This past weekend, one of the priests from our "sister" parish that we'll be merging with came to say Mass. It was the Feast of the Epiphany (though I'm still trying to figure out how that works, what with the sixth being Thursday...), and so he was preaching about the wise men.
He cast light on many elements of the story that I'd never considered, perhaps most notably the fact that they were--duh, Melissa--magi. Pagans. Non-Christians. And yet, they were pulled from three different countries to give homage to the Son of God. They weren't connected to the Holy Family at all, and knew next to nothing about the baby they would soon adore. All they knew was that somewhere, something amazing was happening.
The homily reminded me of an Advent homily my pastor gave last year, where he described just how lowly the conditions in Bethlehem would have been where Christ was born.
God brought salvation out of extreme poverty. He used an ordinary girl to change the entire world, and brought poor men from around the known world to worship Him. It proves to me time and time again that God will use anyone to further His glory. He passed over so many--the wealthy, kings, priests, nobles--in favor of the meek, humble and poor. Maybe Jesus said that "blessed are the poor in spirit" for a reason. It only solidifies that He doesn't desire us to win favor with this world as the "prosperity gospel" may suggest. Notoriety only gets in the way of what He wants--our simple love and affection.
(Goodness, is it just me, or do I sound a touch Franciscan tonight?)
1 comment:
Lol, nothing wrong with sounding Franciscan! =)
I love that God doesn't do things according to human expectation. Surely most Jews would have expected the Messiah to be born in a palace, or at least an inn! And that He would be visited by the wealthy and elite, not by ::gasp:: pagans! And that the most expensive gifts, like silver and gold would be brought to Him, not frankincense and myrrh. And instead, as you said, brought salvation out of poverty. What an amazing God we have! Great post!
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