Pope Francis: may we, like the Magi, overcome temptations and find Jesus

January 06, 2015

The Magi, who “represent men and woman who seek God in the world’s religions and philosophies,” encountered “many difficulties” before finding Jesus Christ, Pope Francis said in his Epiphany homily in St. Peter’s Basilica.

“Once they reached Jerusalem, they went to the palace of the king, for they thought it obvious that the new king would be born in the royal palace,” the Pope preached on January 6. “There they lost sight of the star and met with a temptation, placed there by the devil: it was the deception of Herod.”

“Coming to Bethlehem, they found ‘the child with Mary his mother,’” the Pope continued. “After that of Jerusalem, this was their second great temptation: to reject this smallness. But instead, ‘they fell down and worshiped him,’ offering him their precious symbolic gifts. Again, it is the grace of the Holy Spirit which assists them.”

The Pope added:

And so we can ask ourselves: what is the mystery in which God is hidden? Where can I find him? All around us we see wars, the exploitation of children, torture, trafficking in arms, trafficking in persons… In all these realities, in these, the least of our brothers and sisters who are enduring these difficult situations, there is Jesus (cf. Mt 25:40, 45). The crib points us to a different path from the one cherished by the thinking of this world: it is the path of God’s self-abasement, his glory concealed in the manger of Bethlehem, on the cross upon Calvary, in each of our suffering brothers and sisters.

 

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Further information:

• Pope Francis: Epiphany homily 2015 (Vatican Radio)