Epiphany III – Byron Tindall
The Epiphany has been celebrated by the church since from around the year 200. By about 320, it was a firmly established tradition.
The Merriam-Webster website partially defines Epiphany as:
“1 capitalized : January 6 observed as a church festival in commemoration of the coming of the Magi as the first manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles or in the Eastern Church in commemoration of the baptism of Christ
2 : an appearance or manifestation especially of a divine being”
In the lessons appointed for this the third Sunday after the Epiphany, Matthew has Jesus moving from Nazareth to Capernaum after Jesus learns of John the Baptist’s arrest. This move, according to Matthew, was in order to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah. Capernaum, located in Galilee, is probably the modern Tell Hum. Whatever the name of the village, anything in Galilee was considered to be Gentile territory and thus looked down upon by the religious elite of Jesus’s generation.
Isaiah and Matthew were using this region considered to be non-Jewish to further what has become the message of the Epiphany for the western church.
Long before Matthew, Isaiah said that the hated Gentiles would one day share in the coming Glory of the Lord.
R.B.Y. Scott, who lived from 1899–1987, was ordained in the United Church of Canada and was an Old Testament scholar. He wrote about the passage from Isaiah in The Interpreter’s Bible,
“This great utterance of exultant faith bursts like the first light of Creation upon the darkness and chaos of the earth as pictured in the closing part of chapter 8 (of Isaiah). Distress is turned into unspeakable rejoicing, with the overthrow of the oppressor, and the coming to the throne of David of a king whose lofty titles betoken a new age of peace and justice.”
Now, back to the Gospel lesson for today. Matthew has Jesus begin his preaching ministry immediately after the move to Galilee. Then walking along the shoreline of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus calls one-third of his closest followers, Peter and Andrew, who were to become fishers of people, and then James and John.
For the next few minutes, I want us to consider and think about what Isaiah said about darkness and light. “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light….”
The word light is not used as a simile or metaphor in this instance. It is used to describe the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven, a place where God’s justice and peace rule.
Jesus, who probably knew the writing of Isaiah, used light as well as a description of his followers.
In Matthew’s account of what we call the Sermon on the Mount in chapter 5, Jesus said to the crowd of followers, “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
The writer of the Gospel according to St. John used light to describe Jesus in the opening verses of his gospel. “In him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”
The light of all people, not just the Nation of Israel. There’s the Epiphany message again.
In the 3rd chapter of John’s gospel, in addition to the famous John 3:16, the word light is used as a substitution for the Kingdom of God. “And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”
The word “light” was used to describe Jesus a long time before any of the gospels were written. In the 2nd chapter of his gospel, Luke explains how Mary and Joseph complied with the Law of Moses regarding the first-born son.
I’m not going to take the time to read the entire passage, but if you want to read it, it’s found in Luke 2: 22-32.
Simeon met Mary, Joseph and the infant in the temple. Guided by the Holy Spirit, Simeon proclaimed the Epiphany message as he said,
“Lord, you now have set your servant free
to go in peace as you have promised;
For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior,
whom you have prepared for all the world to see:
A Light to enlighten the nations,
and the glory of your people Israel.
“…the Savior, whom you have prepared for all the world to see: A Light to enlighten the nations…”
All the world…enlighten the nations. That’s what the Epiphany season is about.
For centuries, the Song of Simeon has been used in the Daily Offices of the Anglican Communion.
Think of all the occasions throughout the liturgical year when light is used. The Advent wreath, Christmas, of course Epiphany, the Great Vigil of Easter, just to name a few. Look at the Altar. The torches used at times in the processional and the reading of the Gospel Lesson.
What does all this mean for us Christians in the 21st Century?
Just as Peter, Andrew, James, John and the other 8 who were called to follow Him, we, too, as has been said many times before, are called to follow and emulate Him as a light unto the world.
Where we find darkness in the form of injustice, poverty, cruelty, hunger, hatred, war or any other situation that demeans any part of God’s creation, the light of Christ must illuminate it through us, both individually and corporately as the church. Remember, darkness despises the light.
St. Francis of Assisi is said to have told his followers as he sent them out into the world, saying something like, “Go forth into the world and preach the gospel wherever you go. Use words only when absolutely necessary.
“…Let your light shine before others.” Amen.