There is the time it became clear; it was obvious: you loved her. You had not said so to her, you had not said it to anyone else, but you knew. Maybe it was when you first met, maybe it was when she knew what you were going to say before you said it, maybe it was when she looked at you as if you were the only other person in the world, maybe it was when you saw her again after being away for a few days. Please recognize that which pronouns are subject and which pronouns are object can be reversed. Whenever it was, something that was true became clear and obvious. It was manifest. Some people call that time an “a-ha” moment; the Greek called it an epiphany.
In the church, we use the word Epiphany to describe the time when the fact that Jesus is the Christ, the one God chose, becomes clear. The poet Maya Angelou says that “Epiphany is when heart and soul focus together and you see an old thing in a new way and it changes you.” On the day of Epiphany (January 6), we remember the magi from the East (we aren’t even told what country) recognized God’s coming and came to worship. It was clear to even these strangers. Over the years the church has recognized that it does not happen to everyone, it is not clear to the whole world, all at once. We name the part of the church year from Epiphany to Ash Wednesday as the Epiphany Season – a time when it becomes clear to more and more people who recognize who Jesus is.
This year Ash Wednesday comes on March 6. Between January 6 and March 6 we will be noticing the ways in which the knowledge of God’s coming reaches more and more people. We also will be exploring the ways that we help people recognize that God has come. In the Epiphany Season we celebrate that we know God and come and work together at finding the ways to help it become clear to others.
The Epiphany Season helps us to remember that we do not have to bring God to the world; God is already here and at work. Our task is to recognize the God who makes Godself manifest and visible. As we recognize and celebrate God’s presence we help others see where God is at work.
Happy Epiphany –
Art Urie, Bridge Interim Pastor