Every human person
will find meaning in life by being open to God.
The Three Kings, were not Jewish, they came from the Orient. Some scholars believe that they began their
travels together from Persia, while others believe that they came from three
different regions of the Orient, one of them maybe even being China.
Obviously, the
Magi were not part of the chosen people.
They were not Jews. They were
part of the vast populace of people extended throughout the known world at that
time who were called pagans, or gentiles.
The Three Kings of this
Sunday’s gospel narrative are men who are left unsatisfied by their possessions of wealth, fame and
power, and search for the only one who can satisfy the deepest aspirations of
the human heart. They longed to find the
very meaning of their existence.
After
a long and difficult search, they discover the place where he lays, and they
encounter the One who has come to redeem us and fulfill our intense
longings. They know who he is because
they bring him the most appropriate gifts:
gold for a king, frankincense for a priest, and myrrh for a victim. They know that he is the Messiah, Jesus the
Christ, the only one through whom salvation can be found.
Because the Three Kings were open, they were given the gift of
faith. Through this gift they searched,
they found, and they believed.
Certainly today,
one of the most blinding obstacles to the search for meaning and truth is
secularism.
Secularism only
concerns itself with the here and now.
It has no use for matters regarding the existence of God, the
immortality of soul, or the eternal destiny of man.
Not all secularists are atheists, but many
are, while others are agnostics. Without
a doubt, secularism is only one-step away from complete atheism.
The secularist
passionately seeks human progress without any reference to the spiritual
dimension of the human person. The
secularist is only concerned with this life and has no concern with
religion. In fact, the secularist
attempts to experience human satisfaction through involvement in seemingly
noble enterprises that are in essence missing the total picture of man’s true
needs.
Secularism keeps us from searching for God; it keeps us from finding
true meaning in life. Historically, the
Catholic Church has never had to deal with secularism until the arrival of our
modern age. Secularism and paganism are
very different indeed.
The pagan believes in the transcendent.
The pagan has an understanding that there is an afterlife and the soul
is immortal. The pagan also lives by a
moral code that has its roots in divine law.
Nevertheless, for the secularist, there is no God, no eternal life, and
morality is arbitrarily contrived without any reference to God.
The mission of the Church in the secularist world is very difficult
indeed simply because the pagan is much more open to truth and can be easily
converted, whereas the secularist is usually as hard as a rock.
Catholics need to be aware of secularism and not allow it to affect
their lives. However, many Catholics have
been poisoned by this pervasive system of thought.
Sometimes the secularist opens up to the true meaning of life through
some terrible tragedy such as a dreadful sickness or even death itself. However, many times the secularist is so closed
off to the transcendent that no movement toward God is even possible.
Interestingly, it is noteworthy to observe the pervasive apathy among
so many people, even Catholics who attend church on a regular basis. Could apathy be a practical fruit of
secularism?
If our focus is only on the here and now, it is very easy to look upon
anything spiritual with a big “so what.”
USA TODAY addressed this problem around Christmas time with a very
interesting article about the spirit of apathy in our modern society.
According
to the article, “44% told the 2011 Baylor University Religion Survey they
spend no time seeking ‘eternal wisdom,’ and 19% said ‘it's useless to search
for meaning.’
46% told a 2011 survey by Nashville-based evangelical
research agency, LifeWay Research, they never wonder whether they will go to
heaven.
28% told LifeWay ‘it's not a major priority in my life
to find my deeper purpose.’ And 18%
scoffed at the idea that God has a purpose or plan for everyone.
6.3% of Americans turned up on Pew Forum's 2007
Religious Landscape Survey as totally secular — unconnected to God or a higher
power or any religious identity and willing to say religion is not important in
their lives.”
When Jewish
psychiatrist Victor Frankl was arrested by the Nazis in World War II, he was
stripped of all of his personal possessions.
He had spent years researching and writing a book on the importance of
finding meaning in life--concepts that would later become known as
logotherapy. When he arrived in Auschwitz, the infamous death camp,
even the manuscript hidden in the lining of his coat was taken away.
"I had to
undergo and overcome the loss of my spiritual child,” Frankl wrote. "Now
it seemed as if nothing and no one would survive me; neither a physical nor a
spiritual child of my own! I found myself confronted with the question of
whether under such circumstances my life was ultimately void of any meaning."
He was still
wrestling with that question a few days later when the Nazis forced the
prisoners to give up their clothes.
"I had to
surrender my clothes and in turn inherited the worn-out rags of an inmate who
had been sent to the gas chamber," said Frankl. "Instead of the many
pages of my manuscript, I found in the pocket of the newly acquired coat a
single page torn out of a Hebrew prayer book, which contained the main Jewish
prayer, Shema Yisrael (Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one God.
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your might.)
"How should I
have interpreted such a 'coincidence' other than as a challenge to live
my thoughts instead of merely putting them on paper?"
Later, as Frankl
reflected on his ordeal, he wrote in his book, Man's Search for Meaning,
"There is nothing in the world that would so effectively help one to
survive even the worst conditions, as the knowledge that there is a meaning in
one's life . . .'He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.'"
Thornton Wilder’s famous novel, The
Bridge of San Luis Rey, ends with these words: “There is a land of the living and a
land of the dead and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning.”
Love
is the why.
And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising
preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child
was. They were overjoyed at seeing the
star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother” (Matthew 2:
10-11).
The quest of the Magi reminds us that God is truly with us. Sometimes during our journey, clarity
disappears and we begin to doubt. Let us
remember that Jesus is always with us.
He is Emmanuel, God with us. Like
the shining star, he is present in the tabernacle, just as he was present in
the manger of Bethlehem.
The Solemnity of the Epiphany is not only about three wise men that
visited the manger. Instead, this
Biblical event speaks to us about the plan of God for the entire human
race. “Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.”
The audio podcast will be posted Sunday afternoon.
The audio podcast will be posted Sunday afternoon.
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