Thy Light Is Come
THE FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY OF CHRIST
The Epiphany of the Lord is a feast of light. "Arise, shine; for Thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon thee" (Is 60:1). With these words, the prophet Isaiah spoke comfortably to Israel, even unto the whole world that dwelt in darkness, speaking of a future day when God himself would come and live with men. Because you see, a world devoid of the Divine is a world in chaos. And we could say the same of the human soul. Tonight, on this Feast of the Epiphany of Christ, we celebrate Him, who is the True Light, the One by whom we too are made to be light, and proclaim that God himself has indeed come into the world. This light is the light of peace. We, my friends, are the happy recipients of God's prophetic promise to Israel and her prophets. For upon the face of every baptized Christian shines the illumination of Divine grace. Epiphanous (Epiphany), meaning to make manifest. Epiphany is the revealing of why this light has come into the world, it is the explanation of Christmas: revealing to us why God in Christ determined to humble himself, to make himself low, by departing the glory of heaven to manifest the Divine glory on earth through the mystery of the incarnation.
You see, a great light has come into the world, not only for Israel, not only for a few, but for people of every tongue, tribe, and nation. Did we not hear Isaiah who foresaw the day when God, in mercy, would declare himself to the nations of the earth saying "behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising." Such powerful words, indeed shrouded in mystery and yet filled with such tangible hope, "the gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising." Beloved, the journey of the wise men from the East is just the beginning of a grand procession of Divine forgiveness and mercy that is continuing even as I speak.
Now, the adoration of the Magi was for the early church a historical event of great theological importance— for at the heart of this enigmatic gospel account of omens and dreams, of astrological signs and precious gifts, fear and flight, lay the revelation of God's merciful love for the whole world. Because, by the giving of a sign— a brilliant star hung in the vast night sky— God began the salvific work of redeeming the Gentiles. For by a star, he drew those who were afar and (using St. Paul's term) living in darkness to the Christ; into the radiance of his glory shining forth in the face of His only begotten Son born in history, born unto a virgin. For the time had come to make known the great mystery hidden in the previous dispensation, a mystery graciously revealed to St. Paul "...the mystery of Christ... which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy Apostles and Prophets by the Spirit; that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ, by the Gospel."
This incredible mystery kept and guarded in the secrecy of the Holy Trinity, which was foretold by Isaiah as a sign given to Israel, was first revealed by an Eastern star. That light pointed to the True Light of whom St. John testified, "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in the darkness. The light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." The Light of a Star led these Eastern Kings like a heavenly messenger (in fact, some church fathers say the Star was actually an angel) guided them into the revelation of the majesty and glory of Christ; into the salvific mercy of God.
Beloved The Light has come into the world to save sinners. And, in an age which quickly labels the Christian God a tyrant, remember this: it was the mercy of God that placed that Star in the heavens. A star so mysterious and profound that even the wisest and most learned Magi had to follow. The Feast of the Epiphany celebrates the revelation of God's mercy, his loving-kindness, and great desire "To bring unto the gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, to inaugurate the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, but the wisdom of God." It was the merciful love of God that not only saw the lowly plight of Israel, but the miserable estate of every man, woman, and child. In Christ, God would fulfill his promise to the prophet Hosea saying, "I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved." For by a sign, the nations represented in the Magi have come, from which the Father is making a new people, a new priesthood. And by His Son, is calling those who are in darkness into His glorious Light. Rejoice in this great mystery of our salvation made known some 2,000 years ago, and once again tonight on this Feast Day, made manifest once again, to the nations of the earth.
Humanity's pilgrimage to Jesus Christ begins with the coming of the Magi– to the God born in a stable, born of the flesh, who died on the Cross and now raised from the dead, is with us always even until the end of the world (cf. Mt 28:20). From Matthew's Gospel along with the vision of the prophet Isaiah which we heard in the Old Testament reading: the journey of these wise men is just the beginning. Now the wise of this world are also coming. Great and small, kings and slaves, men of all cultures and all peoples are coming. The men from the East are the first, followed by many more throughout the centuries. After the grand vision of Isaiah, the reading from the Letter to the Ephesians expresses the same idea in sober and simple terms: the Gentiles share the same heritage (cf. Eph 3:6). Psalm 2 puts it like this: "I shall bequeath you the nations, put the ends of the earth in your possession" (v. 8).
The wise men followed the Star; they grasped the revelation of light, which was Divinely granted to them. Through the mysterious language of creation, they discovered the God of history. Now, to be sure, the majestic poetry of nature alone is not enough. For only God's word, which we meet in sacred Scripture, was able to definitively mark out their path. Creation and Scripture, reason and faith, must come together, so as to lead us forward to the living God. Beloved, the great Star, the true supernova that leads us on, is Christ himself. He is as it were the explosion of God's love, which causes the great white light of his heart to shine upon the world. For "Christ, Jesus came into the world to save sinners." No sweeter or more beautiful words have ever been spoken. A light has come. The dawning of a new day is here, the radiance of the glory of God shines bright in the person of Jesus Christ. Therefore "Arise, shine; for Thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon thee." Amen+
