During the weeks of Advent, we prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ, His first coming as well as the second coming. Now, with the epiphany of the Lord celebrated today, we begin a set of Gospel readings in which the Lordship of Christ is made known, for that is what the word epiphany means: To shine upon, to manifest or to make known.  The epiphany of the Lord is when it is made manifest or known that Christ is the anointed one, the messiah. 

The gospel today speaks of the visit by the Magi, wise men from the East who had come to pay homage to the Christ, born unto this world as a human baby, while next week the epiphany of the Lord continues with His baptism as a man by John the Baptist. Exactly who these wise men were is unknown, be they kings or part of a persian priesthood, the point to focus on here is the fact that they had come from other lands, other nations, to honor him whom they had recognized as the newborn king.

The journey of the Magi began with a light in the night sky.  They had seen a sign in the heavens, the rising of a star, and had followed it, seeking the reason behind its appearance, seeking its source. In the first reading, we hear the words of the prophet isaiah: Arise, shine, for your light has come, the glory of the lord shines upon you. The light which the Magi had seen, this star, this beacon, drew them from their own world, their own beliefs, from their own comfort zone, and set them on a journey in search of something greater than they had ever known. 

This journey of the Magi is our journey as well.  We are in a constant search for something greater than ourselves, a light in the darkness of a world sometimes gone mad. The light of Christ, the light of the promise he brings to us, is a beacon of hope, a source of peace to us.  Through the darkness which covers the world, the darkness of immorality, of irreverence, of liberalism and sinful tolerance, through the thick clouds of secularism and socialism which threatens to cover the people, the Lord shines through with hope and peace and truth. We heard this beautiful passage in the song Deacon Fred sang for us a couple weeks ago during communion: As the light of light descendeth, from the realms of endless day, that the powers of hell may vanish, as the darkness clears away.  The Magi, even, seemed to have experienced a moment of darkness when they entered Herod’s court. “Where is the newborn King of the Jews” they had asked. Herod had heard the prophecy of the Messiah and wanted nothing more than to destroy him. This darkness, this hatred of truth and light must have been felt by the Magi, for after their audience with the king, they set out, and Behold! The star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, and they were overjoyed at seeing the star.

Christ is the light of the world, he shines through it all. There is no darkness which cannot be pierced by his love for us, and to light our own gazes upon him, to focus our own lives upon him, to live for him, to love him and to allow him to fill us with His light, can do nothing but fill us with a neverending joy. 

Isaiah continues in the first reading: Nations shall walk by your light and kings by your shining radiance.  The responsorial psalm today tells us that every nation on the Earth will adore the Lord. We see this in the visit from the Magi. So with this prophecy that every nation will adore the lord, we can apply this to the second coming in which we are all awaiting now.  All nations, all peoples, will bow before the Lord, out of awe, perhaps out of fear Regardless of how we have lived our lives, we will find ourselves before the Majesty of the Lord, just like the Magi.

But what treasures do we, what treasures will we, offer the King of Kings and Lord of Lords?

If we are followers of the Light, just as the Magi were, will we offer Him our reverence as He is King?  Will we offer Him our adoration, as He is God? Will we offer Him our lives, the joys and happiness, the pains and sufferings, knowing that His own pain and suffering was endured to win for us eternal life with the Father?

On this day when we celebrate the epiphany of our Lord, when we celebrate our understanding of him as being God, the second person of the holy trinity made flesh for us, we must step back from ourselves and look to that which guides us.  Will we let the Star of Bethlehem be our guide? For the star, this Shining light, leads us to the door of salvation, leads to the door which opens up into the realm of eternal day. Will we be like the Wise men looking for the king to pay homage to him?

Or will we be like Herod, seeking out the king, seeking out the peace, so that we may destroy it?  Will we let our ego, our pride, our sense of self-importance become our guide into the darkness of damnation.

In the end all nations all people shall bow before the Lord. Let us choose to be like the Wise men bowing out of love and reverence to the king, and not bowing in submission to the fear of our own coming condemnation.

We saw His star at its rising, the wise men said, and we have come to do him homage.

Alleluia, alleluia.