Jesus, I trust in you!
Jose Rizal was fascinated by a gamu
gamo or winged termite which is attracted by light. The small insect, desiring
for light, drew near the flame of the oil lamp even though it was dangerous.
And true enough, its wings caught fire.
Light has power to attract. And
Epiphany, being the feast of light, shows us this lesson. The Magi coming from
the East, went to Bethlehem in search of the King of the Jews. They were led to
him by the light of a star which they saw rising in the East. “Rise up in
splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon
you. See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; but
upon you the Lord shines and over you appears his glory.” Indeed, these pagans
saw the light of a star which beckoned them to a greater light and that light is
Christ, who is Light from Light, true God from true God.
The pagans were not given the light
of revelation. God did not send them prophets. They sought guidance from the
stars because it was all they had. Through the Babylonian Captivity of the
Jews, they heard of prophecies about the coming of the King of the Jews who
would rule the nations. The unfortunate occasion of Jewish slavery in their
land became a blessing for the pagans. “Nations shall walk by your light, and
kings by your shining radiance…they all gather to come to you…”
Light has power to attract. We are
drawn towards the light. Christ’s light draws us to himself. Christ’s light is
not dangerous. It does not kill like the flame of a lamp. Rather, his light
gives life. “What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light
of the human race.” The Magi found out that the closer they were to Christ, the
greater light they enjoyed. First, it was just a star that they saw. Later on,
in Jerusalem, they heard the prophecies of scriptures. Then, finally, they saw
Christ himself and they prostrated themselves and worshiped him. They offered
him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Little did they realize that it was
not what they brought that were the gifts to the newborn King but they themselves
were the gifts. “I shall bequeath you the nations, put the ends of the earth in
your possession.” (Ps. 2: 8)
The Jews are not the only ones who
belong to the Lord. Even if they were the chosen people of God, they are not
the only ones who belong to him. The world and everything in it belongs to him.
We are all the inheritance of the Lord. We are his people, the flock he
shepherds. Thus, today, the Father reveals to all of us his Son as our Lord and
King. He also draws us towards his Son for Jesus said, “No one can come to me
unless the Father draws him.”
Let us always be grateful to the
Father for having revealed to us his only Son. As the magi experienced, so also
do we realize that the closer we are to Jesus, the greater light we enjoy. The
closer we are to Jesus, the more life do we possess, the more alive we are. The
more light we enjoy, the greater is our capacity to see. The gospel of Jesus
renders astrology useless. We no longer need the guidance of the stars. We are
guided by a greater light given to us by the teachings of Jesus. When the magi
found Christ, they no longer went back to their former ways. “They departed for
their country by another way.” The Christian path is no longer a groping in the
dark. It is not a guessing game. Rather, it is a confident journey from light
to greater light. We do not worship a god we do not know. We know him for he
has revealed himself to us. We know he is true and all his ways are sure.
O Mary conceived without sin, pray
for us who have recourse to thee!
No comments:
Post a Comment