Christmas is now past and Christians turn to a new season, the Season of
Epiphany. It won't end until just before Lent. Some of us know that this
season is concerned with the three Magi, but there is more to it than
that. The central theme is the showing forth of Christ to the world,
when His presence was revealed to the three Magi, the Messiah was
thereby shown to the Gentiles for the first time. In the early church, it was a time when new converts were admitted to the church after a period of preparation.
But there are at least
two other events associated with Epiphany. They are the Baptism of
Christ (Luke 3:21), and the Wedding at Cana, when Christ first turned
water into wine (John 2: 1-10). These events are ones that celebrate the
manifestation of Christ to the world and by His power to perform miracles, He was shown to be God's beloved Son.
For me, the meaning of the annual repetition of Epiphany is a participation in the historical events in the life of Jesus. Epiphany has a great spiritual significance far beyond just the dry facts of the matter, because in the Christian faith everything is present, here and now. Our Lord Jesus Christ is with us here and now, our inseparable Companion and Comforter. The historical event is just a motive and remembrance, because the Person of Christ is ever present, and His Grace is not just some historical memory. In this season, He was shown to the Magi, shown as a miracle worker at Cana, and at His Baptism. I am pretty sure that the Baptism of Christ is the the only united appearance of the Father and the Holy Spirit along with Jesus, quite an event in and of itself!
I like to think of this season as one of the Witness of the Son of God, when His Gift became evident to the entire world, and even to a sinner like me.
How can we respond to this time?
We can:
Remember Christ's baptism and our own, Remember the ways in which Christ
was revealed to humankind, and most of all think about ways that we are
called to bring Christ and to model Christ to the world.
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