An epiphany about Epiphany.

Sometimes called "Three Kings Day," Epiphany marks Magi visiting Jesus.

I had an epiphany over Epiphany. See what I did there?

I didn’t grow up in a tradition that marked Epiphany or other dates and events on the Liturgical calendar. Like my emphasis on the Jewish Feasts and Festivals, I lament [a little] not learning about those or emphasizing them in some way.

Epiphany, traditionally, is on January 6th each year [making it just 12 days after Christmas, although different orthodoxies observe it in notably different times and ways. The title comes from the Greek word epipháneia, meaning manifestation, and it notes the moment in the Christmas story when the magi or wise men…aka Gentiles…saw and worshipped the Christ child. The energy behind the holy day isn’t an effort to cite the specific date, time, or even year of the visit. It’s not about when they came but ultimately who they were and what that means.

In life, any moment that follows or accompanies a bigger moment automatically has a lot to live up to and can easily fade to the background. Perhaps there wasn’t a need for evangelical protestant emphasis on epiphany. Perhaps there was, but compared to Christmas, people just didn’t bother. The Jewish observance of Pentecost didn’t fare too well in Christian circles following Easter. And have you ever celebrated Hanukkah or Purim? We can be thrilled that God did bother, though, and that it wasn’t at Epiphany that He first decided to care about people outside Israel.

Gentiles were part of the story from the beginning. God promised to make Abraham the Father of Nation-s [plural] and even remarked that ALL nation-s [plural] would be blessed by Abe’s offspring. [Genesis 17:4 and 22:18] When Israel escaped Egypt, scripture says a “mixed multitude” of people went with them. [Exodus 12:38] Special folks like Caleb, Rahab, and Ruth were not only part of the story, but essential to our understanding of God’s plans to save the world through Jesus. People didn’t get on board right away. Hence Israel’s animosity toward Samaritans and Peter’s reluctance to dine with Cornelius. But Jesus orchestrated a moment where a Samaritan woman with a backstory was the first person to whom He revealed His messianic identity. And Peter entered both home and ultimately into Christian brotherhood with Cornelius and his comrades. [Acts 10-11] There may not be a better Bible story than the one where Peter’s heart and mind changed toward those outside ethnic Israel.

God’s plan has always been wider than people realized. His intent was to always go further. Back to Epiphany. It should have been Israel’s scribes and religious leaders recognizing Jesus but the manifestation came elsewhere. God has always been at work making manifest; revealing Himself to the nation-s [plural]. And there have always been those who would stand in the way in order to stop the spread and impose limits on who could and who could not have such an epiphany.  

Who does my mind need to change about or heart need to soften toward?

What do I need God to manifest in me so He can manifest Himself from me to people who have yet to have an epiphany?

Ultimately, to be like God is to want nothing more than for others to seek to see and know and bend toward Jesus…the way the foreign magi did. Happy Epiphany.