Transcript
It would be a mistake to think of this feast, the Epiphany, as the end of the Christmas celebration. A time to put away the Christmas tree, and take down the decorations. At one point in history, this feast day together with Easter, was the primary feast in the life of the Church, and still is in the Eastern and Orthodox traditions. Epiphany is about God revealing and manifesting Godself in the person and event of Jesus Christ. A Theophany. In the Gospels, there are many accounts of an Epiphany or revelation of who Jesus Christ is as the manifestation, revelation of God. In the baptism in the Jordan, the Transfiguration, and the wedding feast at Cana these are certain moments of revelation in the Gospels.
Today in our tradition, the visitation of the Magi recalls the revelation of who God is for all nations and peoples at the birth and the life of Jesus. He is God come into human history for the salvation and redemption of all peoples. Born into humble circumstances, in a small town, Bethlehem, under the rule of the Roman emperor, and threatened by genocide. Yet in these humble and unexpected circumstances, God chooses to reveal Godself born into scandal, as a part of a refugee family. Thus, todays the feast of the Epiphany of the Lord challenges us, the Church, not to just treat the birth and life of Jesus Christ as a one off moment in history.
Saint Paul reminds us in the second reading and encourages us as the disciples of Christ become a part of the unfolding mystery of the Epiphany, of who God is for all people. God’s manifestation occurs at times and in places as God, who loves us, humbles Godself to be with us, and brings to human reality the gift of hope, joy, and the promise of peace, as we become ourselves caught up in God’s Epiphany particularly in a world scarred by war and violence, exploitation, and economic hardship. As we celebrate this great feast may we become more and more a part of the revelation of who God is for all people, in the way we strive to live and manifest the life of Christ in our own lives for others.