🙏 SUNDAY INSIGHTS - THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD 🙏

First Reading - Isaiah 60:1-6 

Second Reading - Ephesians 3:2-3,5-6 

Gospel - Matthew 2:1-12

There are moments when light suddenly breaks into a familiar landscape and changes how everything is seen. What once felt ordinary becomes meaningful, and what seemed distant becomes near. Today’s readings celebrate that moment of revelation and invite us to ask a personal question: are we willing to rise and follow the light when it appears?

The First Reading from Isaiah speaks to a people who have known darkness, discouragement, and waiting. Into that reality, God does not whisper but announces: rise, shine, for your light has come. This light is not meant to stay hidden. It draws nations, peoples, and treasures toward it. God’s glory is revealed not to isolate Israel, but to make Israel a beacon. From the beginning, God’s plan has always been expansive, generous, and outward-looking.

The Second Reading from Ephesians makes this even clearer. Paul speaks of a mystery once hidden and now revealed: that God’s promise is meant for all, without exception. No one is an outsider. No one is an afterthought. God’s salvation is not restricted by background, culture, or history. This is not a new plan, but the fulfillment of God’s deepest intention. Grace is wider than anyone imagined.

The Gospel from Matthew shows us how this revelation unfolds in human lives. The Magi are seekers, foreigners, outsiders to Israel’s religious tradition. Yet they notice a sign and refuse to ignore it. They leave what is familiar, take risks, and follow a light they do not fully understand. Their journey contrasts sharply with King Herod, who knows the Scriptures but feels threatened by what they announce. Knowledge alone does not lead to worship. Openness does.

When the Magi finally encounter the child Jesus, they do not find power as the world defines it. They find vulnerability. Yet they recognize truth when they see it. They kneel, they rejoice, and they offer what they have. Then they return home by another way. Encounter with Christ always changes direction.

Dear friends, many people sense a restlessness within, a quiet pull toward something more, something true. God often speaks through that restlessness. The question is not whether God is shining light, but whether we are willing to move, to ask, to seek, and to change course.

Epiphany reminds us that faith is not passive. It involves rising, leaving, and offering. It asks us to examine where we are like the Magi, courageously searching, and where we are like Herod, resisting because change feels threatening. The light of Christ exposes both our hope and our fear.

The good news is this: the light does not demand perfection. It invites response. When we step toward it, even with uncertainty, joy follows. When we kneel in humility, we discover that God meets us not with judgment, but with grace.

Do not stay seated in the dark. Rise. Follow the light God has given you. Offer what you have, not what you wish you were. And be open to returning by another way, allowing Christ to reshape your path.

When we do, our lives themselves become light for others, and the glory of the Lord continues to be revealed, quietly but powerfully, in the world.