Christian Art | Epiphany | The Visit Of The Three Kings
Office Of Readings | Epiphany | 6th January | A Reading From A Sermon By Pope Saint Leo The Great | The Lord Has Made His Salvation Known To The Whole World
‘The Lord has made his salvation known to the whole world.’
Pope Saint Leo the Great interprets the manifestation of Christ to the nations as the fulfilment of God’s long-standing purpose for the whole world. Salvation is not presented as an afterthought or a change of plan, but as the completion of a design already set in motion in the promises made to Abraham. From the beginning, God’s intention was that the blessing given to Abraham should extend beyond ethnic descent to all who share his faith.
Leo places particular emphasis on the distinction between descent according to the flesh and descent according to faith. The ‘countless progeny’ promised to Abraham is not defined by lineage but by trust in God’s promise. In this way, the Gentiles are not added as outsiders but are fully incorporated into the family of the patriarchs. What was once limited to Israel now reaches its proper scope in Christ.
The Magi occupy a central role in Leo’s argument. Their journey is not treated simply as an episode from Christ’s infancy, but as a sign of universal calling. In their adoration, all nations are represented. God is no longer known only in one land, but revealed openly to the world. The star becomes both a sign and a summons, drawing those who were far away into recognition of the true king.
Leo also frames this event as a moment of thanksgiving and responsibility. The calling of the Gentiles is described as a ‘first harvesting’, marking the beginning of a wider ingathering. Those who have been brought from darkness into light are reminded that their place among the saints is a gift of grace, not an achievement. The imagery of light and darkness underscores the decisive change that has taken place through Christ.
The reading concludes by turning revelation into imitation. Just as the star served the purpose of guiding others to Christ, believers are called to serve the same grace in practical ways. Faith and good works are described as the path into the kingdom, not as separate realities but as a unified response to God’s saving action. To belong to the light is also to reflect it.
A Reading From A Sermon By Pope Saint Leo The Great | The Lord Has Made His Salvation Known To The Whole World
The loving providence of God determined that in the last days he would aid the world, set on its course to destruction. He decreed that all nations should be saved in Christ.
A promise had been made to the holy patriarch Abraham in regard to these nations. He was to have a countless progeny, born not from his body but from the seed of faith. His descendants are therefore compared with the array of the stars. The father of all nations was to hope not in an earthly progeny but in a progeny from above.
Let the full number of the nations now take their place in the family of the patriarchs. Let the children of the promise now receive the blessing in the seed of Abraham, the blessing renounced by the children of his flesh. In the persons of the Magi let all people adore the Creator of the universe; let God be known, not in Judaea only, but in the whole world, so that his name may be great in all Israel.
Dear friends, now that we have received instruction in this revelation of God’s grace, let us celebrate with spiritual joy the day of our first harvesting, of the first calling of the Gentiles. Let us give thanks to the merciful God, who has made us worthy, in the words of the Apostle, to share the position of the saints in light, who has rescued us from the power of darkness, and brought us into the kingdom of his beloved Son. As Isaiah prophesied: the people of the Gentiles, who sat in darkness, have seen a great light, and for those who dwelt in the region of the shadow of death a light has dawned. He spoke of them to the Lord: The Gentiles, who do not know you, will invoke you, and the peoples, who knew you not, will take refuge in you.
This is the day that Abraham saw, and rejoiced to see, when he knew that the sons born of his faith would be blessed in his seed, that is, in Christ. Believing that he would be the father of the nations, he looked into the future, giving glory to God, in full awareness that God is able to do what he has promised.
This is the day that David prophesied in the psalms, when he said: All the nations that you have brought into being will come and fall down in adoration in your presence, Lord, and glorify your name. Again, the Lord has made known his salvation; in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
This came to be fulfilled, as we know, from the time when the star beckoned the three wise men out of their distant country and led them to recognise and adore the King of heaven and earth. The obedience of the star calls us to imitate its humble service: to be servants, as best we can, of the grace that invites all men to find Christ.
Dear friends, you must have the same zeal to be of help to one another; then, in the kingdom of God, to which faith and good works are the way, you will shine as children of the light: through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with God the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.
Christian Prayer With Jesus Christ
Lord God,
you have made your salvation known to all nations
and revealed your justice before the world.
We thank you for calling us
from darkness into the light of your Son.
Strengthen our faith,
that we may live as true children of the promise.
Teach us to serve the grace we have received,
so that others may be led to Christ
by our faith and our works.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen
Glossary Of Christian Terms
Providence | God’s guiding care by which he orders creation and history towards salvation.
Abraham | The patriarch chosen by God, whose faith became the basis of blessing for all nations.
Seed of Abraham | Those who belong to Abraham through faith rather than physical descent.
Gentiles | Peoples outside Israel who are called into God’s saving plan through Christ.
Magi | Wise men from the East whose adoration of Christ signifies the calling of the nations.
Light | A biblical image for salvation, truth, and life given by God through Christ.
Darkness | A state of ignorance and separation from God, overcome by divine revelation.
Kingdom of God | The reign of God made present through Christ and entered through faith and obedience.
Faith | Trust in God’s promise, by which believers are united to Christ.
Good works | Actions flowing from faith, expressing obedience and love within God’s saving plan.
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