In the days of King Herod,
behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,
"Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage." When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled.
Matthew 2:1-12
I suppose different things might
jump out of this story for different people. If you are an immigrant, for
instance, you might focus on the inclusion of foreigners from the East in the
Christmas story. If you are poor, you might focus on the gifts - what they're
worth and what Mary and Joseph did with them. If you are a mental health
professional, you might focus on the paranoia of King Herod. If you are a
police officer, you might focus on the evasive tactics of the magi. As a
spiritual seeker, you might focus on the curiosity and courage of the magi. As
a spiritual leader, the curiosity and courage of the magi as spiritual seekers
is what always jumps out for me. These guys are certainly not your typical
dabblers in religion! As spiritual seekers, these guys are driven!
I was ordained to be a spiritual leader
in the Church, and according to the Church, preaching is the primary way I am called
to do it. I am to preach conversion to unbelievers and feed the faith within
the hearts of believers. I do that in a variety of ways. I preach at Sunday
Masses and other celebrations of the Sacraments. I preach Parish Missions. I preach
through my extensive writing of columns, articles, books and blog posts. There is an old Latin saying that every
spiritual teacher ought to have tattooed to the back of his hand. I have it
memorized! Nemo dat quod not habet. One
cannot give what one does not have. I became a designated spiritual teacher
several years before I became a serious spiritual seeker. Institutionally, I
was "on board," but I was not engaged in a serious personal search
for my own ongoing transformation. It
did not take me long, however, to realize that if I wanted to lead people
spiritually, I would to have to first be committed to my own intentional
spiritual growth. Because I am called to preach, I feel driven to develop a
ravenous appetite for my own personal spiritual growth. I understand completely
that I cannot give what I do not have! I understand completely that what I give
you each Sunday has to come through me and out of me, not just
out of some book I read and recycled for you to hear!
Because I am a spiritual seeker, who
is serious about doing my seeking within the church, I often attract people who are threatened, for one
reason or another, by my choice to do my spiritual seeking within the Catholic
Church. Some lash out at me in anger, not only privately, but sometimes even in
public! More common than an outright attack is the "humoring" I get
from those who are mildly annoyed by my religiosity, but don't want to hurt my
feelings. Others are like Herod, afraid of what they may find if they were to
get serious themselves about finding God. They want others to do their seeking
for them and when they have found it, come back and tell them so that they,
too, might come to believe!
No matter where you are on the
"spiritual seeker" scale, the magi have something to teach you! These
guys didn't just sit around "discussing religion," they were willing
to go to great lengths in their asking, seeking and knocking in their search
for God. The magi set out from afar, following the path of a star, asking
questions of the authorities, reaching dead ends and even exploring
alternatives, before they finally found their hearts desire.
Fellow spiritual seekers! Religion
has two sides - both important - sides that should never be separated. When
they are separated, religion is distorted and can even be dangerous. It has an exoteric side. The exoteric side deals with the things
of religion, from the way religion is organized to the religious objects it
uses. It has an esoteric side as
well. The esoteric side deals with
the essence of religion, from the
joys of inner transformation to the hardships of daily discipleship. When the exoteric
side is neglected, God's communal religion is distorted into some
narcissistic "new age" individualism.
When the esoteric side is
neglected, religion becomes idolatry - a worship of the temple instead of the
God who lives in it!
My fellow believers! If you are a
serious spiritual seeker already - and some of you are - let the magi inspire
you to keep working your program and walking your path! If you would like to become a serious spiritual seeker, let
the magi inspire you to get up off your spiritual recliners and get your butt
to the gym, spiritually speaking! I must warn you that, even though such a
search is definitely worth it, it isn't easy! You have to do a lot of asking,
seeking and knocking! It is something you have to do personally! No one can do
it for you! What you are looking for is an internal transformation. The
Church, as a structure, exists to help you and the Church, as the family of
God, is there to support you in your search.
The institution needs you to keep it honest and you need the
institution to keep you honest on your search.
In short, don't just admire the
magi, become a “magi” yourself! In other
words, maybe this will be the year when you become an even more committed
Christian and an even more intentional Catholic! It is certainly not going to come
looking for you! It is time to trade in your inherited faith for a personal
faith - a faith that can sustain you no matter what call in life you
answer!
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