Epiphany
Epiphany is a season of light. It is this season following Christmas that builds in brightness and revelation until the Transfiguration. In everyday language, epiphany is used to describe the arrival or manifestation of an idea. It’s the light bulb that turns on over the head of a cartoon character’s head. “Ah-ha!” “Bing!” “I’ve had an epiphany!”
Epiphany comes from the epiphaneia in Greek which would be used to describe the dawning of a new day or the arrival of an enemy. Now isn’t that interesting? Is an epiphany hopeful/bright or does it cause fright? That mixed reception is exactly what happens in the magi story that marks the start of the epiphany season (January 6th).
The same star, that the magi are inspired to follow is good news for them. It signals God’s arrival. It is a revelation of promise and joy. But as they check in with the palace in Jerusalem, the same epiphany is unsettling to Herod. He, and all of Jerusalem with him, were frightened by the manifestation of this newborn king.
Matthew is the only gospel to include this story of the magi and the two following scenes: the holy family fleeing to Egypt and the massacre of the innocents. If these stories only appear in one gospel, why is the Epiphany account (including the violence surrounding the birth of Jesus) included not only in Matthew’s telling of the story, but also honored annually as a part of the church calendar?
Theologian Kenneth Bailey offers this:
At the beginning of the gospel and at its conclusion, Matthew presents pictures of the depth of evil that Jesus came to redeem… If the Gospel can flourish in a world that produces the slaughter of the innocents and the cross, the Gospel can flourish anywhere. From this awareness the readers of the Gospels in any age can take heart.
That, for me, was an epiphany. It turned on the light bulb. As much as Epiphany is a season of light, it does not deny the dark. So, brothers and sisters, take heart! The story Matthew describes is a God who enters unstable politics, violent times, long nights, and troubled hearts. God has a history of bringing light nationally, relationally, and personally. So be of good courage.
Or to steal from the gospel of John and his insight about this Epiphany truth: “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it.”
Your brother in Christ,
Pr. Taran Denning
