This is my homily for The Feast of the Epiphany – January 4, 2008. The readings can be found at https://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/090104.shtml – Thanks for reading. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Fr. Jim
HOMILY: Penn Jillette is one of those celebrities whose name may not immediately register without hearing his stage partner’s name – Raymond Teller. Together, they make up the comedy and magician team of Penn and Teller. They’ve performed their act all across the country, as well as on a bunch of late nigh talk shows, doing their illusions, peppered with Penn’s outspoken monologues next to Teller’s relative silence. Together they’ve become a modern Laurel and Hardy.
But Penn has been able to create a solo career as well – which is often times difficult once a person has been “type-cast” as part of a duo. He has his own voice-over work for television networks like Comedy Central, he produces movies, and he has his own stand up routines that would fall into the “Bill Maher” category of (for lack of a better word) “humor”. He can be very outrageous, and as a professed atheist, has often times said blasphemous things that would offend any of us (a few years ago he said some disgusting things about Mother Teresa, for example).
While it’s understandable, to put it politely, that he’s not “my cup of tea,” I can see he’s a very intelligent man who is rarely at a loss for – and can easily devour someone with – his words in a verbal confrontation or debate.
That’s why it was interesting, a few weeks ago, when Penn Jillette made headlines for a video blog that he posted online (I’d rather you’d google this than some of his other offerings). To give you the summary, he had done his show one evening and after the show, he went outside to meet some fans and sign some autographs. While he was meeting people he noticed one man standing off to the side; he could tell that this guy was hovering, and obviously wanted to talk to him.
It turns out that the night before, the man seen Penn’s show. Penn was convinced that the guy was a real fan of the show – he had participated as a volunteer in the act, and was complimentary about how much he enjoyed the performance. He came back this next evening to give Penn a Bible. This fan spoke to Penn face to face, looked him in the eye, was honest (and in my own words, loving) as he told Penn that he was a business man, who also proselytizes, spreading the Gospel whenever he can. In the Bible he had put an inscription with his name and phone numbers in it.
What is so moving is that you could see how Penn was truly affected by this encounter. He calls this experience “wonderful.” In the 5 minute video he’s often at a loss, or struggling for words. He repeatedly describes this man as “kind, nice and sane [as he] talked to [him] and gave [him] this Bible…”
And then Penn said something interesting; he said, ” I don’t respect people who don’t prostelytize . . . How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible, and not tell them that . . . this guy was a really good guy. He cared enough about me to proselytize.” Then Penn concluded, “I know there is no God. And one polite person living his life right doesn’t change that. But he was a very, very good man.”
In his head, I believe that Penn still ‘believes’ in his brand of atheism – but it sounds like his heart was moved to wonder – it sounds like this encounter with a man who purely, simply, loved him enough to share the “good news of great joy for all people” helped shift his perspective a bit; and that maybe, just maybe, one day thise avowed atheist might truly believe.
This feast of the Epiphany is all about our being moved to wonder as well. As we continue this great Christmas season, we recall how amazing, miraculous, life-altering events keep happening as people come in contact with the infant Jesus – the Christ who has yet to utter the Beatitudes; who has yet to speak those words of forgiveness and healing; who has yet to perform the miracles of loaves and fishes, and turning water into wine; who has yet to reveal the greatest commandment to His followers.
All He has done is to be revealed, to be born, to come into the world. And in today’s feast, we hear in the Gospel how the powers and authorities of his time already felt threatened by that, how Herod actually wanted the child Jesus killed. So he sent wisemen out in the night to search for the Child and report back to him what they’ve found.
And what happens? They are so overjoyed at the star leading them to the Child Jesus that after seeing him they don’t return to Herod, but go home by another way. Their life has been changed in this one encounter.
The US Bishops explained the relationship between Christmas and Epiphany like this – up until today, what we have celebrated is the birth of Christ. Today we celebrate our birth. We are born as Christians as we give homage to Christ, as we bring his presence to the world. We who have “seen the star,” who have received Jesus Christ into our world have the power of the Holy Spirit to make Him manifest to the world.
One gentle, loving Christian went to Penn Jillette – loved him enough that he was willing to accept him where he was and share the “good news” with him (hmm, sounds familiar). Penn’s journey toward Christ is far from complete – he doesn’t realize that he’s in a sense seen the star and been struck with wonder by that light.
But who, out there, is waiting for us to do that for them as well? Jillette in his video said he realized that many so-called believers don’t share their faith, because it’s socially awkward. And he compared it to someone seeing a run-away car barreling down a street towards another person and wondering if he should go and push him out of the way.
The words of the “avowed” atheist ring out the challenge to us this Epiphany, to ask ourselves if we are willing to announce the presence of Christ to the world and help move them to wonder as well; or to paraphrase Jillette’s words, to ask ourselves, ‘How much do we have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible, and yet not tell others about it?’
