Saint Matthew uses this phrase, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light” (Is 9:2), as the prologue to Jesus’ ministry in Galilee when, from the house of Nazareth, He came to live in the city of Capernaum. Jesus starts teaching in Capernaum, and the content of His magisterium is summed up in the words, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt 4:16). Indeed, to “repent” means to see “a light,” to see “a great light,” the light that comes from God, the light that is God Himself.

Through the Gospel, which Christ proclaims, Isaiah’s prophetic words appear: “Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined” (Is 9:1). In the darkness — a symbol of confusion, error and even death — the light suddenly shines forth, which is the Son of God Himself, who has taken on human nature; He, the Word, “the true light that enlightens every man.”

This Sunday, it is indeed timely, apt, and fitting that we hear about how the Word of God has been manifested to us, not just through the scriptures but in an even better and more tangible form, in Christ Himself, the Logos, the Word of God made flesh.

That is why, by the coming of God’s salvation manifested in the Incarnation of the Logos, the Word of God, we can see clearly how God’s words are truly real and not merely empty words, all His promises having been fulfilled and accomplished, including the promise that light and salvation would come to all the nations from the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali.

It was a prophecy about where the Messiah or Savior would be born, as Nazareth, the Lord’s hometown, was indeed located between those two lands. Through His coming into this world, dwelling in our midst, the Divine Logos has imparted to us not just His love and presence but also His light, the light of hope that dispelled the darkness surrounding us, giving us renewed hope and strength to come toward Him.

As faithful people of God, we are not to become divided along factional lines between those who favor a certain preacher or missionary, but rather to work together and stay firmly united as one people of God, as members of the one, united, and indivisible Church of God, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

All Christian believers, all of us living in this world today, share the same faith and the same mission and calling to proclaim the Lord and His Good News to all the nations, to everyone whom we encounter in our day-to-day living.

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Three of our confreres will be ordained deacons next month, and they are busy preparing for it. We pray that Brothers Kim Arnie Frial, Rio Disini, and Buenaventura Labor may be like Jesus Christ, preaching the Word and putting into practice what they preach.