Epiphany: Moment of Awareness

The Epiphany of the Lord is when he made himself manifest not just to Israel, but to the nations, as our three kings represent the Gentiles.  We know this feast; it is rich in the tradition of our Christmas season.  It is in our Scriptures, and many cultures exchange gifts on this day as well, I’m sure the children would love that. 

There are many theological points to consider when reflecting on the Epiphany, they can be about realization, what do the gifts of the three kings represent, when they did actually visit the child, who exactly are these three kings, did they know Herod, where they led to him, they also had dreams and visions, etc., etc.  For our purposes I think this feast is about recalling and reflecting on the theological within the Scriptures but to also reflect on our own Epiphanies, if you will, and our encounters with Christ.

As Catholics we encounter Christ in the sacraments, the grand summit of that encounter happens in the Eucharist.  The sacraments are a cornerstone of our theology and Tradition.  And yet, Christ reveals Himself to us in many other ways, i.e. through His creation, through others, in our prayers, in the silence of our hearts.  For all of us there is also that “Moment” when we truly and deeply feel His presence right down in the center of our being.  Some call these moments, “conversion,” “born again,” “enlightened,” etc.  Some may have felt these Epiphanies on numerous occasions, many of our Saints had beautiful mystical experiences of Jesus, and some may have had that “one moment” that shaped the rest of their lives, i.e. St. Paul, St. Augustine.

We crave these moments because in them we feel the Divine life, we get a quick taste and glimpse into heaven.  I truly pray that you have all had that one moment, maybe less intense for some and more intense for others, but that moment when you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Christ is with you and not just with you, but residing in you, “For it is no longer I who love but Christ who lives in me.”

The three kings had their moment when they lay their gifts before Christ the King and did him homage and worshiped him.  Like the three kings we desire those moments, that is what Epiphany is about.  We will get the opportunity and already have in the reading of the Word, but more intensely and profoundly when we break the bread.  Jesus will reveal himself to us, we just have to want him to and to open wide our hearts.