See the Light, be the light (Epiphany homily)

 This is going to sound hokey, but: 

the title of my homily is: “See the light – be the light.”

We start with the Magi, these Wise Men, 

these seekers, in the Gospel. 

They saw the light. 

A star caught their attention, and they followed it.

God has a lot of ways to get our attention. 

It may not have happened to you, but it has happened to a lot of us. 

A lot of folks here can remember a time when God set them straight, 

turned them around, answered a prayer. 

 

When I was 19, I was in my first year of college, 

and I was at a point in my life 

when I was starting really to ask questions about God, 

about being a Christian. And I was going to a Bible study. 

And out of the blue, I heard Christ speak in my heart. 

I can’t really put it into words, but it was clear: 

he was calling me to follow him, 

just like he did with Peter and Andrew, James and John and others.

That was my experience; other people have different experiences.

One way or the other, God gets your attention.

For these Seekers in the Gospel, it was a star. 

They saw the light, and they followed it.

And that light brought you here, whether you realize it or not.

But notice what the other readings talked about. 

Isaiah told us that the Light would shine first on his people, Israel. 

But then, the light would shine to the world. 

How does the Light reach the whole world? That’s your part, and mine.

The Magi did their part; later the Apostles, 

and those who knew them; 

and generation by generation, the light has been passed to you.

I am speaking right now to our kids – you have to listen now!

Kids, teens: do you realize what happened when you were baptized? 

The priest or deacon handed a light – a lit candle – to your godparent. 

And that godparent’s job, with your parents and family, 

is to get that light of faith into your hands, 

so it’s not theirs, but yours.

That candle stands for the light you and I receive in baptism, 

and no matter what any other people may do – or not do –

nothing can extinguish that flame. Only you and I can do that.

When we’re kids, or in our teens, we might say:

Oh, mom and dad didn’t tell me, they didn’t push me.

And you know what? 

There is always something more mom or dad could have done. 

That’s one of the heartaches of a parent: “I could have done more.”

But if you are hearing my words, even very young, 

then the candle, the flame of faith, is already in your hands.

And you can make things happen if you really want to.

That goes for everyone here.

One of the great gifts God gives us, is to rekindle that flame

when we go to confession. God wants us filled with light. 

The fuel of that flame is the Holy Spirit.

You know what a saint really is? 

An ordinary person like you, 

who invites and allows the Holy Spirit to make that flame explode! 

Be that light. Let it happen in you.

You and I will not know, until eternity, 

how even the smallest words or actions of ours 

can set great things in motion. 

When you are out and about, eating a meal, 

don’t be afraid to make the sign of the cross and say grace. 

It’s a small thing, but powerful.

Each of us has been at the store and 

seen someone who was grouchy and difficult. 

Maybe we were that grouch!

It can make a hard-working person’s just to add some kindness.

A day’s worth, a week’s worth, of faithfulness and grace 

can become a life’s worth of witness, 

and it adds up to a blazing sign of God’s grace.

You and I are here: we have followed the light, 

whether we knew it or not, leading us here – in Jesus’ presence. 

Ask him, invite him, to make you a light.