God’s Self-revelation in Jesus Christ is for all.
We are beginning a New Year!
Always a reason for hope and goodwill!
No doubt, we could be discouraged on any number of fronts, be they political, social, family, economic, global, religious, or just the indiscriminate, heartless violence that can greet us daily on our television screens.
But let me speak positively, for this is the message of the feast of the Epiphany! The burning hope of the people for salvation and security that was sustained by the prophets and the people throughout centuries is finally realised.
What then are the resources we bring to confront our problems, be they local, national, or global; be they personal or familial?
At the risk of appearing simplistic in my approach, let me share with you a story related by Victor Frankl, the Jewish psychologist and author of the beautiful little book, Man’s Search for Meaning. This story rings with the same message heralded by the prophets.
Being a Jew, Victor Frankl was a prisoner in a concentration camp during World War II. On this occasion, his hut had been penalised with a whole day’s work without rations because some prisoner had stolen a potato or two. The leader of the hut asked Victor if he would speak to the men that the evening, for their spirits were very low -- a dangerous place when the daily struggle for survival required an unmitigated effort.
As he began to speak to the assembled men, the lights in the hut went out; so he continued on in the darkness. He spoke of hope. He said, “When you have a ‘why’ to live for, you can put up with any ‘how’”.
As a gathering of the faithful on the Feast of the Epiphany, the Self-Revelation of God to us in Jesus, where do we locate our hope?
Let me just mention two!
First of all, the beautiful, uplifting, and powerful stories of our faith:
- The Christmas story – divinity and humanity meeting in simplicity, vulnerability, and trust. - The Death and Resurrection of Jesus, our Saviour – the human spirit and the Divine Spirit confronting and defeating all the enemies of the human spirit and opening up for us a new horizon of hope.- Pentecost, the outpouring of the Creator, Comforting Spirit of Jesus and the Father.- The Teaching of Jesus – the parables of the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son, the Good Shepherd; the stories of Martha and Mary, Mary Magdalen, the Woman at the Well, Zachaeus, Lazarus, the Doubting Thomas, the Repentant Peter, the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, The Marriage Feast of Cana, the Parable of the Sower, the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the community of believers!- And then there are the powerful one-liners: Turn the other cheek, give the coat off your back, go the extra mile, love your enemies, why did you doubt?, what are you looking for?, Who do you say I am?, What are you afraid of? Love your enemies, do good to those who hurt you, love one another as I have loved you!
Surely, we are not without resources.
The second powerful resource I’d like to mention is the community of the faithful.
It is like another sacrament!
And we know the definition of a sacrament, don't we: a visible sign of invisible grace!
So as we start the New Year and end the second decade of this new century, let us acknowledge the strength and wisdom of hope that our faith provides for us day in and day out. It is there in the treasury of the Incarnate Divine Word, the Presence and Power of the Holy Spirit, and the witness of the community of the faithful.
We have been given a mission and have been empowered so as to fulfil that mission – of manifesting God’s love to all through our faith in the person of Jesus and the way to life that he has lived and revealed us.
Let us rejoice then in our giftedness and value the trust imparted to us.