The Epiphany of the Lord
The word, “Epiphany”, means to shine upon. It means making clear and plain what had been
hidden. On Christmas there’s an
explosion of light. The Eternal Word of
God appears in the flesh – in a babe found in a feeding trough. Epiphany tells us what this explosion of light
shines upon – what it reveals and makes clear.
The Magi represent genuine seekers for the truth from every age and
culture. So what does the Christmas
light shine upon so seekers can truly see.
What basic truth becomes plain and clear to these seekers as they look
on the babe in the manger?
An
early Church father, Peter Chrysologus, tells us the Magi see “man in God and
God in man.” The light of Christmas
shines on human flesh – on the babe’s and on our own flesh. What the Christmas light makes clear is that
the human – Jesus and people like you and me – we all are the way God makes
himself present. The “Epiphany” – the
great and shining clarification – is that God chose to express himself in Jesus
and now chooses to continue to express his life and love through us.
Judaism and the writings of the rabbis offer
us a rich heritage to help us understand our lives as Christians. The following parable comes from that ancient
wisdom. A rabbi posed this question to
his students: “How can you tell when the night has ended and the day is
beginning to dawn?” A student answered:
“When you can see an animal in the distance and tell whether it is a sheep or a
goat.” “No”, the rabbi quickly
replied. Then all the students spoke up:
“Well then, how can you tell when the night has ended and the day is
beginning?” And the rabbi answered in
this way: “It is when you can look into the face of another and see that they
are your brother and sister. If you
cannot do this, then no matter what time it is, for you it is still night.”
That’s the beautiful truth Judaism has given
us as Christians. Our rabbi – and we’ll
call him by his Jewish name – our rabbi, Jeshuah
bar Josef , Jesus son of Joseph – would add this: You can tell when the night has ended and when the day that I dream of
is dawning – when you can look into one another’s faces and there see Immanuel
– there see God-with-us – there see God’s own presence in human flesh. I dream of the shining dawn when you can look
at one another and there see the living Christ – there see me. Our rabbi would quote to us the words of
the prophet Isaiah: “the glory of the Lord shines upon you. …Raise your eyes and look! …you shall be radiant at what you see.” The feast of Epiphany celebrates this dream
Jesus has for us and for all people:
people – just people – are God’s holy home.
As Epiphany clarifies Christmas, it also
challenges us. It wants to disturb us –
because it tells us plainly that God’s presence can only be entered – can only
be recognized in and through the way we live our lives. It is not the stuff of greeting card
sentimentality nor the fluff of polite spirituality. God’s presence is the stuff of our real
lives. As the poet, Gerard Manley
Hopkins describes it, God’s presence does
not come to coo but rather comes with
work (for us) to do. “Work for us to
do” – that is always to do the work of Jesus – to follow after him by doing the
work of his mercy. Directly and plainly,
Epiphany calls us to become disciples of Jesus.
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