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Readings: Isaiah 60:1-6 • Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14 • Ephesians 3:1-12 • Matthew 2:1-12

Click the link below to listen to a live streaming of the Rev. Clarence Li's sermon preached on the Feast of the Epiphany, January 7, 2018:

Sermon: Responding to the Liberating Light

Quotes and excerpts from the sermon:

Marty Baron (played by Liev Schreiber), the new editor-in-chief addressed 2015 film Spotlight : “Sometimes it's easy to forget that we spend most of our time stumbling around the dark. Suddenly, a light gets turned on and there's a fair share of blame to go around.”

Baron was addressing the investigative journalism team when they realized that their newspaper too was somewhat complicit in concealing this abuse scandal as it came to light that the paper received a tip years ago of the scale of the systemic child abuse and did not follow up the story then. Friends, darkness conceals, and the darkness has a way to make us complicit in allowing the truth to be revealed. Think about the Indian Residential Schools experience here in Canada. Another great line from the movie: “If it takes a village to raise a child, it also takes a whole village to abuse one” by keeping a blind eye of the oppression actively taking place.  Another more recent example is #MeToo campaign and the revelation of people keeping a blind eye on workplace sexual harassment.  

What is our personal response to the manifestation of light in the midst of your darkness?

Did you respond like King Herod, fearing how the revelation may threaten the status quo and bring to the end of his family dynasty, and scheming to employ whatever means to prevent the manifestation from happening?

Or you could follow the example of the magi:

  • to seek after the light with an open mind and heart;
  • to follow the lead of the star, even if it takes an arduous journey;
  • to receive revelation in joy;
  • to empty their treasure chests so that there is room for the good news from the light;
  • and finally to depart with a renewed sense of hope and vision.