"Gold We Bring to Honor the King": The Feast of the Epiphany

(Third Draft)

Henneken Jewelers is located just down the street
in a small plaza on Harrison Avenue.
Regina Bakery is on one side, a butcher shop on the other.

Now, for us folks here on the West Side,
it seems perfectly normal
to discover a fine jewelry store in a small shopping plaza.

It speaks volumes about Westside culture:
the location of this little store
tucked between a bakery and a butcher shop
is telling us that whatever gold and diamonds
life holds for you
are going to be found right alongside ordinary, everyday things
like day-old bread and Cincinnati goetta.

We tend to be practical, down-to-earth people
on this side of town.
Diamond rings and golden necklaces are wonderful and nice…
but, ask any Westsider, he or she will tell you
that their true value is found
in the work and the sacrifice
they represent.

So, on this Feast of the Epiphany,
when you and I listen to a gospel passage
the tells of the wonderful and expensive gifts
placed at the feet of Mary as she hold the Christ Child in her arms,
most of us here are apt to judge the value of those gifts
not by their beauty alone
but by the love they represent.

“Gold we bring to honor the King.”

We know the words to “We Three Kings.”
But what, exactly, does it mean to offer such a gift
to the Son of God, the child of Mary?

To answer that question, we need to ask another:

And that is this:

What sort of gold do you and I bring to this Mass today?

I’m not referring to the offering in your envelope,
I’m referring to the offering of your life.

Is it a gold-quality life that you bring…to honor the King?

That’s what we’re here for, you know.

We are here to make an offering of our life to God.
And, being Westsiders,
we want to offer something
that means something.

“Gold we bring to honor the King.”

But how do we do that?

Jut how do we go about “doing it right?”
choosing the right ring,
the flawless diamond
the perfect gem…
how cab we expect offer a suitable gift
to the God of the Universe here at Mass today?

It’s difficult but we got no choice in the matter.
It’s something we just have to do, you know that.

When you love someone who loves you back…
you just gotta give that person something.

Considering the way God loves us,
you’re gonna want to offer a gift,
you’re gonna want to say thanks
and you’re going to want to do it right.

Let me give you an example:

I stopped in at Hanneken’s Jewelry Store
when I was in Cheviot last week.

I got to talking with a sales clerk named Judy.
She’s only worked at Hanneken’s since August
but she already had lots of stories to tell.

A few months ago, she said,
a young man came into the store
and he asked to see their selection of engagement rings.

Well, he studied the rings;
weighed each one in his hand,
held them to the light.

In fact, he spent over two hours in that store
just looking at the rings.

(I suspect he wasn’t looking at diamonds
as much as he was looking at Light inside the diamonds…
the wonderful Light of love that God had place in his life
in the person of a young woman to whom he would soon
make a sacred vow.)

He didn’t talk about his emotions;
he kept the feelings inside.

But the sales clerk happened to notice that,
at the end of those two hours,
his hand was shaking as he signed the check.

So, you see, there is gold in our life!
And it’s this gold that we bring…
to honor our King!

There is gold in our life.
There diamond-light in our love.

What I’m saying here is this:

Don’t leave the beautiful things in your life
lying on top of the dresser when you come to church!

Bring the gold and diamonds from your life
with you to Mass.

You know what I’m talking about:
I’m talking about that light that glints inside that wedding ring of yours;
I’m talking about the light that shines in the eyes of the children on your street.

I’m talking about the sacrifices you make,
the things you do without to make ends meet;
I’m talking about the extra mile you went for a co-worker last week…

Yes, I’m talking about the lives you and I live here on the Westside…

There’s lot of gold in out lives
and it’s that gold we bring to honor the King.

* * *

That’s what’s going on here.
And like the young man buying an engagement ring,
I hope that when it comes to offering your life
to God here at this Mass today,
well, I hope it makes your palms sweat a little.

Because, as you know,
at the end of the day,
it is Christ and the salvation he brings
that is the “pearl of great price.”

Christ and Christ alone is the true gold in our life.

And when you reach out to receive him in the Eucharist,
shouldn’t your hands be shaking just a bit?

* * *

Today’s the Feast of the Epiphany.
And here on the Westside that means something practical.

It means knowing that somewhere
inside the hectic rush of life
there is Someone who is longing to give you his life.

His name is Christ.

And it’s not a ring that he offers you.

It’s a crown!