Epiphany
Today, January 6,
is the Christian feast day known as Epiphany. Epiphany is a Greek word
meaning “appearance” or “revealing” The purpose of the feast is to celebrate
the revelation of the Incarnation – God taking on flesh in the person of Jesus
Christ.
The observance of
Epiphany originated in the East. The Epiphany celebrated a number of Christ’s “revealings”
– His birth, the Magi’s visit, Jesus’ childhood, His baptism in the Jordan
River and His first miracle at the wedding in Cana. In the earliest centuries
it was known as the Feast of the Manifestation, the Theophany, and the Festival
of Light.
The Epiphany
Festival has been observed in the Eastern Christian Church as early as the
second or third centuries. In the East, the Epiphany is second only to Easter
in importance.
Today, we
Christians in the Western Church generally celebrate only the visit of the Magi
on January 6. We then celebrate the naming of Jesus, His visit to the temple as
a 12-year-old boy, His baptism and His first miracle on different days in the
Christmas and Epiphany seasons.
For us in the
West, Epiphany is important because it is the “Revelation to the Gentiles”
mentioned in the Gospel of Luke: “a
light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel” (2:32). In Scripture, Gentile means all
non-Jewish peoples. The Magi, representing the Gentiles as a whole,
worshiped the Lord Jesus in stark contrast to Herod the Great, the King of
Judea who sought to put Him to death.
Epiphany reminds us that no one has a monopoly on the Christ
Child. He may be a Jewish boy, born to a daughter of David, whose bloodline
flows back to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But this Jewish Messiah, who is the
Glory of Israel, is the Light who brings God’s light to the nations. He’s the
true King of the Jews. But He is also the Lord of the nations, even those
nations who don’t know Him or acknowledge Him. He is God’s gift to the world.
The Father sends the birth announcement out far and wide -
as far as the east is from the west. Jesus is not simply the Messiah of Israel
or the Savior of Christians, He is the Redeemer of the whole world. The arms of
this Baby embrace the world, just as He would later embrace the world in the
darkness of His death. Every sinner is spoken for in His death, every sin
atoned for in His blood.
Aren’t you glad that you get to celebrate the Epiphany of our
Lord at Epiphany Lutheran
Church 6:30 pm .
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