Today we celebrate the feast of Epiphany, traditionally celebrated on the 6th January – the 12th day of Christmas. I’m not quite sure how I feel about it being moved so that it falls on a Sunday – I mean I understand why but I’m also a little sad about it because it seems to lose some of the symbolism which goes with the date of the 6th Jan. Anyway…that’s not what this post’s about.
This is the first year that I have prayed the Prayer of the Church through the Christmas season (previously all of my ‘structured prayer’ has gone out the window during holiday times!). This morning I was particularly struck by the Benedictus antiphon which read:
Today the Church has been joined to her heavenly bridegroom, since Christ has purified her of her sins in the river Jordan: the Magi hasten to the royal wedding and offer gifts: the wedding guests rejoice since Christ has changed water into wine, alleluia.
To be completely honest, at this point I was rather confused. Apart from the mention of the Magi, what did all of this have to do with the Epiphany?! I had always just thought of it as the day when the wise men finally turned up (once again showing my ignorance of the traditions of the Church in which I have spent my whole life).
I did my usual pre-post google search this morning and wow, what a wonderful feast! There are themes of revelation, light, miracles, evangelisation, prophecy, hope for gentiles, the celebration of a marriage feast, and more. Yet somehow the Epiphany seems to get lost in the shadow of Christmas. But, as one article I read put it:
Unless we realise the significance of this great day, we see only one side of the mystery of the Incarnation. Now after contemplating the staggering fact that God has become a human child, we turn to look at this mystery from the opposite angle and realise that this seemingly helpless Child is, in fact, the omnipotent God, the King and Ruler of the universe. The feast of Christ’s divinity completes the feast of His humanity.
Hmmm…hadn’t thought of it that way before.
Well I’d be here all day if I decided to go any further into this but I’d encourage you to think about some of those other themes.
To end on a reflective note… as Christians we are both the wise men seeking God and the light which shines to lead others to Christ. How are we doing in each of these roles?
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