At the evening Mass on Christmas Eve, I suggested that because there is a God and because our God has made His home within us and taken us into Himself, because of this truth we can enjoy rather than endure life. We can in fact understand that life has a meaning, it has a purpose that is God given. The Holy Trinity desired that we join them in their embrace of love and so we can see things very differently. We can see and appreciate our identity and our amazing destiny from their perspective.
I suggested that this child whom we adore in the crib is a door, a door that opens us to eternity, that takes us to the very heart of the Father. He is the door to hope because He heals our perspective eternally. H.O.P.E. heals our perspective eternally. As the chorus of the Jubilee Hymn says:
Like a flame my hope is burning,
May my song arise to you
Source of life that has no ending,
On life’s path I trust in you.
How we ‘see’ is deeply rooted in scripture. From the story of creation in Genesis when God saw that everything he had made and saw that it was good (Gen1:31). When the Lord said to Abraham: “Lift up your eyes and look…for all the land that you see, I will give you and your offspring for ever (Gen 13:14)”. Then there is the encounter with Hagar where she called the name of the Lord “You are a God of seeing” (Gen 16: 13). Many times, the Lord asked the prophets: ‘What do you see?’ Isaiah, in particular, made clear that Isreal would know that the Messiah had come when they saw the eyes of the blind opened, ears of the deaf unstopped, the lame leaping like a deer, the mute singing for joy (Isa 35:5-6). The messianic presence would be demonstrated with visual signs. In the visions of the night Daniel saw one coming like a son of man (Dan 7:12), Micah saw that from Bethlehem a ruler would come forth from the Ancient of days. Mary and Joseph saw in their different encounters with Gabriel the mission entrusted to them (Matt 1: 18-25;13-15; Lk 1:26-38). The shepherds saw an army of angels proclaiming the glory of God and announcing the birth of a saviour (Lk 28f). Our wise men from the East saw a star and they followed it (Matt 2:1-12).
How many times also do we encounter Jesus seeing? He saw Simon and Andrew at the Sea of Galilee and called them (Mark 1:16). He saw Matthew at his tax booth (Matt 9:9). He saw those who were sick and in need (Mark 1:21- 34), or Zacchaeus up the tree (Lk 19:1- 10) and Bartimaeus by the roadside (Mk 10: 35-45). Mark tells us in a very beautiful moment that he saw the rich young man and loved him (Mk 10: 17-23). So many occasions of seeing that led to healing change.
Hence, Isaiah had all this in mind when he says in today’s first reading: ‘Arise shine, for your light has come…Lift up your eyes all around and see” The magi set out on their journey because they were searching the skies. They saw a light and that light led them to a surprising destination, to a child who was/is the light of the World. Their physical journey from the East was but a symbol of a much deeper more penetrating journey, an inner journey, that they gradually undertook. They naturally assumed that the king that they were in search of would be in a palace.
God, however, full of surprises, took them to a king, a child, of poor parents hence their perspective needed to undergo a radical transformation. This newborn king, whom they worshiped was very different from what they expected and in their very act of adoration they learnt to see God in a different way, but equally they needed to see themselves and all humankind in a new light. Seeing they had to change and in changing they embraced a new hope.
Hope is truly a healing of our perspective. Pope Benedict in Lumen Fidei to which Pope Francis added his name reminded us simply ‘Those who believe see; they see with a light that illuminates their entire journey.’ What a magnificent summary of this solemnity and the meaning of our Christian faith. Hope, the healing of our perspective eternally opens us to the gift of seeing things from God’s perspective, a participation in God way of seeing other people, myself and all of life’s challenges. I can only testify personally that it is when I have risked seeing people, situations, challenges from the perspective of God that the greatest healing has occurred in my own life and ministry.
I leave you with the words of Pope Francis found in the message for the 39th World Youth Day which took place on 24th November 2024, he wrote: “Walk in hope! Hope overcomes all weariness, every crisis and every worry. It gives us a powerful incentive to press forward, for it is a gift received from God Himself. The Lord fills our life with meaning, sheds light on our path and shows us its ultimate direction and goal”
As we officially open the Abbey as a place of pilgrimage during this Jubilee Year of Hope. I pray that everyone who enters this Abbey learns how to worship like the magi. Opening themselves to a life changing encounter that heals their perspective eternally. Filled with Hope, committed to live in and from hope, because our worship empowers us to see as God sees and to love as he loves.
Like a flame my hope is burning,
May my song arise to you
Source of life that has no ending,
On life’s path I trust in you.
Abbot Robert Igo, OSB
Ampleforth Abbey
5 January 2025
