"A Call To Stardom"

Sermon for Feast of the Epiphany, Jan 3-4, 1998

by Most Rev. Dr. Robert M. Bowman, Presiding Bishop, United Catholic Church

Isaiah 60: 1-6

Psalm 72: 1-2, 7-8, 10-13

Ephesians 3: 2-3, 5-6

Matthew 2: 1-12

One Christmas, long long ago (when I was a Cub Scout, that’s how long ago), the Cubs had a Christmas party. At one point, Santa came in and took a seat on the stage. We all lined up, and one by one went up to Santa to get a gift. As my turn came, and I went up to Santa, he looked at me and said, "Merry Christmas, Robert Marcus Bowman." I looked at him, and there was this sudden flash of recognition. I said, "Jesus, it’s Daddy!"

My father loved to tell that story. He always said he had never heard me take the Lord’s name in vain before or since. Poor Maggie heard that story so many times that she’s sick of it. But it illustrates a point I want to make, which I’ll get to in a minute. But first, another example.

Maggie and I went to high school together, were in the drama club together, but were only casual acquaintances. Our closest connection was that she was good friends with my steady girlfriend. I went off to college, became a Catholic, got dumped by my steady, and eventually became good friends with Maggie. We double-dated a lot, but never with each other. I often fixed her up with friends of mine. I was always with another girl.

One evening I called her up and said, "You want to go dancing?" She said, "I guess so. Who with?" Imagine her surprise when I said, "Me." Well, one thing led to another. Between my junior and senior years in college, I was dating dozens of girls, including Maggie. One evening, I was driving alone between our two houses in my 1946 Plymouth. I could feel the breeze on my left arm as I drove. Suddenly, it was clear to me. This was one girl I was not prepared to lose. This was the girl I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. This sudden realization, this recognition of the essence of reality is called an epiphany.

An epiphany doesn’t have to be such an important, life-changing event. It can be something as simple as when I recognized my father in Santa Claus. That was an epiphany too. The dictionary defines epiphany as a manifestation or "sudden flash of recognition." It is a moment when the "essence appears."

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany. The "Epiphany" here is the recognition of Jesus by the Magi as the Messiah, the King of the Jews. It, like all epiphanies, is a sudden occurrence which happens at a given instant of time. But, as with most epiphanies, there was a lot leading up to it.

The Magi spent many years studying the stars and the Hebrew scriptures and other writings. They spent many nights following the star. Without that preparation, they could not have recognized Jesus.

Similarly, without the years of friendship, without the dating, I could not have recognized Maggie as the love of my life. Without years of sitting on my father’s lap and hearing his voice, without him opening his mouth and calling me by name, I could not have recognized my father in Santa Claus.

I’m sure all of you have had epiphanies in your lives. Does anyone have one they’d like to tell us about?

Think of those times in your life when you have had this sudden flash of recognition. I’ll bet they weren’t isolated events. I’ll bet each had things which led up to it. For every epiphany, there’s preparation, and there’s a star. The Magi would not have recognized Jesus as the Messiah without their years of study, nor without the star.

It’s the same today. God is still leading people to his son. He’s still using the scriptures to prepare them. But he’s not using a star. He’s using something else. What is it? What takes the place of the star? What does God use to lead people to his son?

Us! We, the church, the members of his body, we are the star. You, my brothers and sisters, you are the light of the world.

Are you a reliable guide star for Jesus? People who see you, are they led to Jesus?

Do you let your "little light" shine? Or do you hide it under a bushel?

Have you been a star for someone else? Have you led others to the Lord? Now, you don’t always find out. Some of the "stars" in my life, those who witnessed to me as a youth, never knew how much influence they had. They came into my life, burned brightly for a moment, then moved on, never knowing if I had reached the destination.

So you may have been a "star" for others and not have any idea that you were the one responsible for bringing them to Christ. But then, sometimes you do know.

Understand, you can’t give somebody an epiphany. That is the job of the Holy Spirit. The final manifestation, the moment when the essence appears, the "sudden flash of recognition" is a gift of God. Don’t feel like a failure if you have been trying to give that to a person, and it just never comes. God has to give that ultimate gift. And the person has to be ready to receive it. By the same token, don’t be too puffed up if you succeed. You didn’t give that person an epiphany. God did.

The years of preparation, the studying of the scriptures — you can’t provide these for a person (unless it’s your child or someone over whom you have similar influence). For the most part, each person has to prepare themselves for their personal epiphany.

So there’s usually not too much we can do about either end of the process. They are between God and the person seeking him.

But the intermediate step, that’s the one each of us can do. We can be the link between the libraries of Damascus and the crib in Bethlehem. We can be the star.

God’s love is infinite. It is inclusive. As Paul says to the Ephesians, "God’s secret plan, now revealed, is that in Christ Jesus the Gentiles are now co-heirs with the Jews." (By the way, the Magi represent the Gentile world. That’s why Epiphany can also be called "Gentile Sunday." It celebrates the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles.) So this is also a feast of inclusivity. God wants all outcasts to come to him and be outcasts no more.

So if God loves everybody, how come not everybody is saved? How come not everybody belongs to God?

This is a tough question. God hasn’t revealed the all the answers to us. But part of it has to do with free will. You know, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink."

But another possible part of the answer may be that there are horses wandering around in the desert perfectly willing to drink, but unable to find the water. They need someone to lead them to it. Again, that’s where we come in.

So how do we do it? How do we lead someone to the water of life? How do we become someone’s guiding star?

We do it partly by what we say. Too often we catholics are reluctant to witness to our faith. We musn’t be. There are millions out there thirsting for what we have right here today. We must tell them about it. We must invite them to church. We must let them know what a difference it has made in our lives.

But there’s a second and even more important part of being a guiding star — it’s what we do. People are led to Christ by our actions even more than by our words. They are led to Christ by our goodness, our joy, our serenity, and our love. "These Christians, how they love one another!"

But remember, our example doesn’t do much good unless people know we are Christians, unless they know that Christ is the source of our goodness and joy and serenity and love. So it takes both words and actions, both witness and example.

You have been given a great gift. The love of God burns within you. But if you bottle it up or put it under a bushel, it will suffocate for lack of oxygen. It will grow dim and perhaps die. But if you put it on a lampstand, if you expose it to others, it will burn brightly. It will be a beacon to others and a source of warmth and comfort to you.

Others are awaiting their epiphany. Be their guiding star. Let your little light shine.

Then, when we pass to our reward and the Lord introduces us to his father, we will discover a whole new meaning to the phrase, "Jesus, it’s Daddy!"

Let us pray.

Lord, we thank you for manifesting yourself, not just to the Jews, but to all of us. We thank you for our Epiphany. We acknowledge our duty and privilege to be a guiding light for others seeking you. So fill us with your Holy Spirit that others may see the brightness of your joy and love burning in us, and be led to you. Use us, Lord. We are yours. Amen.

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