Epiphany

Today we celebrate Epiphany...a few days early. Epiphany is actually on Wed.; the Church moves the celebration up to the Sunday prior. It makes me sad to see pictures on Instagram & Facebook of people taking down their decorations the day after Christmas. Christmas begins with Christmas Day. We spent Advent getting ready for the birth of our Lord; we take the 12 days of Christmas to celebrate his birth. We are called to not get sucked into the commercialism of Christmas but to rejoice that our Savior is born.
The star took center stage during today's homily. The star that the 3 Wise Men followed from the east, looking for this little baby who would save mankind still burns bright for us today. We are called to follow the light toward Jesus.According to the Priest, the Kings needed to witness God in the world. In following the light toward Jesus, we are to 1) look for the Lord, 2) follow the light, and 3) see the reality of God.
The 3 Kings brought gifts with them. The gift of myrrh caught my attention. The other Priest in our parish said that without Easter there wouldn't be Christmas. The gift of myrrh goes right along with that quote, since myrrh was used for burials. How did the Kings know what to bring as gifts? Rather prophetic, I'd say!
To end, Father left us with this statement and question:
We are called to be a light or a star and to lead others to Jesus. When someone looks at me, do they see the light of Christ?