Epiph17

“Nations shall walk by your light, and kings by your shining radiance.  Raise your eyes and look about; they all gather and come to you: your sons come from afar.”  All nations come to worship Yahweh, not just a select Chosen People, the Jews.  All peoples are God’s peoples.

Matthew 2:1-12.  The magi come following the star that leads to the “newborn king of the Jews.”  The star is the light that leads to Jesus.  It shines for all peoples. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has no overcome it” (John 1: 5).  King Herod was the darkness who wanted to extinguish the light but was destined to fail because the source of the light (God) is infinitely more powerful than the source of darkness (the devil).  See how diabolic Herod is when he sends the magi to seek Jesus and says, “When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.”  The darkness that is so deep seeks to devour the light that is the Christ.  The non-Jews, the magi, “prostrated themselves and did him homage.  They opened their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.”  The star was God’s way of inviting in the Gentiles to take Jesus as their Messiah.  They followed the light sent by God to lead them to eternal life.  The Holy Spirit does that for us daily.  “What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race” (John 1: 3c-4).

Hebrews 1:1-6.  “The mystery was made known to me by revelation.  It was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body.”  The revelation is the light that takes away the darkness.  Jesus is the revelation that he is the Messiah, Savior of all peoples.  We who daily follow the light, the Holy Spirit,

shall be people of eternal life.  “Then you shall be radiant at what you see.” (from the first reading)