Epiphany — The Light That Finds Us

Epiphany is not a gentle feast.

It is not just about the familiar figures around the crib.

Epiphany is a declaration.

God has made Himself known — and He has done so for the whole world.

The prophet Isaiah speaks into a world that knows darkness.

Not imaginary darkness,
but real darkness — fear, confusion, division, and uncertainty.

And he does not say, try harder, or find your own light.

He says: “Arise, shine, for your light has come.”

That is important.

The light does not come from us.
It comes from God.

Christian faith does not begin with human effort.
It begins with divine initiative.

God acts first.

In the Gospel, the Magi appear.

They are outsiders.
They are not part of Israel.
They do not know the Scriptures.

But they are attentive.

They see a sign.
And they respond.

They do not understand everything —
but they move.

That is faith.

Faith is not having all the answers.
It is responding to the light you have been given.

Alongside the Magi stands Herod.

Herod knows the Scriptures.
He knows the prophecies.
He knows where the Messiah is to be born.

But he does not move toward the light.

He resists it.

This is one of the quiet warnings of Epiphany.

It is possible to know about Christ
without surrendering to Him.

Knowledge alone does not save.
Only conversion does.

When the Magi finally find the child, the Gospel is very precise.

“They fell down and worshipped Him.”

Before the gifts,
before the gold, frankincense, and myrrh,
comes adoration.

That is the correct response to revelation.

Epiphany is not about curiosity.
It is about worship.

And worship changes us.

St Paul explains what is really happening.

The mystery hidden for ages has now been revealed:

The Gentiles are fellow heirs.
Members of the same body.
Sharers in the promise.

Epiphany tells us what the Church is.

Not a closed group.
Not a cultural club.

But a people gathered from every nation,
drawn by the light of Christ.

That is why faith cannot remain private.

Light is meant to shine.

The Gospel ends with a line we should never rush past:

“They went home by another way.”

That is not just geography.

It is conversion.

Anyone who truly encounters Christ
does not go home unchanged.

As Bishop Fulton Sheen once put it:

“The wise men came to Christ by one road,
but they went home by another.
No one ever meets Christ
and goes home the same.”

That is the question Epiphany asks us tonight.

Have we truly encountered Christ —
or only become familiar with Him?

Epiphany is not finished when the Magi leave the scene.

The light still shines.

It shines here —
at this altar,
in the Eucharist.

The child the Magi adored
is the Lord we receive.

And He still asks for the same response:

Not curiosity.
Not admiration.

Worship.
Obedience.
A change of direction.

Tonight, the Church proclaims something bold:

The light has come.
The nations are invited.
Christ is revealed.

May we not be like Herod —
knowing, but resisting.

May we be like the Magi —
seeking, responding, and worshipping.

And having encountered Christ,
may we go home
by another way.