Ukrainian Catholic ChurchAustralia, New Zealand and Oceania
Homily by Fr. Andriy Mykytyuk on the Sunday after the Theophany
January 11, 2025
If we don’t want to wander in the dark, if we don’t want to hurt ourselves, then let’s let Christ light this light for us. So that we can follow him. So that he can light our way to the Heavenly Kingdom.
Christ is born!
Beloved, this Sunday is already the Sunday after the Theophany. For us, this means that the Christmas holidays are slowly coming to an end. But the Church emphasises something important for us again and again. Because all the feasts that we celebrate are not only our folk traditions, which are beautiful, rich, and important, but above all, they have a deep meaning. This is the meaning; this is the significance for which we do it. That is why on the Sunday after the Theophany we hear the Gospel of Matthew, which mentions quotes from the prophet Isaiah and talks about how Christ begins his activity, his mission.
There is an important quote that I want to draw our attention to: “For those who sat in the region and shadow of death, light has dawned.” (Matthew 4:16). Christ is our light. Perhaps we have experience of what it is like to be in darkness. It is difficult because we cannot see. We can stumble over some objects, we can stumble, we can fall, we can hit ourselves, we can hurt ourselves. Therefore, when we enter a dark room, we look for that switch to turn on the light so that we can see where we are and what is around us. Christ is our light. He sowed it for us, he turned on the light, he lit it for us so that we would never wander in the dark. So that we could see where we are. So that we could see what is and who is around us. It is in the light of Christ. Because our Lord, who created this world, shows us the true value, the true meaning of everything that is around us.
So if we don’t want to wander in the dark, if we don’t want to hurt ourselves, then let’s let Christ light this light for us. So that we can follow him. So that he can light our way to the Heavenly Kingdom. And how can we do this? This is answered in the end of today’s Gospel, where Christ says, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17).
It is very important for us to see repentance not as a moment of condemnation because we are bad. No. But to see it as a moment when we look at our lives and see what prevents us from turning on this light. What prevents us from being in the light of Christ? What prevents us from following him? That is, repentance is a change in the way we live. It is leaving what is wrong, leaving what can hurt us, what can hurt others. It is apologising and following Christ.
So, as we conclude this cycle of the Christmas feasts—Christmas, Circumcision, and Theophany—let us remember why it all happened. Because Christ, our Lord, who came to this world with boundless love, took on a body, became one of us, and revealed himself, God the Father and the Holy Spirit in full, so that we could see this light and never wander in darkness. We followed him, changed our lives, and left all the evil behind when we saw him. It is important to understand and see, because only then can we apologise and move on.
Let’s use this opportunity. Let’s try to change our lives every minute to make them better, to see our shortcomings, flaws, and sins, and be able to recognise them, because only then can we change them. Only then can we see the light that leads us to joy, happiness, and life.
Christ is born!
