Have You Seen the Light?

(Psst...it's Jesus.)

Today is the Feast of the Epiphany. We’ll return to John in earnest tomorrow, but today, we’re reading the traditional epiphonic passage of Matthew 2:1-12, the story of the magi. If you want to literally and yet quite simply mark this day in your life, go ahead and read about chalking your door. Whether you do or not, may the light of Christ shine brightly in you and through you today.

Today is Epiphany.

Epiphany marks a turning point in the Christian calendar, closing the Christmas season and celebrating the story of the Magi—astrologers from a distant land—who came to honor the Christ child. It is a day to reflect on God’s revelation of light to the whole world.

The word epiphany often describes a moment of realization, of “seeing the light.” At Epiphany, this light is the Christ child, revealed to people far outside the traditional boundaries of God’s covenant. The Magi were not from Israel and as such, were not Jewish. They were foreigners with little knowledge of Israel’s God, yet they recognized the divine in Jesus and returned to their homeland transformed by the encounter.

This story reminds us that Christ’s light is not limited to one group, nation, or identity. The Magi’s journey declares that God’s gift is for all people—Jews and Gentiles, insiders and outsiders, those near and those far. And soon, the Christ child himself became a foreigner, fleeing to Egypt with his family as refugees seeking safety from Herod’s violence.

The light of Christ is expansive and inclusive, pushing back against human tendencies to confine it. No single group owns Jesus’ story—whether Israel, America, Roman Catholics, evangelicals, the wealthy, or the educated. His light has always been and will always be for all people.

Epiphany invites us to open our eyes to this light and to share it widely. Some, like Herod, will resist such a king, but their rejection does not change God’s purpose:

The light of Christ is for all people.

Matthew 2:1-12

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the territory of Judea during the rule of King Herod, magi came from the east to Jerusalem. They asked, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We’ve seen his star in the east, and we’ve come to honor him.”

When King Herod heard this, he was troubled, and everyone in Jerusalem was troubled with him. He gathered all the chief priests and the legal experts and asked them where the Christ was to be born. They said, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what the prophet wrote:

You, Bethlehem, land of Judah, by no means are you least among the rulers of Judah, because from you will come one who governs, who will shepherd my people Israel.”

Then Herod secretly called for the magi and found out from them the time when the star had first appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you’ve found him, report to me so that I too may go and honor him.” When they heard the king, they went; and look, the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stood over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy. They entered the house and saw the child with Mary his mother. Falling to their knees, they honored him. Then they opened their treasure chests and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Because they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by another route.

Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14

God, give your judgments to the king. Give your righteousness to the king’s son.
Let him judge your people with righteousness and your poor ones with justice.
Let the mountains bring peace to the people; let the hills bring righteousness.
Let the king bring justice to people who are poor; let him save the children of those who are needy, but let him crush oppressors! Let the king live as long as the sun, as long as the moon, generation to generation. Let him fall like rain upon fresh-cut grass, like showers that water the earth. Let the righteous flourish throughout their lives, and let peace prosper until the moon is no more.

…

Let the kings of Tarshish and the islands bring tribute; let the kings of Sheba and Seba present gifts. Let all the kings bow down before him; let all the nations serve him.

Let it be so, because he delivers the needy who cry out, the poor, and those who have no helper. He has compassion on the weak and the needy; he saves the lives of those who are in need.He redeems their lives from oppression and violence; their blood is precious in his eyes.

Prayer

God,

Arise and shine, indeed! Epiphany on a Monday! Lord…don’t you know about early mornings? They can be a bummer. And right now, the earth is off-kilter such that we aren’t getting much daylight and we the Northern Hemisphere people are pretty good at acting out in resulting form.

We can be grumpy.
We can be prone to depression.
We’re unsure.
We’re confused.

If there ever has been a time in which we need your light, today would be a good one.

Give us your epiphany. Show us hope. Give us the hope of the wanderers who dared to travel hundreds of miles to find a supposed child-king in a foreign and unknown land. Reveal to us who you are in innocence, lack of presumption, and possibilities.

We give you this day. Make us your people, no matter how foreign the notion makes us feel.

By your Spirit and in Christ,
Amen.