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The Solemnity of the Epiphany, which we honor on the Sunday after January 1, is older than the celebration of Christmas, going back to the very beginnings of the Church.
Early Christians found deep meaning and inspiration in the astounding truth that God has fully revealed Himself in an absolute and definitive way in Jesus Christ.
The Book of Hebrews tells us that God spoke in fragmentary and varied ways in the past, but now, in Christ, all has been spoken and revealed to us!When two people love each other profoundly, they want to know and be known by the other.
Love and knowledge energize and feed off each other, as a relationship expands in intimacy and commitment. So it is with God.
The Lord, knowing us perfectly and loving us completely, desires to show the fullness of His life and grace to us in Christ. The more we come to know God, the more we fall in love with the Lord, seeking truth, beauty, and goodness as the meaning and sustenance of our lives.
Three Scriptural events
In celebrating Epiphany, the early Church wound three Scriptural events together; we can still see vestiges of this unity in the liturgy today.
The fact that two of them are Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary is not accidental.
The Visit of the Magi, the Baptism of the Lord, and the Miracle at Cana shine forth as strands of this “showing” or “manifestation” which define the word “epiphany.”
The appearance of the Christmas star this past month reminded us of the mysterious wise men from the East who appeared in Jerusalem, looking for the King of the Jews in the Gospel of Matthew.
The fact that the Magi were not Jews themselves is significant, for they come to symbolize the universal offer of salvation that Christ makes to every single human being of all times and places.
Even as a baby, Jesus is drawing all people to Himself, as a foreshadowing of the Catholic nature of the Church that He will establish through His death and Resurrection.
The Magi teach us the fundamental purpose of life: Seek out Christ and worship Him.
The Gospel tells us that the wise men went home by another route in order to elude Herod, but could we not also say that once we have encountered Christ, we can never go back the way we came, that He transforms us, and we cannot return to business as usual?
The Baptism of the Lord is another revelation, as signs and wonders accompany the moment when John the Baptist plunges his Lord and Savior in the waters of the Jordan.
The Father’s voice thunders, proclaiming Jesus as His Beloved Son and the Holy Spirit descends in the form of a dove.
The fullness of the Blessed Trinity is made completely manifest in this moment, as Jesus begins His public ministry.
Without ever having actually sinned, the Lord identifies with us sinners in this baptism of repentance, a foreshadowing of His death on the cross when He embraces our sin and death in an absolute way.
Iconic images of the Baptism of the Lord depict the river as a type of tomb, which points already to the Paschal Mystery.
In pondering the Lord’s Baptism, we realize the gift and mystery of our own.
In the saving waters of that first sacrament, we are washed free of Original Sin, claimed for Christ, joined to the Church, filled with sanctifying grace, and made adopted children of the Father.
Baptism is our definitive epiphany, as the Lord fully reveals Himself to us and makes us His own forever.
The Lord at work
The Miracle at Cana is the first of the miraculous signs which Jesus performs in the Gospel of John, pointing to His divinity and saving power.
At the behest of Mary and almost against His will, Jesus changes the water into wine to save the host of the banquet from embarrassment.
The Mother of God speaks the most memorable words ever said at a wedding reception, “Do whatever He tells you.” This most hidden of miracles — only the servants even know it happened — reveals Jesus as the Divine Bridegroom come in search of His Bride, the Church.
When we open our lives to Christ and really hand ourselves over to His saving truth and divine power, the water of our lives, tasteless, colorless, and listless, is mightily transformed into the most choice of wines.
Often in hidden and simple ways, the Lord is working on us, redeeming our sins, changing negative attitudes, strengthening our resolve to be holy with divine grace, protecting us from unknown temptations and dangers, leading us to the Kingdom of Heaven.
If we do whatever Jesus tells us, we will find salvation, joy, and peace beyond our imagination.
These three events — the Visit of the Magi, the Baptism of the Lord, and the Miracle at Cana — mark the Epiphany of the Lord in the world.
The Son of God enters into human history in a way that is both public and hidden, gentle yet powerful, universal but personal, transforming, and liberating.
God’s plan of salvation took thousands of years to unfold, yet when it does, the human race is changed forever, all through the person, actions, and words of this Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
God is fully revealed in Jesus, and He invites us to enter into His life with the Father forever.
What are the moments of epiphany in your life? When has God revealed Himself to you in ways that were life-changing or simply grace-filled?
What are those spiritual moments of encounter with Jesus which serve as signposts along your pilgrim way of salvation?
The gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, the waters of the Jordan, and the rich wine of the wedding feast all speak to us of the fundamental gift of life and redemption offered to us in Jesus.
We spend this short life giving thanks to Him.