Epiphany of the Lord (The Synodal Process)
IIn our celebration of the Christmas story, over the course of Advent and the Christmas season, we zoom-in on individual parts of the story and examine the details and their meaning. Some segments preceded the birth of Jesus, and some are what immediately followed. Today, the part we recall is the story of the magi, and their role in the larger story.
The magi, the mysterious men from somewhere in the east, would seem unlikely figures to give any attention to Jesus. They weren’t Jews and had no anticipation or yearning for the Jewish Messiah. All this speaks to a figure from the Book of Numbers, a man also from the east named Balaam, who likewise saw a star, which guided him in his search for a king (Num 24). Balaam prophesied of a future king who would come from the people of Israel.
The magi traveled a long distance until the star eventually stopped its movement, indicating that they had arrived at the place where they would find the newborn King. Upon seeing the child and his mother, they prostrated themselves, did him homage and offered their gifts.
We don’t know much else about what happened to them after that. St. Matthew only tells us they avoided Herod and returned home—somewhere in the East.
As our Catechism says it (CCC, 528), the magi were the first non-Jews—in other words, persons from the rest of the world—to welcome the good news of salvation, a gift for all the nations of the world, from the Jewish people. To be clear, the magi were not apostles or evangelists. Although they clearly saw something worthy of reverence in the child, nothing historically indicates that it changed their way of life.
But this gift for all the nations from the Jewish people speaks to us as a worldwide Church, a Body of Christ. One of our fellow parishioners, Tim Dunn, had intended to be at this mass, to speak to us, but could not be, due to his flight being cancelled. Most of you know Tim, a St. Joseph parishioner for roughly 16 years, a past chair of the Pastoral Council, a reader, a Knight, a scout leader, and an otherwise deeply involved parish volunteer. He's delayed and is still in Nevada, so on his behalf, I want to let you know about something our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has requested of us.
He wants to hear from the whole Church about what is happening in local parishes. The way he has proposed doing this is through what is called a synodal process. The word synod, meaning “journeying together”, involves listening to the Holy Spirit and to each other in order to discern the path we are called to walk together. It’s intended to inspire us to dream about the Church we are called to be, to make hopes flourish, to stimulate trust, to bind up wounds, learn from each other, build bridges, warm hearts and restore strength to our hands for our common mission.
How will this be accomplished? Each parish in the world is being asked to hold listening-sessions with parishioners and those from their respective communities. We plan on holding 5 listening sessions here at St. Joseph’s, at various dates and times in January and February, and are aiming for 2 weekday evening sessions, 1 weekend evening (a Saturday after Mass), and 2 weekend Saturday Morning meetings. As soon as dates and times are determined, we’ll publish and post the schedule through our parish communication channels. We will establish a signup process for each of our 5 sessions. These sessions, which we anticipate will go for about 2 hours, will include discussion as an entire group, but also small group breakouts. Materials to review will be provided before the sessions.
At the conclusion of our sessions, we will take our input from the listening sessions and upload it to a report to the Archdiocese of Seattle. In addition, the results of these listening sessions will help us for future pastoral planning for our parish. The Archdiocese will then combine our input with those of the other parishes and archdiocesan organizations, and will forward it to the USCCB, who will meet and create a national report. That, in turn, will be presented to the Pope by the US bishops, when they attend the Pope’s Synod in 2023.
I’ve asked Tim to lead us in this, working with me, the parish staff and our Pastoral Council to facilitate our part in this task from our Holy Father Pope Francis. On Tim’s behalf, I ask for your prayerful discernment and consideration in this process of dialogue.
The message that went out to the world—starting with the magi, but then in a more definitive way, when Jesus sent his apostles to the nations—has indeed borne fruit. We see it in the many cultures of the world that share this same faith. And from this range of varied cultures and its faithful, Pope Francis now wants to hear what is moving us in response to Christ’s call—or for that matter, what is stifling us. He wants to hear our voices, in order that we might best evaluate and ensure that we are being what Christ has called us to be—something we should consider in every age. More to come.