Fr. William Fennelly: On Christmas Day we asked the shepherds‘Whom have you seen? Who has appeared on earth?’ Then came their answer: ‘We have seen the New-Born Child, and choirs of Angels praising the Lord.’ Today’s Feast invites us to ask again: ‘Who has appeared on earth?’ Remember ‘epiphany’ means ‘appearance.’
Let’s ask the Magi. They saw the stars align. They were led to the manger by their own questioning and their following of the star. Maybe the Magi would reply: ‘The heavens tell us of a King born in Israel.’ If they had talked to Mary and Joseph, they might add: ‘This King chose the time of his own birth so the heavens proclaim him.’
This Feast traditionally celebrates three events. In the West, we spread them out; in the East, Our Lord’s Baptism is today’s main event. So let’s ask God the Father: ‘Who has appeared on earth? ’We will hear God add at the Lord’s baptism next Sunday: ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’
Let’s ask the Holy Spirit: ‘Who has appeared on earth?’ or, rather, let’s ask John the Baptist what the Spirit meant by descending on Jesus. St John in his gospel records the Baptist’s answer: ‘He who sent me… said… “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptises with the Holy Spirit”.’
The third event is the Wedding at Cana, when Jesus worked his first sign. To the question, ‘Who has appeared on earth?’ it gives this answer: ‘The Creative Word who turns water into wine. The context in which Jesus worked this sign adds: ‘The Divine Bridegroom come to purchase his Bride.’ Let’s ask St John: ‘Who has appeared on earth?’ He replies, enigmatically: ‘Jesus… manifested (showed) his glory.’
In Greek, epiphany can refer to various types of appearances, among them to the appearing of a god. The Eastern Churches are a bit clearer, and call today Theophany, the Appearing of God. The Feast is not, primarily, about the visit of the Magi to Jesus; it’s about God’s Visit to us, the Solemn Visit in which the Divine King has let the world see him. The Magi, the star-sign they saw, and the others of whom we enquire, tell us whose Visit we celebrate.
They also point us towards a greater Theophany. Today’s the traditional day for the date of Easter to be announced. This points to the fact that it was on Calvary at Easter that Jesus, as King, drew all things and all people to himself. God isn’t only adored in some disembodied spiritual quest by an inward movement folded in upon myself and detached from all that might disturb and engage the heart. It has to be possible to find and adore God in the simple yet messy complexity of human experience’ of our experience.
Even in our own times which so profoundly distrust claims for absolute truth, there remains in the human heart a deep desire for the truth. The RB talks about the dilation or expansion of the heart. We believe that the child born in Bethlehem is the truth for which the human heart hungers. Like the magi, we need to be attentive and to seek the truth wherever it is to be found, for ultimately it is in Him who said, ‘I am the truth’, it’s in this great God who shows himself to us in a little child.