Epiphany ~ "I am the Light of the World" John 8:12

Have you ever walked in the dark and wished for a light so you could see? You didn’t know what might be on either side of you, or in the path ahead. Maybe you weren’t even sure you were going in the right direction. It’s so easy to get lost in the dark.

Or perhaps you have spent a night in a new place. Houses can be creaky, and all furnaces sound differently, making you nervous about the sounds you heard around you.   How different everything seemed the next day in the bright, cheery sunshine! You can easily understand why the Bible uses darkness as a symbol of evil, error, uncertainty, trouble, and death. Light is a symbol of life, joy truth, and all that is good.

Darkness is the absence of light. The Bible tells us that God is the source of light. Today we celebrate Epiphany Sunday.  What does that mean?  Epiphany means that something is revealed or made clear in a way we had not seen before.  A flashlight shows us what we could not see in the dark, and God is the flashlight for our lives. Without Him we can only wander around in the dark – lost, not knowing where we are going.

A light has come into the world, and the darkness has not overcome it. Indeed, the light that Jesus Christ brought into the world is spreading, bringing new hope and new vision to all people.

During the Advent season (the month of December) we lit an additional candle each Sunday, and the light grew brighter as we approached Christmas. Then, in celebration of the birth of Christ, we lit the Christ candle, and the light was brighter still.

Today we commemorate the journey of the magi, who were drawn by the light of a star and witnessed Jesus as the true light of the world. We accept that we too have seen the light and are called to share this light with others. The light of Christ, the light of God’s love which shines on us and within us; this light shines not just for us but for the whole world. We are a part of that.  We are a part of Christ’s light. 

Let us shine for the whole world. Let our light shine in the darkness for others.  Let us be a flashlight.