Reflection
Epiphany is the revelation of God to us. It is God shining through our human experiences. God’s truth is available to all people. Though they call God by different names, all who seek God with a sincere heart are led to God. The Magi were led by the light of the great star; we are led by the light of God’s unique revelation in Jesus. Epiphany happens for us, as Christians, when we recognize the light of God in Jesus.
Prayer
Lord, that I may see!
Action
Try to understand the ways in which people express their search for God. Read about religions other than your own and find the similarities among all rather than only the different expressions of beliefs.
Suggested Reading
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod,
behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.”
Matthew 2: 1 -12
We are like the three Wise Men who journeyed to Jesus. Now, like those Wise Men, we return to the world from which we came, to the everyday life where we will witness to what we have seen.
John Paul II
Epiphany not only ends Christmas, it also fulfills it by celebrating the revelation of the Christ to the whole world. The light of the Epiphany illuminates the church’s year as it illuminates the human race from whom the kings came.
Phyllis A. Tickle, What the Heart Already Knows
Without the quest, there can be no epiphany.
Constantine E. Scaros
Unlike the poor shepherds, the Magi had to travel a long road; they had to face adversity to reach their goal. It was anything but a romantic, sentimental pilgrimage that we often see in our manger scenes! The experience of the magi reminds us that all who make the tedious journey to the truth will finally encounter it and be changed in the process. They can never go back to a ‘business as usual’ way of life. When we meet Christ and see who he really is, we will never be the same – and only then can we hope to begin to share in his mission.…
Rev. Thomas Rosica
Long after the angels disappear into the heavens, the shepherds return to their flocks, the magi journey home and the great star sets, Jesus remains.
Connections
The season of Epiphany is an invitation to follow Jesus into the ways of gratitude and joy,. We are no longer bound by the dissatisfaction of our consumer culture that tells us to keep striving for more stuff, more success, more money, more of everything for myself. Instead we are invited to learn to live in the joy and contentment of seeing every moment as a gift from God.
Brian O’Connell