Year C Epiphany – Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72:1-14; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12
On Epiphany, we celebrate the Christ child being worshipped by kings. The familiar story of wise men bringing precious gifts explains how Joseph was able to fund his family’s flight to Egypt. Although Jesus fulfils the prophecies, the connection to God’s people is what excites us every celebration.
Isaiah prophesied nations and their kings would come to our light. Our light is God’s glory shining through us. That glory is our connection to the King. Jesus Christ, as our Lord and Saviour, is the bridegroom for the Church. As God’s people of covenant, we are promised to one day be the source of goodness and gladness to the world.
Like Isaiah, the Psalmist sings of kings bringing gifts from afar. These gifts will be laid down at the feet of the King of all kings. Nations will come to serve him after the King has served them by caring for the needy and ruling with justice and mercy.
The writer to the church in Ephesus explains these concepts as being a mystery. To materialists, mystery is limited to that which is unknown and, by implication, can be known through science over time. Mystery to God’s people, however, carries something more meaningful. It is a known relationship with no ability to grasp the depth of God’s love.
God uses the least of saints to announce God’s good news. God uses the church to manifest God’s wisdom to the kings of earth. And in Matthew’s gospel, kings literally bowed at the feet of Jesus the Christ.
Epiphany is a time for the Church to embrace the abundance of God’s grace and exercise their faith in confidence. What are we doing now to shine Christ’s light in our world? How are we serving others as our Lord, caring for the needy?