WEEKLY HOMILY for January 2, 2011: The Life-giving Act of Stargazing

Feast of the Epiphany, Cycle A
St. Mark, Fallston
January 2, 2011

The Life-giving Act of Stargazing
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


LIGHTS OF THE HEAVENS

I imagine that we have all had the experience of just gazing at the moon.

I do this especially when there is a full moon. On a clear night, the moon is spectacular as it is framed in darkness.

It is amazing how much it can light up an otherwise dark night. There is something magnetic about it.

Much the same is true of the stars. Isn’t it a special treat to be in the countryside or the mountains on a clear night?

Isn’t it wonderful not to have house lights and streetlights, car lights and lighted signs invading the darkness? Only without them can look up and really see the countless stars shining in all their splendor.


BOTH LIGHT AND DARKNESS

Experiences like these are something like the experience of the three magi.

They look up into the dark winter sky and see a bright star. They followed the star and it brings them to the newborn Jesus, to the Lord himself.

(1) Have you ever thought that stars like the one the magi saw can only be seen against a backdrop of darkness?

This is a simple, perhaps obvious fact, but it is good to recall it and be aware of it.

(2) And isn’t it also true that sometimes we want to have the stars or light without darkness?

Even now, during these 12 Days of Christmas, we may be tempted to say:

➢ “Wouldn’t it be nice if every day were like Christmas?”

➢ “Wouldn’t it be nice if each day of the year were full of such high spirits?”

➢ “Wouldn’t it be nice if there were no bad news, no sadness, no stress, no heartache, no sickness?”

Of course, life is not like that. In the real situations of our lives there is always both sweet and sour, joy and mourning, health and sickness, light and darkness.

I would like to suggest that embracing both the dark and the light can be a sign of wisdom and a way to inner peace, but the wisdom does not end there.


CONTROL YOUR FOCUS

The good news – the added piece of wisdom – is that we have the ability to control our focus and choose what we look at.

We can decide to look at the stars or to look at the darkness.

We know from studies on the workplace that people who are regarded as effective have their share of sorrows and setbacks as anyone else.

What makes them effective, studies have found, is that they generally concentrate on the light rather than on the darkness.

Thus:

➢ If we begin reflecting on all the bad things that take place in our lives, it will soon depress us. But if we focus on the good, we will be uplifted

➢ If we want to find fault with our spouse, friend, children, and co-workers, we will surely find something. But if we look for their good points, we are sure to find them as well

Why choose to live out of misery? Great question!


APPLICATION: SO LOOK TO THE STARS

The point or lesson to be learned from all of this is that life is made or broken by what we consistently look at: the stars or the darkness.

Happiness will most often depend on little more than a simple shift in focus. No, we don’t pretend the darkness does not exist, but like the magi or wise men we can choose to concentrate on the stars.

So the question for us on this Feast of the Epiphany is: “Where is your focus?” “Are you more often than not a star-gazer?”

Do we look for light in any darkness that confronts us? We can take control of where we direct our attention.


CONCLUSION

We can talk more about our dreams of the New Year than our misfortunes this past year.

We can talk more about our hopes in the months ahead, than our disappointments over the past months.

We can notice a storm brewing in a relationship and still look for its rainbow and live out of that.

We get to choose. On this first day of the New Year we’re asked, “What shall it be?”