We saw the light ...

At the beginning of January we remember in the Feast of the Epiphany those three men who embarked upon a long journey to a completely unknown destination, driven only by the conviction that by following the new and very bright light which had appeared in the sky, they would find the promised Saviour of the Jewish people and, therefore, perhaps their own salvation.

Well before their time, however, the prophets from the Old Testament had hinted at such an event. Isaiah wrote that: ‘camels and dromedaries of Midian, everyone in Sheba will come, bringing gold and incense and singing the praise of the Lord’ (Is 60); the psalmist foresaw that ‘The kings of Sheba and Seba will offer gifts; all kings will do him homage, all nations become his servant’ (Ps 72:10-15)

These men, foretold by the prophets of the Old Testament and witnessed to by the writers of the New Testament, had an undying faith that the light they were following would lead them to God.

This event is important because it was the first clue that, ultimately, Jesus was not coming merely for the purpose of saving his own people, the Jews, but for those outside of the Jewish community also. The fact that Jesus’ appearance in the world was announced to two very clear and definite set of people, firstly Jewish shepherds and, secondly, non-Jewish noblemen from foreign lands, is a clear indication that God’s plan for salvation was to stretch beyond the Jews and to the whole of humanity. You could say that the three kings from a foreign land were paying the new baby Jesus homage on our behalf: they were the precursor of all non-Jewish followers of Christ who have paid him homage down through the ages.

The feast of the Epiphany is, firstly and most importantly, a celebration of God’s salvation being opened up to all humanity. However, it is also an event which must cause us to think very positively about two other important aspects of how we live out our lives as Christians, for it is also a story about FAITH and GUIDING LIGHTS.

At the heart of the kings’ journey was an undying faith as to where the light was leading. They confidently gave Herod (whose palace they had unfortunately stopped at en route) the reason for their journey: they were looking for the king of the Jews: “Where is the infant king of the Jews?” they asked, “We saw his star as it rose and have come to do him homage” (Matthew 2:1-2). God had quite simply planted in the hearts of these three men the knowledge of where this light would lead them and, with that knowledge, their faith never once faltered.

St John in his letter reminds us that to have and exercise faith is to have victory over the world: “this is the victory over the world – our faith” (John 5:4). That is an astonishing assertion: our faith will have victory over the world! Our faith will have victory over all manner of problems and challenges which we will inevitably have in our lives. The New Testament is jam-packed with incidents of people coming to Jesus with faith in his growing reputation as a healer, and finding the healing that they needed. It was with total faith that Peter stepped out of the boat and walked several paces on the water before eventually sinking when he stopped and thought for a moment about what he was doing; it was with faith that the centurion interceded for his sick servant and won his healing; it was with faith that the blind man, Bartimaeus called out to Jesus to give him sight and in so doing, won it.

All of these stories invite us to think much more deeply and carefully about the person of Jesus, about his importance in our own personal lives and to what degree we trust him. The kings had no question as to whom they would find as they followed the bright star / light, and their journey was totally guided by that light.

The modern world is filled with false lights, lights which would have us believe that money, power, possessions are the be all and end all and the way to personal happiness. None of the modern world’s lights can claim to be the guiding light which led the men to Bethlehem and which, in our day, invites us to be led to our own personal fullest potential and ultimate destiny. In the absence of the very specific bright light in the heavens to guide us as it guided the three travellers, what or who should be our guiding light?

Our guiding light must be the person of Jesus, for he says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). If Jesus is the light of the world then we should be looking for and then guided by those of his qualities which, though our baptism into his death and therefore his life, we have a full share. What are those qualities? They are:-

- forgiveness
- mercy
- patience
- kindness
- goodness
- truth
- humility
- self-control
- love
- compassion

These are the qualities by which we are to be guided so that we, too, may become more and more like the person of Jesus and take seriously our own responsibility for being a light in the world, for Jesus tells us very directly that “your light must shine in the sight of men, so that, seeing your good works, they may give the praise to your Father in heaven” (Matt 5:16). Love is catching! Kindness is catching! Goodness and truth are catching! All of these qualities are deeply attractive to humanity and it is by exercising these qualities in our own lives that people around us will feel drawn to the person who is the inspiration behind these qualities: Jesus, the only true light of the world who, alone, can lead us to the healing and salvation so urgently sought by the three men.