EPIPHANY 2020

Posted : Jan-04-2020

This weekend as we celebrated the Epiphany of Our Lord, I read a reflection by Jennifer Hubbard to close off my homily. Here is the actual reflection that was written by her for Epiphany 2019:

The Feast of the Epiphany

By Jennifer Hubbard

Their mission was clear, their obedience and trust undeniable. We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage (Mt 2:2). They followed his star, brilliant and unmistakable, still and silent, revealed in the night sky. They followed his star and paid homage to the king of kings. I soak in the essence of what the Magi’s mission offers and remind myself—clarity comes in retrospect. I know where the star will lead and who they will encounter, and yet in that day and on their quest, they go to a place they do not know and encounter a king they could not have possibly imagined. They followed a star to arrive at the most unexpected of palaces, and still they lay prostrate and offer gifts to the gentle Mother and swaddled Babe settled amidst the animals.

I know my heavenly Father will guide me to places I cannot even begin to imagine, and yet still there are moments I plead he reveal a glimpse of what is to come. At times I beg for an epiphany, thinking the divine is revealed when I have confidence that I am walking in his way. As it was with the Magi, my epiphany is not in the knowing or the assurance; it is in the encounter. As with the Magi, I am called to watch expectantly and act obediently. For it is in this seeking and acting that I am brought to the most unexpected of beautiful places and stirred to pay homage to the real and living Jesus whom I encounter. For the reality is, the way is lit and my Savior awaits my arrival.

(JENNIFER HUBBARD resides in Newtown, CT. The younger of her two children, Catherine Violet, was a victim of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012)

Reflection from Magnificat, January 2019, Vol. 20, No. 11. Published by Magnificat: Yonkers NY, 2019.

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