A New Year Epiphany
Gospel: Mt 2:1-12
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/010724.cfm
Today is Epiphany Sunday. An epiphany is a sudden change in perception. It’s a point when your mind is open to understanding and seeing reality differently. It’s like the moment when someone is learning to ride a bike and suddenly they are balanced and riding down the street. It’s a point when you experience an insight that changes your reality. It’s an a-ha moment. When we are young, every day is loaded with epiphanies. As we get older, we often lose sight of the epiphanies that continue to occur around us. When we take on something outside of our comfort zone, we can quickly find ourselves in search of that epiphany experience.
There are a lot of epiphanies within today’s gospel. The Magi were considered to be from the far east of Judah. They were of a different belief system. They traveled a great distance following a star. Over their journey, they made their own personal discoveries. They were foreigners in a foreign land paying homage to a child that was shown to them as special from both divine and natural revelation. They were not scholars of Jewish scripture so the history that led to Jesus would have been outside their scope of knowledge. They were not waiting for a Messiah; yet, they are still there praising the child. It took some great epiphanies to make them do what they did. Jesus was going to reveal that God is universal. God is not limited to one group of people or a select few, but God is there for all. For those who believe or don’t believe, there is still God. For those who subscribe to one tradition or not.
We still experience epiphanies with God today. Our relationship with God is a sequence of epiphanies; it is one epiphany after another. Once we sense that we have it figured out, some new revelation comes along to stretch and grow our perspective. We are all in the process of actualizing and realizing the divine. Our personal journeys are unique. God is constantly trying to meet us where we are, and we are all at a different place. We all see reality differently from our vantage point. God meets us there, and God keeps meeting us there even as our vantage point changes. To God, it is God loving God’s creation and God’s creation loving God.
It can be quite overwhelming. We don’t have all the answers, but that is both the beauty and the struggle. God is there to help us through moments when that uncertainty brings us strife and to be there to celebrate in the moments when we recognize God’s presence. May your journey this year bring you more epiphanies and a deeper understanding of the Divine.
