Mt 2:1-12 That Ah Ha moment

Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord
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When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, "Where is the newborn king of the Jews?  We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage."

Why were they looking?  There is a lot to meditate on in today's Gospel passage.  Three wise men were following a star.  But why were they looking?  Why were they even searching?  I think it is because they were restless; something or someone was missing in their lives, that ah ha moment.

We tend to think wealthy people have it made. Believe me, they don't.  We tend to think poor people are miserable.  Believe me, they aren't.  For these two reasons, the crèche is the ideal place to meditate and contemplate on these misconceptions and correct our superficial impressions. 

The wise men had their eyes fixed on the heavens because they were looking for meaning on earth.  What's this world all about? 

For them, it wasn't unreasonable to believe in a higher being, and one that would want to reveal himself to them.  It was just a matter of time and keeping their heart, mind and eyes open.  So when these men saw an amazing scene, they immediately set their hearts and minds to finding the person behind it.  

Was this their ah ha moment?  Not yet.

Something about that star.  We would like to believe the wise men were astronomers.  I tend to think they were more like philosophers or poets or even storm chasers.  They were adventurers.  They were dreamers.  They were star chasers. 

The star may have inspired them, but I believe they were already inspired well before they ever saw the star.  The star simply gave them an excuse to get moving.  It clinched a hunch they had.  So they journeyed to got to the bottom of it. 

Where they surprised it led them to a manger?  I think so.  Was this their ah ha moment?  I  believe so.

What's below that star?   A while back I read that NASA was very much interested in catching an asteroid.  They want to catch it and bring it back to earth to study it.  How amazing is that.  But while I was reflecting on this, I thought about today's readings. 


Now I know the wise men followed a star, not an asteroid.  But what I find most appealing about them is that they weren't interested in catching it and bringing it home.  Herod was. 
Herod wanted to catch the star (the child) and bring it back home to destroy it.  I think many of us would love to catch Christ's star and bring it back home with us and have it settle above us!  This takes a lot of pride and a lot of arrogance.

The wise men were amazing.  Their encounter with the child Jesus changed their lives.  In fact, they even journeyed back home a different way.  This takes humility.  It takes a lot of courage as well.
Was this their ah ha moment as well?  You bet. 

The Cave.  The wise men traveled a great distance and found themselves inside a cave, adoring a child and kneeling before his mother and father.  They had never imagined a star tied to a manger, the divine and human being one, a child being the Son of God, royalty mixed in with poverty, and strength flowing through humility.

Was this an ah ha moment?  Oh yeah.  It was an epiphany!