Computer and other assorted delicacies, treasures and pleasures the box of metal tubes (even in their purple splendor) was destined for puzzlement if not disappointment. But as soon as Dad could break himself free from constructing a racetrack for the little brother and attach one tube to another and carry it outside, the story changed. It was cold! Something we had not as yet experienced this year. But everyone had to come and see the craters on this luminous orb that is our bright night-light. The face of the small recipient was now glowing much like the moon. Oma! Come see the crater! We don’t know which one it is, but it is one of the craters on the moon!

The light had come on. Whether it was the light of the heavenly orb up close and personal or the light of new insight and understanding or just the light of what this contraption could do, the light had come on. The darkness was gone.

Light out of darkness is one of the powerful images for Christians throughout the seasons of Advent, Christmas and even Epiphany. In fact we reach back into the history and story of our Hebrew ancestors to first capture the image. Darkness was the word used to describe or to symbolize the repeated hardships of the Hebrew people. The hardships referred to at that time were the capture of their country by a foreign power and the destruction of their Temple then exile to Babylon, then the disappointing return. For far fewer people than they had hoped returned, and those who did so returned to desolation, hardship and hunger. Rebuilding of the temple seemed hopeless. Darkness seemed to continue to abound.

The prophet’s promise that God would come to reestablish a nation living in righteousness and peace is restated in today’s scripture with exuberance and color. First is the statement of the pervasiveness of the darkness, then the promise of God’s light to come. In verses 4 and following we find a depiction of caravans from distant nations traveling to Judah loaded with precious gifts and bearing those members of the Hebrew community not yet returned to their homeland. Yet the prophet sees more than the restoration of the community in the transformation to come. The light comes because there will be a new relationship between God and the people. Their lives will be lived differently.

And so Matthew builds on this powerful prophetic imagery as he tries to help his readers understand God’s wondrous Gift of Jesus Christ. Here the light is a double image: The star that guides the magi as well as Jesus being seen as the light to the world. And it is the latter that the story of the magi hopes to bring home to the listeners. The magi are not from the Hebrew community but from the other world, as it were. The word magi can mean magician, or it can refer to magian, a Persian priestly caste, or astrologers. Since their visit is prompted by their observation of the stars, this last seems to be the probable meaning.

Much had been derived from Matthew’s brief story. Over the years, the three have become to be viewed as kings, and they were given names. Much has also been made of the gifts they brought and the symbolism thereof. Gold is naturally associated with monarchy. Myrrh was the oil used for anointing or healing as well as the oil used for preparing bodies for burial. Frankincense was the holy perfume used by priests in the sanctuary. The gifts were almost like voices or speeches from those outside visitors saying, we know who this baby is. In the meantime, Herod is plotting death. For Matthew, this clearly symbolized the acceptance of the Gospel by the Gentiles, and the violent rejection of him by the Hebrew leaders.

I love the symbolism of the gifts and revel in the fact that Matthew saved this story for us. I celebrate the significance that right from the beginning of Jesus life, words, insights, prophecies and the wisdom of outsiders, was welcomed and savored by those around the Prince of Peace. What a amazing break through or turn of events; a welcoming not only of strange and different people but also of their ideas and that got written down and saved for us. What a prophecy of the way the people who follow the prince of peace are to be.

This month in our Sunday worship services we will lift up Social Witness. All during this month we will be lifting up, celebrating and calling us all toward more faithfulness in the areas of witness, service, outreach, peace and justice ministry. What a wonderful beginning to remember Jesus as the prince of Peace on this Epiphany Sunday and to remember the welcoming attitude toward the magi as a sign of our call to be welcoming of all. And it is also a gift to gather at the table set before us by Jesus, the very one who welcomed all to the table, who reached out to help and to heal all who come to him, no matter their station in life. For he showed compassion for and worked to change the lot of those around him who suffered. So too are we called to do.