Father Rick Bolte's Homily

A: The Feast of the Epiphany                                              2008-1-6

When we think of the Magi following the star, it conjures up in us images we saw in school of the travelers of past centuries who navigated by the stars.  Whether traveling in unknown territory on land and certainly when traveling by sea, the travelers had to locate the North Star.  We don’t see as many stars today in our cities with so much artificial light.  But if you’ve been in the country, you’ve likely seen just how countless are the stars in the sky.  Those early travelers had to learn to locate the North Star using the dippers or other such star maps.

In our life each person is like a star.  Each person says by the way they live what is most important in their life.  To follow them would be to pursue what they value most.  The brightest stars are those closest to us and influencing us the most, such as our parents.  Some lights lead us to live as if sports were most important in our lives, whether it be a professional team, college team, or even playing on the high school level.  Some stars lead us to wealth; if being successful and making money is most important it is impressive what can be accumulated.  Some stars are about being popular whether in school, in the community or even famous in the world at large.

But we too have star maps.  We have the scriptures, the words of Jesus, we have the hopefully good directions from our parents who are most influential, and we have the gifts of all who have helped us to recognize what is true and good.  Part of our challenge is to consciously choose which star we want to follow.  Only the one star gives us a real sense of direction and helps us get where we want to go.

The travelers also had to check at least daily just where the star was in relation to their travels.  We likewise have to check in with the true star in our lives.  We can drift off course and wander aimlessly.  It’s amazing how often we allow our lives to drift along.  We’re busy doing things some “stars” think are important, but we don’t often ask ourselves where we’re headed.  We need to both recognize the true star and regularly use that star to see if our life journey is going where we want it to go.