The Greek word, Epiphany, means ‘manifestation of God.’
God made manifest in our lives brings ‘aha’ moments . . . a new awareness within our journey with God as we are led by the Holy Spirit in our personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
God, our Creator, creatively provides creative ways for us to embrace these epiphanies.
Psalms, canticles, scripture stories and songs relating to these stories are just a few ways God manifests epiphanies in and through us.
The story in the Gospel of Matthew 2 shows us another way God speaks to those who had no sources of scripture, no prophets and no way of knowing the story of the birth of the Messiah.
In fact, these astrologers from Persia worshipped the stars in the sky.
This refrain from our popular hymn regarding these Magi, these wise men, tells part of the story: “Star of wonder, star of night, star with royal beauty bright; westward leading, still proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light!”
As I shared on Christmas day, ‘in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God . . . and the Word was made flesh . . . by the Holy Spirit planting his seed in Mary and that seed became sinews and flesh . . . and was born to us a savior, both human and divine. “Thy perfect light.”
God manifested a light that shone brightly, constantly, consistently in a dark world . . . born in Bethlehem according to prophecy. At the same time a ‘perfect light’ was shining in the far east and beckoned with a bright light for all the world to notice, even pagans. God is made manifest to all who are Curious, Respond to that curiosity, are Expectant and Depend on One greater than themselves. God is made manifest to all who are Open to Epiphanies.
I invite you to journey with me as we follow the Magi into new discovery, into the manifestation of divinity piercing through the dark of a pagan world.
Story is one way God brings forth epiphanies throughout our journey in Christ. Sometimes “story” in song seems to resonate more deeply than a story in scripture. In the case of the ‘epiphany’ of the wise men, most of our theology we hear from song or tradition is not in scripture. That’s OK. It delivers the main message of God’s divinity, grace and love that leads us into his presence that brings forth epiphanies. It’s up to us to be Curious, Responsive, Expectant, Dependent on God in the community of others and Open to whatever comes our way.
God spoke to a few wise men in a language they could understand . . . through a bright star. A star that shone bright and long and led the curious to what their hearts long for. This group of Persians, living nearly 1000 miles from Bethlehem, were beckoned to the birth-star that seemed to say to them, ‘Come and See’. Curiosity warranted a Response and the Response to seeing the bright star brought forth eager Expectation.
“Go Forth. Find the king who is beckoning you to come to Him and worship the Divine.”
Curiosity and Response seems natural to a seeker but actually embracing their Expectance takes Dependence on one greater than us, the divine, as well as dependence on the guidance of the star. Designing plans, gathering treasure to sustain them on the trip, plus making accommodation for a long absence is not easy. And it’s not just three men. It’s an entire entourage of leaders, their support staff, endless provisions and guards to protect them and their treasure. They expect the journey to be long, dangerous and difficult.
They endured and they soon came upon a magnificent site:
A large edifice shining brighter than the star they followed. Curiosity beckoned them to go to the top of Mount Zion.
Is this the place we are to go to find the king? Perhaps the large entourage camped in the valley below while a small contingent walked the road to the top of Zion and to the Jerusalem Temple. Covered in gold for all the world to see, the temple was meant to attract passing caravans.
When the Magi met Herod they asked a simple question. “Where is the child who was born king of the Jews?” Of course Herod knew nothing and became upset. After Herod spokel with the Priests and the Scribes of the people, it was revealed that the prophecy of Micah 5:2 had come to pass. Indeed, there was a child born in Bethlehem who will be shepherd of God’s chosen people, who will become king of the Jews.
After King Herod questioned the wise ones regarding the time when the bright star shone forth, the Magi sensed they must move quickly. It had been well over two years since they first noticed the star. Who knows how long since the birth of this king.
The bright star not only guided them to Bethlehem but to the exact residence of Joseph, Mary and Jesus. When the door was opened to them one can only speculate upon the presence of the divine . . . a toddler. Yet the power in that place drew them to their knees. They worshipped the king they had hoped to bring back to Persia. They had an Epiphany as the manifestation of God revealed the Truth.
“God from God, Light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father, through whom all things were made . . . a toddler . . . the Divine.”
Who knows how much time had passed but God directed and protected at the same time. While Herod sent out a decree to kill all male children in Bethlehem under the age of two,
Joseph and Mary were told in a dream to flee to Egypt and remain there until it was safe to return to Israel. God made sure they received plenty of gifts from the wise ones to sustain them. In the mean time angels swirled around the Magi and, in a dream, told them to skirt wide around Jerusalem and take another route back to Persia.
The message of God incarnate would remain in tact and the story would speak to all in Persia who were curious, responsive, expectant, and willing to worship the God of Israel and the whole world. They would worship the same God who led Abram from Ur to the Promised Land. They would worship the same God who directed David to draw all of Israel back to God, the same God who would now become shepherd of all, the Lord, Jesus Christ.
In the same way God changed the lives of those Persian seekers. Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, continues to change our lives forever as long as we are Curious, Responsive, Expectant, Dependent on God and pray to be Open to new epiphanies, the manifestations of the presence of God. The first letters of Curiosity, Response, Expectance, Dependence on God and one another and an Open heart remind us of the latin word, Credo, which means “I believe.”
Mary and Joseph believed. The pagan wise men believed. Do we believe? God changed their lives and all to whom the story has been told. Even Herod believed and reacted against God’s will to save his own ego. It says in scripture, “Even the demons believed and shudder.”
Stay CURIOUS
Be RESPONSIVE to that curiosity.
Remain EXPECTANT for results.
Remain DEPENDENT God’s messages.
Be OPEN to what God has in store for us daily.
May we each travel with the wise ones as we explore scripture and glean new ‘epiphanies’ daily, weekly, whenever . . . for the rest of our lives.
