By Fr Jim Cogley
Moments of epiphany are where mystery rules, and we need constant contact with mystery, if life’s richness is not to become diluted. After their visit the three wise men have a dream that warns them to avoid Herod. Some people can’t cope with mystery. Their attitude is warped, their values are purely materialistic. As the wise men avoided Herod, so too must we with whatever name or form he may appear. There are people who are toxic to our faith life, simply because they are not open to change. To talk about deeper realities to someone who has a closed mind is as the scriptures says is ‘like throwing your pearls to swine’. For them life is about living till your heart stops and then you go six feet under and that’s it, they may even tell you to stop fooling yourself and to face reality. These are the ones who trample on caterpillars and think butterflies are for the birds. Clearly, besides mystery we also need our dreams. As believers we know that the realities of faith are infinitely greater than the realities of the senses and that, ‘no eye has seen or no ear has heard what things God has in store for those who love him’. The fool may say in his heart there is no God but the message of today’s Epiphany feast is that wise men, and women, still seek him.