Today, in the words of Isiah, we “Rise up in splendor.”  For us a light has come to dispel darkness. Seekers from other lands, guided by light, are brought to its source in the God-made-man, Jesus Christ.  The light that is our redemption from all that keeps us from the fullness of sharing in God’s divinity shines on us, and casts out all that keeps us separated and distant from God, our true selves, and others.

The drama of this light in human living is portrayed in the difference of the magi’s seeking and Herod’s.  The seekers of God, seek light and enlightenment.  They do not seek to own it or have control over it.  They simply celebrate its reality in gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Herod on the other hand, is blind to the gift of light offered, so caught up in his false-self’s need for power and control in material things.  He seeks to destroy what could be for him the gift of a greater kingdom than his own.

In each of us, there is a seeker of light in the ground of our being.  We may not be conscious of it, but its voice resonates in us when we are drawn to love, healing, forgiveness and peace.  When they are the heart of our heart received from God and shared with others, we can not, but rise up in splendor to praise the God who saves us by uniting our hearts to his.

There is also a Herod in each of us as well.  There are times we get stuck in anger, resentment and become blinded by our false-self’s need to play god and be in control.  But who of us could ever build a kingdom like God’s?  We each lean at one time toward, and other times away from the light.  Epiphany is for us a brief moment of recognizing the light that is before us and in us.  It is in that glorious experience that we can take a route different from Herod’s and walk in and towards the fullness of the light of Christ.

Let us rejoice then in the gift of light and ask the Lord to purify us that his love may be the fire that warms our hearts and makes us one in the light dwelling in the hearts of all!