The Season of Epiphany
28 Dec 2024 • Articles
In ordinary speech, people sometimes talk about an epiphany when they have had a 'light bulb moment', a sudden realisation or new understanding of something which is especially helpful or important.
The Church's season of Epiphany is all of this and much more.It is the celebration of the first ways in which Jesus was revealed to the world beyond Bethlehem, and of how the first witnesses of these events recognised the glory of Jesus, growing in realisation and understanding of his importance and mission.
The first day of the season of Epiphany is on Monday 6th January. On this Feast Day we celebrate the Kings or Wise Men, the Magi from the East, making their faithful journey to find Jesus, then returning joyfully to their own countries to spread the good news of his birth.They had travelled a long way from their first glimpse of the comet or bright star which inspired their belief that the great leader they longed for had been born, so it is possible that they arrived in Israel as much as two years after the first Christmas.The modern film industry would probably present the Epiphany as a sequel to Christmas, and would rightly look for further sequels, too.
The next episode in the story of Christ's Epiphany is the baptism of Jesus as a young man, told to us at the beginning of St. Mark's Gospel, with our Lord's experience of being anointed with the Holy Spirit and proclaimed by God, his Father.Then we learn of Jesus calling the first disciples to join his mission, and the first manifestation of our Lord's power in the changing of the water into wine at Cana. So many amazing events, fitting into God's pattern and purpose, through his grace.
As you fill in your diary for the new year, do notice the Church's seasons, celebrations and events, and the promise of new hope and fulfilment which they give.
May the light of Jesus Christ bless you and shine in your life,
Ann