Sunday Gospel Reflection, January 4, 2026: You shall be radiant...

You shall be radiant...
 You are called to be light to the world,
right here, right now.
 Are you ready? 

   In our readings for the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, which we celebrate this Sunday, light is the guiding thread that takes us from one end of the Liturgy of the Word to the other. In the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, darkness covers the earth, a description that will come to mind at the death of Jesus, abandoned on the Cross; it also echoes the beginning of the Book of Genesis. For Israel, exile is a kind of darkness, for they have put their faith in other gods. But Isaiah’s prophecy says they will emerge from this darkness because God has called them to shine forth: Nations shall walk by your light, and kings by your shining radiance. Israel will be a beacon of light to the world, as God infuses God’s people with his light. 

   And if God is going to fill you with his light – grace – then you have a responsibility to let that light shine. Paul tells the Ephesians that they are stewards of God’s grace, and as such, it is their duty to enlighten those around them about grace, the experience of Christ present, living in them and they in him. The light that fills them must shine so that the mystery can unfold before the world, and all will be revealed before the world. All nations are called to unity, recognizing that God is the God of all: Lord, every nation on earth will adore you, Psalm 72 reminds us. Our job is to point to God’s marvelous justice, revealing it so that all might come to Christ. 

   Like the magi from the East in Matthew's Gospel, we are participants in a revelation: that the Gospel is for all, God’s love is for all. Having seen the Christ living among us, we are called to be that light shining for all in the darkness of non-belief, a guide to faith for those who have eradicated God from their lives. Overjoyed at seeing the star, we too are called to recognize that God is active in our midst. It is through those of us who have faith that God will shine; we are his ministers, bringing the grace God has placed in us to others, doing homage to the Christ child as we tell the world of the revelation of our Savior, God-with-us, Emmanuel. 

This “vintage” post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture Class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com

Sunday Gospel Reflection, January 7, 2018: You shall be radiant...

 You shall be radiant… 

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)