Third Sunday After the Epiphany: Gospel, Matthew 4:12-25           

Matthew 4:12-25

In this wonderful season of the Epiphany, biblical discussions easily move to light. Our Old Testament reading was the source of a quote found in our Gospel for the week dealing with the territories of Zebulun and Naphtali. Jesus is headed there and settles down in a land characterized by darkness. Not physical darkness. This land had the same light and dark cycles every 24 hours that every other location has (excepting those in the far north). No, this was an area characterized by darkened hearts and minds. We dealt with that in our OT devotion this week.

But suffice it to say that when Jesus chooses a locale to settle in, or even a road to walk, He brings Light with Him. He is Light, after all. Jesus didn’t shy away from dark places when He walked in our midst, and through His church, He doesn’t avoid the present darkness either. In fact, He sends us into the dark corners of the world every day in our vocations, the paths He has chosen for us. And we are to bear that Light for the sake of those still in darkness.

As Matthew brings forth the quote from Isaiah in verses 15 and 16 of our gospel reading, the very next verse lets us in on what that light prepares us to see. Many times Jesus calls His followers with, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” In the Light of the Epiphany, we need to remember that God also calls us to a place where our eyes will see.

“In Your Light, we see light.”

-Psalm 36:9