Epiphanies tend to come in waves. That is to say, one epiphany can lead to a second. Or, a singular epiphany can morph over time into an even greater one. The same is true for the Church’s Epiphany season that follows Christmas, during which there is much to discover.
Epiphany kicks off with the celebration of the wise men arriving from afar to pay homage to the Christ Child (Matthew 2:1-12). The season also is a time for reflection on Jesus’ upbringing and the start of his ministry, before we begin the 40 days of Lent (which is calculated out from Easter Sunday, based on a cumbersome calculation I will save for a later post). Given the fact that Easter moves every year, the length of Epiphany also changes. Calendar-wise, this year is a long Epiphany season with Lent starting in March.
(Side note: The period between the day of Epiphany on January 6 and the start of Lent is often referred to as “Time after Epiphany”. However, since the whole period between Advent and Pentecost is meant to be the festival-half of the year—or Temporal Cycle—I find maintaining the Epiphany-spirit until Lent to be spiritually rewarding. And that is my plan in these upcoming reflections.)
Personally, I find the varying lengths of this season alone fitting for reflection. Simply put, sometimes epiphanies are quick and short, while other times they are big ideas that take a long time to process. Furthermore, in this season of the Church Calendar, we are not celebrating one singular epiphany. There are many (from the time of Jesus, through the time of the apostles, then the time of the Reformation, etc.) and they continue to develop to the present day, as we live out Christ’s mission as the Church.
The primary story of this season—that of the wise men—reminds us that epiphanies rarely come from within ourselves or even from within our comfort zones of relationships and neighborhoods. Most often new ideas, fresh thinking, and revealed realities come to us from those who have entirely different backgrounds, beliefs, and lived experiences than us.
A human tendency is to stick with what we already know and to spend our time surrounded by people who are most similar to us and consistently affirm our views. The current age of personalized digital algorithms has exacerbated this issue even more. When an outsider comes into our space we have to make the choice of whether to include them or shun them. When we choose to mute out the perspectives of others, we may miss out on epiphanies that could deepen our faith.
A godly tendency, contrary to the human one aforementioned, is for the greatest epiphanies to come from the outside. So during this season of Epiphany, if we want to discover Jesus Christ more, we need to genuinely open our hearts, minds, spirits, and lives to fresh realities that come from others.
Relevant Reformation 