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Homily for the Epiphany of the Lord
(Jan 7, 2007)

Intro: The people who dwell in darkness have seen a great light. The Light in today’s gospel is not the star, but the Savior who comes to conquer darkness.
 First I want to talk about the darkness of depression
                                                  and then about the darkness of sin.  

I) Story: By age 30 Tara Dix Osborne has struggled so often with depression, for her faith is  a moment-by-moment decision. : “You choose to trust God, even if you have to make that choice every minute over and over again. And then each minute is a little victory over despair, and you must congratulate yourself for that.” 
    Although Osborne’s faith has allowed her to find light in her darkness, she adds: “This isn’t to say I feel completely safe in the arms of God when I am depressed. I still have moments when I feel abandoned by God.” 
    But personal faith is not some sort of panacea. You may need all kinds of help for the light to pierce your darkness. This may include counseling or medication.
Praying with believers at Mass or alone with a friend, may help Christ be more real.
When you experience God through family or friends, that offers a ray of  hope; 

Story: While Mother Theresa was in Melbourne , she paid a visit to an old man almost no one knew existed. She saw that his room was in horrible condition and wanted to clean it up, but he told her to leave things alone: “I’m all right!”  She backed off but finally he let her go ahead and clean. In his room she found a beautiful lamp, covered with dust.
She asked: “Why don’t you light the lamp?” 
What for?  Nobody comes to see me, and I don’t need a lamp.
Will you light the lamp if the sisters come to see you?
Yes, he said, if I hear a human voice I will light it.    He later sent this message to Mother Theresa
Tell my friend that the lamp she lit in my life burns constantly.  

II) When Jesus came why did very few besides the Magi recognized him as the Light of the World?  Because the world dwelt in the darkness of sin – which leads to war, abortion, starvation, euthanasia, torture, discrimination, injustice, pornography and corruption of every kind. After awhile those who live in an atmosphere of sin wont even realize they are in the dark and don’t recognize the light when He comes.
   A-Christ, who is the Light of the World brings light into our lives in many different ways, but especially through people who care, like the Magi who go way out of their way to visit the New King  and Mother Theresa visiting the one, no one cared about. When the Light of Christ burns in our hearts we will bring Christ’s light to those who dwell in darkness. 

   B-When you received a candle at your Baptism, the priest or deacon said:
 Receive the Light of Christ. If that Light of Christ burns in your heart, you will reach out in love for all those who dwell in the darkness of sin and despair.  This is the antidote to greed, selfishness, despair, injustice and all manner of violence. May someone one day say to you:     My friend, the lamp you lit in my life still burns.
   C-  Each of us has a vocation of bringing the light of Christ to others. Possibly you are being called to join Mother Threresa’s Religious Order or to become a priest or deacon. But in any case, you are to bring the Light of Christ to those who dwell in the darkness sin or the darkness of despair.    

Conclusion: Because of Christ coming into our world, the People who dwelt in darkness have seen a great light. The Light pierced the darkness and ultimately the darkness can never overcome the Light.