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Epiphany, which we celebrate today, centres on revelation of Christ to the world, and in particular to the Gentiles (those who are not Jewish). Our key text is in Matthew 2:1-12, where we learn about the magi (wise men or kings) who came from the East (possibly Persia, now Iran). Seeing a star in the sky they studied it and concluded that a king had been born in Bethlehem. They followed the light, which is a keyword in today’s message. Even though Jesus’ ministry was primarily to the Jews, the magi represent everyone else – the Gentiles, and they are among those few who recognised and followed the light of Christ. The opening verses of John 1 emphasise Christ as the light and life of the world.

In Ephesians 3:1-11, Paul shares his experience of Christ and his calling to the Gentiles – the other disciples had focused mostly on sharing the Gospel with the Jews. Paul emphasises that while God’s will and working in human history had been restricted to the Jews, now God’s will and working were being made available to everyone. This is a breaking open of the ‘people of God’ as God throws open the doors and invites everyone in.

Isaiah had already had a sense of all this, as found in Isaiah 60:1-5. In the first two verses, God writes about his own light that is shone upon us:

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.

In these opening verses it is clear that the ‘you’ refers to the people and that the ‘light’ is God’s light.

But in the following three verses, there is a shift:

Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the hip. Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come.

Here, the words you and your still to the people. But now God says that the light is theirs. It is no longer the Light of God that rises, but the people’s light. And people will come to this light – to the light of God shining out of us. We are the light of God – we are given the light of God and called to reveal this light to the people, so they may come to believe in God.

Be the light of Christ in the world.