The Epiphany of the Lord – 05th January 2025
I love magic and magicians. I never cease to be amazed by the speed at which the magician seems to do something that looks impossible. There is a very serious rule among magicians all over the world; under no circumstance let anyone know or tell them how the trick was done; it must be kept a secret. How the trick was done must never be revealed – ever.
Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord, a feast that is celebrated in many cultures and often more prominently than Christmas itself! In the gospel of Luke, it is the shepherds who are the first to visit the new born child and parents. Later, as an adult, Jesus will say I am the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. In the gospel today, written by Matthew, it is the strange and colourful visitors from the east who are now coming to see the child Jesus and his parents, and they come bearing gifts. The Wise Men, the Magi are not from the Jewish People; they represent the whole world. Jesus is not just for the Jewish Nation; Jesus has come as the Saviour of the entire world and the whole universe!
The word ‘Epiphany’ actually means to show, to reveal or to make known. So unlike magicians who keep everything hidden and secret, today’s feast is about God fully, openly and clearly revealing Jesus Christ to the whole world, the entire universe, all nations and all peoples for all time. God doesn’t keep secrets from us!! As St. Paul writes in his letter to the Hebrews and to us today; ‘At many times in the past and in many ways, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; but in our time, God speaks to us in the person of Jesus Christ.’