Does Christ’s
light dwell in you?
Perhaps the most
remarkable thing about the visit of the magi
from the east to see the newborn king
of the Jews described in Matthew's Gospel is that the magi are not
themselves Jewish. To the contrary, they
are astrologers from foreign lands who have had an intimation of the revelation
God intends for all peoples, a glimpse of the divine light that is Jesus,
calling all nations of the world to him.
Their response is fitting: they prostrate themselves and do Jesus homage, knowing that the divine light
that brought them to him can only have been revealed by God. It is easy to imagine that they would, upon departing for their country, carry some
glimmer of that light dwelling within them, shining for all the world to see.
The magi, like the
kings of Tarshish and the Isles, the
kings of Arabia and Seba mentioned in Psalm 72, come to pay Christ homage -- for all nations shall serve the son of God.
Why? Because Jesus, the king of
our hearts, comes bearing a love that is for all, a love of justice and peace; Jesus is God’s grace
incarnate. We, in turn, as Paul tells the
Ephesians, must be aware that we bear the responsibility of the stewardship of that grace thanks to the revelation that was made know to Paul, and communicated by
Paul to us. Moreover, as stewards, we
are called to bear that grace to the whole world – we are meant, in the
darkness of non-belief, to be a light shining for all, a guide to faith in
Christ. As foretold by the prophet
Isaiah, thanks to the birth of Jesus Christ, our light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon us, and indeed
even from deep within us: thanks to God’s grace, we shall be radiant, blessed by the indwelling of the light of
Christ, and the love of God in our hearts.
So let us allow
that mystery to unfold! Let the light
that filled those who precede us come to dwell in us as well, that we might be
what we are called to be, a revelation of God’s grace, an experience of the
living Christ for all the world to see!
This post was
based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: Wordle (http://www.wordle.net)
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