Introduction The word epiphany means manifestation or revelation. Epiphany is something that happens without any contribution on our part. It cannot be manufactured nor earned. It is always a gift. We can only anticipate, hope and pray that it may happen. It happens in the most unusual settings, amongst people who least expect it. Therefore, often, it goes unrecognised and unappreciated. It was not different two thousand and nine years ago, when the EPIPHANY of epiphanies happened. Only some poor shepherds and three Magi from the East were able to recognise and appreciate it. The Jewish nation to whom the epiphany was foretold failed to grasp it when it happened, simply because they had preconceived notions about it. As we prepare ourselves to celebrate the feast of the epiphany of our Lord, let us join in the Entrance Antiphon in acknowledging our submission to the sovereignty and holiness of God our King. The Lord and ruler is coming; kingship is his, and the government and power.”
Gaze at Jesus’ Sonship Imagination is a gift given to us by God our Father to be made use of to experience Him. So let us use it to ‘see’ Jesus at a stage during His thirty years in Nazareth with His blessed Mother. Let us picture Jesus in the Synagogue listening to the text we read in the first proclamation for today. Gaze at His face, which mirrors, the earnestness with which He is absorbing the picture, which the prophet Isaiah is painting about Jerusalem. Jesus gets up and goes home carrying this fascinating “Good News” experience and shares it with His Mother. The Blessed Mother listens, and in turn, reminds Jesus about what she had told Him, regarding the events that took place at His birth. About the star that appeared, the shepherds to whom angels announced His birth and the Magi who followed the star to the place of His birth. She also tells Jesus about the gifts that the Magi brought to offer Him. Jesus the true Man absorbs what has been told Him. It seems as though His self-awareness grows to a new dimension. He wanders out in to the open; His gaze turns towards Jerusalem the holy city, and then all around. Lord Jesus, what are You thinking about? Are You asking Yourself about the meaning of Your life? The fact that Your birth brought together heaven and earth, the east and the west, the wise and the ignorant, the rich and the poor would surely have led You to question the role Yahweh had planned for You. No doubt You realised that the mission Yahweh had for You included the whole of humanity. How, where and when would have been Your next concern. Lord, I see You going back to Your Mother to ask Her about what she thought about it all. Lord I am taken up by the concern both You and Your Mother are showing in discerning the Will of Yahweh regarding the future. Your faith, as true Man, of the significance that each and every event of Your life has, under the ‘rule of Yahweh’ is no less fascinating.
Prayerful Awareness The proclamations of today tell us that “with God things don’t just happen, everything by Him is planned”. The prophets of old were so tuned to Yahweh, that they were able to proclaim in human terms His intentions. The people of God, the Israeli people, were supposed to shape their lives accordingly. But there were those who interpreted the prophets according to their whims and fancies. These would rather be in control of their lives than hand it over to a God Who time and again reiterates His love for them. There seems to have been two categories of people who believed this love of God. The poor, who had no other option, and the truly wise, who were always open and receptive to a reality that was always greater than themselves. The shepherds fall into the first and the Magi to the second, Jesus and Mary His Blessed Mother incorporated both within themselves. The intensity of the openness and receptiveness of Jesus and Mary enabled them to experience epiphany in the ‘now’ moment. For them it was a life in a benevolent universe where God who loved them was in charge. Each moment and everything in it was a revelation filled with meaning.
Our Sonship Let us read the second proclamation of God’s Love for today. Ephesians 3:2-3, 5-6. I am sure you have heard of the ministry, which God in His goodness gave me in your regard. God’s secret plan, as I have briefly described it, was revealed to me, unknown to men in former ages but now revealed by the Spirit to the holy apostles and the prophets. It is no less than this: in Christ Jesus the Gentiles are now co-heirs with the Jews, members of the same body and sharers of the promise through the preaching of the gospel.
Prayerful Awareness As co-heirs we are called upon to see our lives as being under the ‘rule of God our Father’, therefore full of meaning. No event in our lives can be labelled as useless. They are all potential epiphanies, moments when God, mysteriously reveals Himself. Moments of pain, rejection, and betrayal are all included.
Prayer Starter Father of light, unchanging God, today You reveal to men of faith the resplendent fact of the word made flesh. Your light is strong, Your love is near; draw us beyond the limits which this world imposes, to the life where Your Spirit makes all life the opening prayer for today.
