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Epiphany. It’s a sudden manifestation or realization of the essential nature of something.
Epiphany. It’s an appearance of a divine being.
Epiphany. It’s an intuitive grasp of reality through something simple and striking.
Epiphany. It’s the season of the church year when we see the divinity of Jesus revealed in both simple and striking ways, unveiling the essential nature of God’s transforming and healing love for all people.
It’s hard to say where an epiphany begins. Does it begin the moment we consciously realize something? Or does it begin around us earlier, before we can name what is happening? Or is an epiphany something we can only name later, as we look back on what has happened and tell the story of it?
The season of Epiphany, of which today is the last Sunday, focuses our attention on the life and ministry of Jesus as a manifestation, a physical representation, of a divine being. Epiphany (the season) begins on January 6, when we celebrate the arrival of the Wise People from the East. Star-gazers who recognize a new, bright star as an announcement of royal or divine importance – and they journey from a great distance, drawn by that light, to see what had happened. That light in the sky signified the birth of Christ, of God coming to be with us as a human being, in relationship with us. Those seekers from afar came to see the Light, the Good News, which is for people from all the ends of the earth.
Our Epiphany journey continued with the revelation of Jesus as God’s Son at his baptism as a loud voice from the heavens proclaimed, “This is my Son, my Beloved.” We could call that a sudden realization of his divine nature.
Then, something simple and striking. As a humble guest at a wedding, Jesus turned mass quantities of water into fine wine. As the gospel writer John says, it was the first sign of his unique relationship with God the Creator of all.
We moved along in Jesus’ early ministry, journeying with him as he returns to his hometown of Nazareth and is warmly welcomed by his old friends and neighbors. As he reads in the synagogue and reveals his ministry, they are at first amazed and delighted that a humble son of their village would be so blessed. And then, as they realize the power of his words, that his message of hope and healing and compassion is even for the people they consider their enemies, they become enraged. So angry that they try to run him off a cliff and kill him. Miraculously, peacefully, the murderous crowd allows Jesus to leave unharmed. Perhaps they experienced an epiphany about the healing power of love he embodied – and that it might be needed, not just by them, but by people all over the world, even their enemies.
For the past two weeks, we gathered with a diverse crowd of disciples from near and far, coming to be healed by Jesus and then to hear him teach. Jesus came among us, just a man, like us - and so much more. His touch healed us, and he sat with us and taught about LOVE. Love that changes everything and everyone. Love that lifts up the lowly, and humbles the mighty. Love that ultimately frees us all from fear and oppression, so that we can live the full life God intends for us.
Finally, on our Epiphany journey of divine revelations, we come to today’s story. Our previous Epiphany gospels took place earlier in Jesus’ ministry – and today we are closer to the end. We are up on a mountain, Jesus taking some time to retreat, to pray. In the midst of his conversation with God, his face changes. His clothes become dazzling white. And then two major figures from Hebrew Scripture, Moses and Elijah, are there in conversation with him about his journey toward “his departure.” The word for departure is exodon, like exodus. In his death, Jesus will be going out, or freeing us, releasing us from captivity, opening our future. His journey to Jerusalem, and his trial and execution, begins as soon as he comes down off this mountain.
As Moses and Elijah disappear, a voice from a cloud once again declares Jesus the Son of God, the Chosen One. Not surprisingly, the disciples who witness this sudden revelation of Jesus’ divine connection respond with terror and confusion. And fear – they are scared, they don’t tell anyone about what they saw – who would believe it anyway? This revelation of God.
Epiphanies often provoke some terror and confusion in us. It’s disorienting to suddenly realize that something we thought we had figured out isn’t what we thought it was. We have to reconsider our whole orientation, our whole focus or purpose. Often an epiphany leads us to change our whole lives.
Epiphanies aren’t always mountain-top experiences of God speaking to us in a cloud, either. They can come to us through simple and striking experiences. Those moments we would describe later as ‘a lightbulb came on,’ or light breaking through in our darkness. An epiphany can be an idea, a feeling, a truth that we suddenly see or know for the first time, or in a new way. We’ve all had those experiences.
Epiphanies can be holy moments. Moments when God speaks to us. Moments when God speaking to us transforms us, changes us because we know God’s love for us and desire for us to be whole and fully alive, freshly revealed to us in a new way. Not necessarily a painless way, but a new way.
Like when we are able to find a moment of deep peace in the midst of a health crisis.
Or when we sit down with a dear friend and blurt out some truth that had never had words before.
Or when we are able to see a financial crisis as a moment for transformation and growth.
Or even something so simple as when we pause and breathe in a beautiful sunrise and appreciate the Creator who makes it and gives us life.
Epiphanies. Those moments when the glory, the peace, the love of God is revealed to us.
We are coming to the end of this season of Epiphany. The end of this time when we focus on God revealed in the increasing brightness of Jesus’ life, from a distant, bright star that led strangers from afar to a small child, to the dazzling white of Jesus transfigured. We know that in our every day lives God continues being revealed to us, in small ways and in dramatic ways, if we will open our eyes and hearts to the light of love and hope.
This week we prepare ourselves for Lent, the next season of the church year. We begin Lent with Ash Wednesday, a reminder that we are called to humble ourselves before God, examining our hearts and our lives, and seeking to live more deeply into who God calls us to be. My epiphany for today is that Lent can be a continuation of Epiphany, when the divinity of God is revealed to us. Lent is a time to open ourselves to see God revealed in our own lives.
We continue our worship with prayer for the world. We gather around God’s table to be nourished in body and spirit, strengthened to go out into the world as witnesses to the glory and hope of God. Let us open our selves to God’s revelation. Let the truth of our epiphanies find words because, unlike those disciples, we have no need to keep secret the vision of Love we find embodied here in worship, in fellowship, and in the presence of Christ as we share in his body and blood.
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