EPIPHANY
This morning
as my family was getting ready to go to Mass, someone noted that it was the Solemnity
of the Epiphany. This led to the
question of why the Solemnity is called the Epiphany. We’ve all heard the word epiphany
used in conversation, but what exactly is it and what does it have to do with
the Magi and the Christ Child? What is Epiphany?
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary,
online, epiphany (plural epiphanies) is:
1. 1capitalized : January 6 observed as a church festival in
commemoration of the coming of the Magi as the first manifestation of Christ
to the Gentiles or in the Eastern Church in commemoration of the baptism of
Christ
2. 2: an appearance or manifestation especially of a
divine being
3. 3a (1) : a usually sudden manifestation or perception of
the essential nature
or meaning of something (2) :
an intuitive grasp of reality through something (as an event) usually simple
and striking (3) :
an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosureb : a revealing scene or moment
Now, here are a few thoughts of my own, just
sort of thinking out loud.
I have to
admit, I was surprised to see the Church celebration given the primary place in
the definition. Usually when I think of
epiphany, I think of an epiphany, a
revelation…an ‘aha’ moment. Unless it is
the Christmas season, I don’t usually think about it in terms of the coming of
the Magi to pay honor to the Christ Child.
Still, upon closer examination, that idea is not all that
far removed from what The Epiphany
is. The three Magi were Gentiles, not of
the Chosen people and yet they undoubtedly knew of the Messianic prophecies
given to the Hebrews. When the star
appeared, these Magi were given a great grace by God; the grace by which to
recognize the star when it appeared and to know what it heralded-- the birth of
a very important person, perhaps a king.
They knew they were to follow the star until it stopped, and to pay
homage to the person it led them to, with kingly gifts. They were given their ‘aha’ moment by God because
of their openness to God’s grace, while Herod and the Pharisees were denied
that gift because, although they knew of the prophecies, they did not receive
them with joy, but with fear and jealousy.
We see another ‘aha’ moment when the Magi are told not to
return to Herod but to continue on home by another route. In
case that isn’t enough to qualify as an ‘aha’ moment, or epiphany in itself, it
is said that these Magi were baptized into the faith by St. Thomas, signifying
that their moment of grace and clarity took root and changed their lives.
But I’m meandering.
What I’m getting at is that the Epiphany is a revelation
by God to men of good will, who are open to it, an ‘aha’ moment, if you will and so the
secular and the religious meanings aren’t all that different after all. And we can still have such ephiphanies, such 'aha' moments today, if we are open to them.
More information on the Solemnity of the Epiphany can be
found here:
and here:
More information on the Magi can be found here:
God bless and Happy Epiphany!
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