The Epiphany of the Lord
Epiphany of The Lord
What is the Epiphany? What do we understand it to be? What does the word itself mean?
Well, I looked it up to make sure I got it right, and it means –
· A Christian festival marking the visit of the Magi to celebrate Jesus Christ’s birth or, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Baptism of Jesus Christ – OR
· The supposed manifestation of a divine being – OR
· A sudden intuitive leap of understanding, especially through an ordinary but striking occurrence.
I suppose that we all knew at least one of these meanings and that is that of today’s feast: The Feast of the Epiphany; the feast when the wise men came to see Jesus in the stable at Bethlehem. But what does that feast mean to us? What is it that makes this such a special occasion as to merit a date on our calendar and a service of celebration?
St Paul tell us in our second reading today, “… it means that pagans now share the same inheritance, that they are parts of the same body, and that the same promise has been made to them, in Christ Jesus, through the Gospel.” And he should know! Don’t forget that he had his own “epiphany” on the road to Damascus; his awakening; his realisation that what he was doing, his persecution of the Christians, was wrong and that he should turn around, change his ways and work FOR the Lord.
Matthew tells in this story of the visiting Magi, unique to his gospel, the truth that Paul refers to in his later letters: that Christ is for all people, for all races; not just for the Jewish race but for all races, for everyone.
Matthew was writing at a time when a lot of the Jewish race had rejected the story, the message, the teachings of Jesus Christ; had rejected him as the Messiah, the Chosen One. During this same period, the pagans, the none-Jewish-peoples, were doing the opposite: they were enthralled by His message, by His teachings and by the person of Christ as Saviour of the world. Each person who accepted Christ into their hearts, underwent their own “epiphanies”, their own moments of understanding and realisation because of their meeting with Jesus’ message.
When we look at our Magi and at our crib, what do we see? How many of you have come down and sat or knelt or stood at the crib over these last weeks and taken time to think about the scene, looked at the players portrayed and thought – really thought – about what you are seeing and what it means to you?
We have the Holy Family as the clear ‘home-people’, the natives if you like and then we have the visitors, the others. The shepherds are bearded and probably look like as most shepherds of the time did: a bit rough-looking, but gentle also with their lambs in their arms. But also foreign as undesirables not usually associated with good Jews.
And then we have the visiting Magi. We are told that they come from the East and so are of different shaded skins to reflect this: but this is where we need to stop and think!
The wise men, the Magi, are us. They represent us. We as Westerners are as foreign to a Jewish family as any dark-skinned foreigner for the East. They could be dressed as we are today, with our complexions and manners and be no more foreign than they are in this scene. We are them and they are us. We are the foreigners in search of an answer. We are maybe not as wise, nor as determined as they were in their search but we are the people for whom Jesus was born; not of the Jewish race but of the human race. A people chosen by God to receive His Son, His Word, and then to act on what we have heard and on what we have received.
We are like them. We search for Jesus every day and in every way and come to the Eucharist in search of His presence and His blessings. We continually look for Him in the Word and in the world, seeking some assurance that we are a chosen people; we are a people selected to receive and to act on the Word of God. To ACT on the Word of God!
It isn’t enough to come to the stable and to worship at it. It isn’t enough to bring our gifts, whatever they may be, to leave them and to then walk away.
No! We have to come and be present in each and every moment that we are here; to take in the gift of the Word; to receive the gift of His Body and Blood; to ponder all these things in our hearts, our minds and our spirits and to then go out and share that same inheritance, as Paul says, with others; with anyone; with everyone.
We have to be open for our own personal epiphany, every time we come here into the presence of the Lord and then we have to act on what we receive.
Who can we invite? Who can we welcome? Who can we include? Who can we seek out that is lonely, frightened, unloved – even within our own streets and parish? Who can we offer even a smidgeon of the love that our Father gives us freely, without condition, as we promise at our mass every time we attend?
Especially now during the heartbreaking scenes from the Middle East and the Ukraine, and from our own national waters, when sight seems to be lost; when reason seems to have been forgotten; when care for people beside us, behind us and all around us seems to have been thrown to the wolves. Especially now?
Our epiphany is about changing the way we believe and putting our faith into positive action for the Lord. Especially now.
Bidding Prayers
1. That we seek out the ‘foreigners’ in our society and strive to show them love and respect, care and support. Lord in your mercy
2. That we recognise our foreign-ness in and to others and aim to take greater care in how we portray God’s love for us in our love for others. Lord in your mercy
3. That any and all refugees receive the help they need when they need it and how they need it. Lord in your mercy
4. That our parish communities continue to grow as places of welcome and inclusion to one and all. Lord in your mercy
5. That all who are suffering from any form of illness receive the help they through our loving prayers and actions. Lord in your mercy
6. That all who have died recently find eternal rest with their Father in heaven. Lord in your mercy
7. That Mary joins her prayers with ours as we now pray together, Hail Mary . . .