We have entered that strange “little’ season known as Epiphany. I say little season because Epiphany is not well known. It is sandwiched between the much larger Advent / Christmas season and the season of Lent / Easter. Consequently, Epiphany often gets little recognition. However, it is a very meaningful season in its own right.

The season of Epiphany coincides with the arrival of the Magi or Wisemen at the stable in Bethlehem. According to legend, they arrived at the stable some twelve days after the birth of Christ. As we all know from the story they came bearing their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, gifts for the newborn king. Their gifts were a symbol that those who were not rooted in the tradition of Judaism also understood what the birth of Christ meant to the rest of the world. To put it another way, Epiphany is about the light of God being made manifest in the world. God’s light has indeed come in Christ.

Now, in my way of thinking, epiphanies come in all sizes, from the large world changing events like the coming of Christ, to the little, and perhaps more personal “Ah-ha” moments where God’s light breaks into our lives. That may be the easiest way to understand Epiphany, as moments of light breaking into our lives. Perhaps, we have all experienced, at one time or another, a moment when suddenly we understood what something meant. It may be that we had heard a passage of scripture over and over but didn’t really comprehend its meaning, until one day we heard it again and suddenly, like a flash of light, we came to say, “Oh, that’s what Jesus meant when he said …” That moment is an epiphany, a moment when God’s light broke forth in our lives. Those epiphanies are important to us because they are the moments when we understand more deeply what God is doing in Christ and in the world.

So, enjoy your epiphanies. We never know when another might come but we have to be on the look out for those moments when they do arrive. May they bring joy and light to your life and world.

^Shalom,