Your light has come

Welcome 2022! 

The rays of a new year illumine the dawn of a season of light. Indeed, our light has come as we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany of the Lord followed by the baptism of the Lord. Suffice to say, the two feasts are mysteries of Jesus’ infancy. Both call to mind God’s abiding light and presence as we follow the call to holiness.

Epiphany (Mt 2:1-12)

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches the “Epiphany is the manifestation of Jesus as Messiah of Israel, son of God and Savior of the world. The great feast of Epiphany celebrates the adoration of Jesus by the Wise Men (Magi) from the East, together with his baptism in the Jordan … In the Magi, representatives of the neighboring pagan religions, the Gospel sees the first-fruits of the nations, who welcome the good news of salvation through the Incarnation. The Magi’s coming to Jerusalem in order to pay homage to the king of the Jews shows that they seek in Israel, in the messianic light of the star of David, the one who will be king of the nations” (Para. 528).

It is inspiring that the first to welcome the Messiah are those who are foreign to Israel’s faith yet believe it has value. It was taught the coming of the Messiah would be more obvious, more militant. It was also foretold through the prophets that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, the City of David. At that time the reigning Jewish king, Herod, upon meeting the Magi soon realized the prophecy may be fulfilled in his time. Rather than embracing the coming of the promised new king, he allowed himself to be consumed with power and desired his plan instead of being obedient to God’s plan for salvation. Here we see two epiphanies: one embracing the manifestation of God and the other rejecting it. What epiphanies have I experienced in my life, moments of the living presence of God? How did I adore the Lord in that moment? How do I continue to follow the “star,” the light of Christ?

Light from light

We read in the Gospel of St. John, “What came to be through him (Jesus) was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (Jn 1:4-5). Imagine  one evening, after the sun has set, the electricity goes off unexpectedly at home. We sit in darkness. We hesitate to move in any direction to avoid running into something, stubbing our toes, hitting our heads or even falling over an object. But we move around anyway, grasping at some hope in the darkness.  Once the electricity is restored, we are able to see distinctly.

In some ways being in a state of sin is living in darkness. We walk a continuous obstacle course without the light of Christ since we block it. We cannot “see” where we are going and often hurt ourselves and others. Yet, even when we choose to turn away from the light, it causes a shadow, as a reminder of an open door. Hope. We need only to turn back towards the light. So as we profess “our light has come” (Is 60:1-6) we believe the Lord shines his light in Christ Jesus, as we hear from the prophet Isaiah, “I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness” (Is 42: 1-4, 6-6).

Jesus Christ, “God from God, light from light, true God from true God …” came “For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary and became man” (Nicene Creed). Jesus enters our “dungeon” of sin, eradicates death and radiates his light, the light of God, the father, to restore our vision, to free us from the darkness of sin through the waters of baptism; the same waters he sanctified, made holy by his baptism. Pope St. John Paul II writes, “The only son of God came to make us God’s children. The mystery of his baptism opens the mystery of our own baptism. Of fullness we have all had a share – love following upon love.” 

An eternal flame

“Baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Lk 3:16), the light of Christ saturates our Christian life, beginning in the sacrament of baptism where we first receive the light of Christ, to our last days. In baptism, the priest or deacon states, “Receive the light of Christ. Parents and godparents, this light is entrusted to you to be kept burning brightly, so that your child, enlightened by Christ, may always walk as a child of the light and, persevering in the faith, may run to meet the Lord when he comes with all the saints, in the heavenly court.” This flame is taken from the lit paschal candle that has been blessed at the Easter Vigil and signifies Jesus’ victory over sin and death as he continuously illuminates our path, calling us to holiness, to follow him, to listen to him, to be his disciple. A path of sainthood. At the end of our life the lit paschal candle is placed near our remains, flickering like beams of hope which dispels the darkness of death as, by God’s mercy, our guardian angel leads us into paradise.

Your light has come, is here and will remain forever burning brightly. As we begin the new year take time to reflect on how to be more open to receiving God’s light and radiating it to all. May the light of God in Jesus Christ shine upon your life and radiate your entire being with his peace. Happy New Year. 

Dow is the director of the  Office of Evangelization and Catechesis for the Diocese of Baton Rouge.