Jesus Christ."

In December 1959, Cassels wrote "The Parable of the Birds," which became so popular that it featured in many magazines year after year, and it is still told countless times on every Christmas season.

In his Parable of the Birds, Louis Cassels tells of a man who refuses to go with his family to the Midnight Mass because he cannot understand the incarnation. Left alone at home, he finds a flock of birds in his backyard. Caught in the storm, the little creatures are desperate for shelter. He tries to usher the birds into the barn by sprinkling breadcrumbs along the way. When this fails, he tries to show them in by walking around them, waving his arms in the air. But the birds still do not understand. Finally, he realizes the problem: the birds find him a stranger and a terrifying creature. They do not trust him. He murmurs, “If only I could be a bird for a moment, perhaps I could save them. “At that moment, he hears the church bells ring the good news of Christmas. He sinks to his knees, saying: “Now I see why God has to become one of us.” Why does he have to become a man?

By becoming man, God has, in a certain way, united Himself with every human person. He has revealed to us the truth about who He is – He is Love. He has revealed to us also that every human being has dignity, including the unborn child, the poor, the outcast, the suffering, and the dying. By becoming man, God came to earth to deliver us from sin and death. He came to make all things new to bring about the new creation. He took on our human nature so that we might become partakers of His divine nature, that we become sharers in the life of the Blessed Trinity. “The people who live in darkness have seen a great light.” We live in darkness, but He is light. So God descended into our darkness that we may share in His light.

Yes, our God stoops, he stoops so low to the lowest place, the manger and to find him, and be with him we too must be willing to stoop. God hates pride. He just can’t stand it. With humility, by descending so low to take upon himself the nature of man, he conquers pride. Darkness cannot overpower darkness. Only light can do that. Hate can not defeat hate. Only love can do that. Pride will not defeat Pride. Only humility will do that. So God stoops.

And tonight, God calls us with this same humility. He could have descended from Heaven on a lightning bolt and stunned us into fearful submission. Instead, he goes to the lowest place. He comes quietly, non-violently, without threat, as an infant. But even in this lowly way, he is still calling.

Jesus comes to be born for us. But is there room in the inn of our heart to receive him?

The Gospels tell us “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. But to all who did receive him and believed in his name, he gave the power to become children of God.” What could be sadder than to miss this precious gift to become the very Children of God?

But what do we need to do if we are to take this gift of Christ seriously? We have already taken the first step: we have set time aside in which to keep Vigil. We have listened to the word of God, and it is penetrating into our hearts. Tonight we seek to open our hearts again to welcome Christ into our lives, not simply as a consolation in our hardships but as the Master, the Lord, who alone can teach us the way to live each day.

Once again let us be reminded that the great joy of Christmas is that God made himself as we are so that we might ever become what he is – that we, too, may share in the divine life of him who humbled himself to share own humanity. Christmas reminds us that Jesus truly is Emmanuel – God with us – and not only God with us, God who loves us.

Tonight, we are being invited to begin once again a relationship of love with Jesus. As we keep vigil in this Church, we are invited by Christ through the angels who announce his presence to set aside all fear. We are called into the presence of the Christ-child. We are invited to accompany him in his journey from infancy, through childhood, to his adult life and to his death and resurrection; from this Vigil of Christmas night to the Solemn Vigil of Easter night. We are invited to surrender ourselves, the whole of ourselves, into his hands so that he, Christ, may transform us by his word and through his sacraments.

Let us pray: Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

 THE THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT YEAR C!

There was a great monastery that had fallen on hard times. In the past it had been populated by hundreds of devoted monks who were praying, working in the fields and serving the poor. But now for a variety of reasons, the population of the monastery had dwindled until all that were left were the Abbott and three monks. And they were all in their 70’s, so clearly the life of this monastery was about to come to an end. In the woods next to the monastery there was a small hut in which an old rabbi lived. He was known for his wisdom and spent his days as a hermit. The Abbott thought there was nothing to lose in visiting the rabbi. Perhaps he would have some word of advice that could save the monastery. The rabbi welcomed the Abbott warmly and listened to his story. Then the rabbi said, “I know only one thing about your monastery: God has revealed to me that the Messiah is one of you.”

The Abbott returned to the monastery and told the other monks what the rabbi had said. They were filled with wonder. The Messiah is one of us, one of us here in the monastery? Immediately they began to debate who the Messiah could be: It must be the Abbott. He’s our leader, and he has wisdom and strength. Surely, he is the Messiah. But then again, there is Brother Thomas. He is a holy man, and we often see the love on God in him. It probably is not Brother Elrod. He is old and cranky. But when we have to make a decision, he’s usually right. In fact he is almost always right. Maybe he’s the Messiah. The only monk left was Brother Phillip, and at first no one thought he was the Messiah because he was passive and even lazy. But then they realized that whenever there was a need, he was suddenly there to help. So try as they might, the monks could not figure out who the Messiah would be. Therefore, they determined to wait until the Messiah was revealed.

But as they waited, they changed. Because they were sure that the Messiah was one of them, they began to treat one another with more and more respect. They found themselves laughing more often, beginning the day with a certain joyous expectation that perhaps today might be the day that the Messiah was revealed. The people who lived in the village close to the monastery noticed the change in the monks when they interacted with them. People started to come for Mass at the monastery and began seeking out the monks for spiritual direction. The word spread among their family and friends. Soon the young people in the town began to consider joining the monastery. In a few years, that monastery was as alive and thriving as ever.

In today's gospel John the Baptist tries to announce the same powerful message to the Jews of His time who were anxiously waiting for the coming of the Messiah. John tells them: " Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal".

The reason the Jews of Jesus’ time could not recognize him as the Messiah is that they had definite ideas on how the Messiah was going to come. The Messiah would suddenly descend from heaven in his divine power and majesty and establish his reign by destroying the enemies of Israel. No one would know where he came from, humanly speaking, because he came from God. So when finally Jesus came, born of a woman like every other person, they could not recognize him. He was too ordinary, too unimpressive.

After 2000 years, are we now better able to recognize Christ in the persons of the ordinary men and women in our midst together with their unimpressive attitudes, habits and appearances?

John the Baptist was the last of the prophets whose mission was to bear witness to the Lord when he came among his people. He prepared the way for the Anointed One and pointed him out. Today John is the model for every one of us: we are called to be prophets in our world; we are called to bear witness to the Christ; in the wilderness of human greed, injustice, and falsehood. We are called to make straight the way of the Lord.

Advent is a time of preparation for the coming of the Lord: His coming to us sacramentally at Christmas, His coming to us individually at the end of our lives and His coming to us collectively at the end of time. That's why in the first Sunday of Advent, we talked about the preparation by being watchful because we do not know when Christ will come again. In the second Sunday, we also talked about how to prepare and be watchful and that is preparing the way of the Lord by way of repentance. And today's Third Sunday of Advent let us talk about Christ's coming or His presence among us especially nowadays. All through the centuries, Jesus has been coming into the lives of his people, and along with his comings John the Baptist's indictment keeps re-echoing: There is one among you whom you do not recognise."

What a changed world there would be if we would treat the people we live with and meet each day like the monks after they discovered that the Messiah was in their midst, but in disguise. Is he still amongst us and we don’t recognize him because of his disguise?

Lord Jesus, give us your holy Spirit so as to recognise you in others always and to treat them with respect and love as the best way to prepare for your coming at Christmas and at the end of time. Amen.