For most of us in the Western religious tradition, Christmas ends on December twenty-fifth. December twenty-sixth rolls around and we trek to the malls spending Christmas money and returning gifts that either did not fit or did not capture our fancy. Soon after the lights and decorations come down. We adjust our playlists away from “Christmas” music. Such old chestnuts as “White Christmas,” “Elf,” “Miracle on Thirty-Fourth St.,” “It’s A Wonderful Life,” and “A Christmas Carol,” find their way into boxes and shelves to await the next round of viewing. The wonder is gone. The shine has worn off. And we’re weary of turkey and eggnog. We move into the New Year and set aside Christmas. But somewhere, for most of us, a certain wistfulness lingers. Isn’t there something more to all of this? Is Christmas just an exercise in overindulgence? Down deep, buried in all of the cultural wrapping of corporate Christmas celebration, lies a fundamental yearning for revelation. We ache for a more meaningful existence. We crave an authenticity that cultivates our better spirits. We seek Epiphany.
Our brothers and sisters that follow the Eastern religious tradition commemorate Christ’s birth differently. While we normally end our celebratory activities on Christmas day, the day we’ve chosen to remember the incarnation; they extend the celebration to January sixth, when they celebrate Epiphany, or the visit of the Magi. For some, Christmas rolls around on January sixth and Epiphany comes on the nineteenth. No matter the date, Epiphany folds in a different nuance to the season. Epiphany recognizes and honors our deep-set desire to see beyond. Whether we recognize it or not, all of us yearn for something beyond the mundane day-to-day grind of human existence. Deep down, we ache for a return to Eden and the time when we could walk with God. We want to see the wonder and order wrought by the hand divine. The wise men and Epiphany opens a door into the spectacle of God’s plan to rescue and redeem.
Of all the characters in the Biblical account of Advent, the Magi, or wise men, are the most enigmatic. We know so little. They were plural. They came from the east. They studied the stars and were amenable to follow a star. They knew of the coming Messiah and willingly worshiped him. They brought gifts, wonderful gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And, following dream guidance, they went home a different way, subverting Herod’s plan to destroy the competition. Despite the paucity of information, they teach us much about Epiphany.
The example of the Magi teaches that those who seek Epiphany must remain diligent. We do not know much about the “star.” Some speculate that it was a comet. Others posit a divinely orchestrated conjunction of other heavenly bodies. The details do not matter. The wise men constantly scanned the heavens looking for the expected sign. Doubtless millions also gazed up into the sky during those days; however, only the Magi watched with purpose. They were looking with expectation. We too must diligently seek Epiphany. Jesus reminds us that, “. . . the one who seeks finds,. . .” Matthew 7:8 English Standard Version (ESV). Our modern minds tend toward passivity and skepticism regarding epiphany. Epiphany challenges our penchant for measuring and evaluation. By its nature, an epiphany defies easy explanation to others. Yet that is what the wise me sought, a revealing or opening of God’s plan. How often do we discipline ourselves to read scripture, seeking some illumination? I fear we tend toward approaching scripture seeking a passage to buttress a previously held belief. The Magi scanned the stars, looking, seeking, and hoping; and God answered. But the lesson of the Magi does not stop there.
The wise men took action based on their Epiphany. They embarked upon a journey of some difficulty. We do not know their origin; other than it was someplace in the East. Any expedition during those years would entail danger and hardship; yet, motivated by a desire for Epiphany, they came. In our current age focused on self-actualization, aggrandizement really, we rarely chose a course of action that entails self-sacrifice. We enjoy comfort far too much. Though we do not know, it appears from scripture that they may have journeyed for quite some time, possibly up to four years. This level of commitment provides an insight into Epiphany. If you and I desire Epiphany, we must willingly undertake the passage required of it. Keeping the goal foremost in our hearts and minds, we head out in the direction indicated, secure in our belief that the destination is worthy of our devotion.
Epiphany implies worship and a changed life. Once confronted with the Christ-child the magi, “. . .they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense, and myrrh.” Matthew 2:11 (ESV). Meeting Jesus, their Epiphany, opened a door for them, a portal into a previously undiscovered, unimagined realm. They had seen the King of kings and Lord of lords. Nothing remained the same. Their world was forever altered by this interaction. They responded with worship and adoration, offering their best. Those who seek and are granted Epiphany, emerge from the experience transformed. And they, like the Magi before, respond in reverence. To seek Epiphany is to seek fundamental change.
Epiphany opens us up to God’s reality. We no longer see our family, people around us, or the world the way we used to. Like the wise men, we rejoice and worship for we have seen a bit of what God is all about. Epiphany, the unveiling, is God with us. Emanuel. During Epiphany, God draws close. He pulls us into His world for a while, lets us see things as they truly are, and then sends us back changed; better fitted to serve His people and His purpose in strange and new ways. Like the wise men we go on our way rejoicing for we have seen Him, the Christ Child, the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords.
. When we encounter it with an open heart, Epiphany
brings irreversible change. And, for those that seek, Jesus promises that we will find and the door will be opened and He will come into our world and make all things new. So go and seek Epiphany.
