At this time of year, we who are Christian look to the gift of God coming into the world to be with us. In a season when the northern climes experience physical darkness and so much of our world experiences other forms of darkness, we look to the light of God to bring light to those places in our lives.
While Christmas Day is the Feast of the Nativity, the day we celebrate the birth of Christ, Epiphany is the day we celebrate the revelation of that light to all the world. It is the celebration of the Magi, foreigners who come because they recognize the importance of God in the world (see Matthew 2:1-12).
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Through the Advent and Christmas seasons, we have explored the many gifts that God bestows on us through the Incarnation, through God coming into the world through Jesus. We have talked about the expectation and hope of a world sitting in darkness, an anticipation that feels more real for many of us this year than in the past. We have talked about peace and our struggle to find peace in the midst of a chaotic world. We have talked about our joy for the many gifts that God has given us, a joy that shines into the struggle of our everyday lives. And we have talked about the love that God has for us and models for us, a love that does not forget or forsake.
All of these gifts culminate in the gift of God’s grace, a grace made manifest in the flesh. A grace we know through the life and ministry of Jesus. This gift of grace is a fulfillment of God’s faithfulness. Jesus is proof that God never gives up on us, always looking for ways to call us back into relationship, even as we live lives of distraction, mistrust, and selfishness.
God shines light into the dark and empty places we seek to fill with other things. God shows us a better way.
Throughout these seasons, we light candles to intentionally remind us of these gifts and to softly push back the physical and emotional darkness we may feel at this time of year. We light candles to remember the gifts of hope, peace, joy, love, and grace. These candles serve as a token reminder of God’s presence with us, of God’s light shining into the dark places of our lives.
At the end of the Christmas season, we intentionally remember the gift of God’s light to the world. You see, part of the good news of the story is that through Jesus, God reached out not only to the Hebrew people but to the rest of the world as well. For those of us who are not Hebrew, this is good news indeed, for we are included in God’s promise. We are included in God’s gifts. We, too, are called into relationship with God.
That is the reason for our story today. The Magi who come seeking the Christ-child come from the east, from another country. We can’t be certain of exactly how long their journey was, but we do know from later in the chapter that they first observed the star approximately two years before arriving at Herod’s court. We can guess that they took time to confirm the star’s meaning and then to prepare for the journey. How far must they have traveled to take all that time to arrive?
Of course, it is possible that the star they watched was one of foretelling, one indicating that the birth was imminent, and they left their own lands only a short time before the baby was born. We could surely get lost in a rabbit hole of “what ifs,” but that would have us focusing on what is perhaps the least important part of the story.
Instead, the important part of this story is that the birth of God into the world was made known to all the world. These wise men from another country recognized the star as a pronouncement of significance. As surely as the angels appeared to the shepherds, the star appeared to those who would see the light and understand how important it was.
They may have come seeking “the newborn king of the Jews” (Matthew 2:2), but why would they have traveled from a far off land to recognize the king of another group of people unless they knew that that king would be important for them as well?
God’s light being born into the world is good news for all people.
This is why we celebrate Epiphany. Epiphany literally means revelation, for something to be revealed. On this day,, and in fact over the next several weeks until Lent begins, we celebrate the fact that Jesus is revealed to the world. The light shining in the darkness is a light for all nations. This becomes clear through one of the other readings appointed for Epiphany from Isaiah: “Though darkness covers the earth and gloom all the nations, the LORD will shine upon you; God’s glory will appear before you. Nations will come to your light and kings to your dawning radiance. Lift up your eyes and look all around: they are all gathered; they have come to you” (Isaiah 60:2-4, CEB).
The gift of God’s light is a gift to all of the world, not just a select few. The Magi recognize this light. They follow the light from afar to offer welcome to God coming into the world.
This is what we celebrate today. God becomes known in the world, not just to the in crowd, not just as people might expect God to appear. God again tears down the boundaries of our expectations and shows us there are no borders to who gets included.
The Magi come because they recognize God’s light coming into the world. I have to assume they came because they knew that the coming of this child would be important beyond the land of the Hebrews, but I suspect they didn’t fully understand what that would mean.
In the book of Exodus, Moses saw the burning bush and knew that he was having a divine encounter, but he did not know what that encounter would mean. Moses was changed by his encounter with the light of God.
I like to think that the Magi were similarly changed by their encounter with the light. Did they carry a reflection of that divine light with them as they returned to their own lands? How did the reflection of that divine light they carried with them bring light to the dark places of the world?
What about us today? We, too, have encountered the light of God in the world. We have received the light of Christ in our lives and in our hearts. How does that reflection of the divine light brighten the world around us?
Even so, it is important for us to remember that we are not expected to ourselves be the light. We are not expected to light the darkness all on our own. It is the divine light reflected in us that lights the darkness. It is when we all share that light together, the light that is the light of God, that the darkness is pushed back.
While this year was a little different, I am reminded here of the Christmas Eve services that many of us have experienced. As I have participated in it in many places, near the end of the service, the lights are dimmed so that the worship space is in near darkness. The glow of the Advent and Christmas candles creates a circle of light in the darkness. A single candle is lit from the Christ candle and that light is carried to others in the room, eventually spreading and lighting the whole space.
It reminds me of a similar scene at the end of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” Near the end of the film, there is a climactic fight and then a tragic and unexpected death. Roused from their beds by the commotion, the students and staff gather in the darkness with their grief and their pain. At first they cannot see a way forward, but then one person lights their wand. Soon others join in, until the darkness is pushed away. Their grief remains, but at least they have the light to see their way forward.
God’s light shines into the darkness of our lives to show us a way forward through all that stands in our way. It pushes back the darkness, gives us the spark we need to see a better future for ourselves. With all that is happening in the world around us, the chaos, the fighting, the uncertainty, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. We can feel powerless in the face of so much. At times, we might forget that we are not alone, that we do not have to do it alone, that we carry a reflection of God’s light within us. And when we stand with others, the light of Christ we each carry within us combines with others to push back the darkness.
It is this knowledge that I encourage us to carry into this New Year. The glorious light of God’s love has come into the world, and we have each been affected by our encounter with it. We have seen the light, and we know that it is good. And now we carry a piece of that light within us, a light meant not just for us alone, but a light for the world, a light that can dispel the darkness and bring all into God's glorious light.
Over the next several weeks, we will continue to explore together the meaning of this light that has come into the world and how it is revealed to brighten the darkness for all the world.