We prayed in our Collect that our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world. This is because in His light only are we able to perceive the uncreated light of the Father, Who is revealed through Christ. After affirming that Jesus is the light of the world, we ask God that we, illumined by His Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory, that through us, the whole world to the ends of the earth may know, worship, and obey Jesus Christ. All of this is exactly what the Epiphany season is all about.
Epiphany, as the word itself indicates, is all about manifestation, the showing forth of the divine glory in Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God the Father Almighty. "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." Epiphany is about that showing, that manifestation, and that beholding of glory; and it is also about the effects of that beholding: so that "we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed from glory into the same image from glory to glory, even by the Spirit of the Lord." All God wants is the human heart, and the means that He seeks our heart is by revealing Himself in and through Jesus Christ the Messiah, so that in in our beholding of the glory, we may thereby be transformed: our heart more filled with God.
Behold in our Gospel lesson from S. John the power of Jesus Christ! Our Jesus Christ has such power that words as pithy as “Follow me” He gains followers who become not mere followers, but His ardent disciples and, later, glorious apostles. In this part of John’s Gospel, the charisma and power of Jesus gained Him Andrew, Peter, Philip, Nathanael, and John. And we see the same power of Christ shown in other Gospel accounts as well. Jesus speaks and beckons in simple words, men drop what they are doing, and in an instant follow Him. How the power of Christ shines in the hearts of men and women!
What grace that God gives of heaven to human beings, that He manifests Himself in such a way that the direction of one’s life changes! What clearer illustration of this could there be than the Magi, who upon following the angel disguised as a star (as many say) were led to their Savior, and upon meeting the Holy Family (Christ and Mary and Joseph) and hearing God speak to them in a dream, return to their home by a different way than they had come.
And God does this to all of His followers. Think on your life, and how God has changed the direction of it, many more than once in your life. Each such moment where God has changed the direction of our life is a moment to treasure, ponder in your heart, and in which to anchor your spiritual life, for God has shown Himself to you personally and intentionally. These are moments to behold the glory of God, as the disciples did when they were first called; as the shepherds did when they were tending their field by night; as the rabbis and scholars did in the Temple when Jesus was 12 years old; as the Bridegroom, Bride, and wedding guests at the marriage at Cana, as Nathanael did as Jesus told him that He has seen Nathanael under the fig tree, which drew him into awe and wonder.
Dear brothers and sisters, our hearts have again been opened in the beholding of glory of the Holy Child being born, how Christ shared in our humanity, how He who was uncontainable was first contained in the womb of Blessed Mary, and then in the flesh she gave Him: He through Whom all things are made was made human through her by the Holy Spirit. And beholding His power in the Epiphany of His Nativity, we sang as we always do at Christmas: What can I give Him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb. If I were a wise man, I would do my part. Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart. I quote the last verse to the beautiful hymn because it captures the second aspect of the logic of Epiphany: beholding Christ’s glory as He has shown Himself to Saints in the New Testament and to us is the first part. The second aspect is being transformed by Christ’s power. As Saint Paul says, we do this by shunning immorality, which is part of Paul’s whole program for living a holy life of sacrifice. And to inspire us, Paul ever reminds the Church that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within. As we behold His glory to the disciples, the shepherds, the magi and the rest, Paul exhorts us to behold the majesty of the Holy Spirit in our body. And this is the glory of our Baptism, to constantly remember each and every day of our life. For each time we remember the glory of our Baptism, of being a member of the Body of Christ Who is the Light of the world, each time we remember our baptism, our heart shines, our mind shines, and our souls shines all the more with the radiance of Christ’s glory. Amen.
On Beholding Christ's Glory and Power