Epiphany – Connecting the Ancient and Contemporary
According to the Liturgical Calendar, Christmas officially ended on Tuesday, January 6th, with the sacred celebration of Epiphany. In today’s post, I look at this ancient story and how it relates to our contemporary spiritual journeys. Thanks for joining me for some end-of-Christmas-season thoughts …
On January 2nd, we had some people over for dinner. The house was still Christmassy, and my friend asked when we took down our Christmas décor. I told her we left everything up until January 6th, which is Epiphany. “I don’t know much about that,” she commented. I understood.
A few years ago, I attempted to have everything Christmas cleared by December 30th, our younger daughter’s birthday. After Sarah moved out, New Years Day became my target. Then, I was introduced to Epiphany. According to Church tradition, Epiphany commemorates the visit of the Magi—also known as “kings” or “wise men—” who followed a bright star to the home of the infant Jesus. On the liturgical calendar, Epiphany marks the conclusion of the Christmas season.
The three Wise Men with their camels, shown in today’s photo, are beloved Christmas decorations in our home which add special meaning to Epiphany. My mother, who passed away a few years ago, made the figurines in ceramics. They bring up sweet memories of Mom, who always kept Jesus at the center as she made Christmas a special and festive time for our family.
Epiphany comes from a Greek word that means to “reveal” or “to make manifest,” and is a reminder of the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi. The Magi traveled far to worship the infant Jesus about whom they had read. (The story of the Magi’s visit is found in Matthew 2:1-12)
I have been considering how the ancient story of Epiphany relates to us in 2026.
A visit with AI Overview for a more contemporary definition of epiphany provided connection. It read: “In simple terms, an epiphany is a sudden, powerful "aha!" moment or flash of insight where you suddenly understand something important in a new, deeper way, changing your perspective forever. It's a moment of clarity, like a light turning on, that reveals a truth or meaning you hadn't seen before, often about yourself or the world.”
My faith is not based on epiphanies, but I sure do love it when some sudden aha God moment occurs. A realization that causes me to mutter a prayer of amazement, “Wow, God, I never realized [or noticed] that before!” Or, perhaps it’s a prayer of contrition, “I’m so sorry God!” Or, it may be an awareness of deep gratitude when I say, “God, thank You so much!” Or, maybe I don’t say anything, but silent tears speak a language I know God understands.
A final thought about Epiphany came from an Epiphany Prayer I liked a lot, written by a Dominican nun, Sister Mary Ann Barrett OP.
… We Look for “Stars”
That direct our journey,
That offer new perspectives,
That induce wonder and awe,
That call us to risk,
That entice us to sing, dream, hope, dance, march.
We stand ready for Epiphanies
To look for inner goodness,
To hold all things in a light grasp,
To acknowledge biases,
To accept Woe! and Whoa! grac-iously,
To humbly be “broken” and “poured.”
God be praised – now and forever.
As we say “good-bye” to the sacred season of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany, and step onto a pathway known on the Liturgical Calendar as “Ordinary Time,” my prayer for each of us is that we will be open to ongoing manifestations of God’s amazing great love for us, which will motivate us to love God more dearly, love our neighbors more intentionally, and love ourselves more accurately.
Blessings on your journey …
