Since we are in the “season of Epiphany” … how about we turn to a classic dictionary and find out what this word really means?
Not the season … but the word.
One good definition of the word epiphany is this: The sudden manifestation of the essence or meaning of something.
Or this: A comprehension or perception of reality by means of a sudden intuitive realization.
In other words, while we are going about our usual business, we are suddenly faced with something so extraordinary, that it shocks our senses and leads us to believe something that we previously had not.
Like Paul getting knocked off his horse.
Or Thomas sticking his fingers into the flesh of the risen Christ and exclaiming, “My Lord and my God.”
It can happen to anyone.
Today’s Gospel is one of my favorite scenes in the life of Christ and it is perfect for this post-Christmas season of Epiphany, where our readings are taking us along that familiar journey of this man, Jesus, revealing himself to the world.
In today’s scene, we are in the synagogue and it is Jesus standing among the crowd of men, reading the scrolls of sacred scripture.
He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.
Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.
He said to them, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
No doubt, there was a bit of shock in that room. If you’ve ever seen the movie Jesus of Nazareth … this is an awesome scene.
Here is a short, 3-minute video clip that you must see … https://youtu.be/lohC420duVk
I can imagine how they felt. Here is a guy many knew to be the son of Joseph. They knew him to be a skilled carpenter, trained by his father. And, yes, he had been trained in the scriptures and some heard that he was already a decent preacher, a rabbi.
But this …
This shocking claim to be the messiah.
As the story goes, he would be rejected by his own land, his own people – most of them, anyway.
But his mission remained strong and his followers would grow – and continue to grow to this day.
During this season of Epiphany, we are called to reflect on how Jesus revealed himself to the world … and how he reveals himself to us.
Think back … when was your first epiphany?
When did you get your faith shaken so violently that you dusted off the scales and began to truly believe?
Perhaps you have not had that experience yet?
Maybe that’s why you are reading this today?
Trust that in our lives, we can experience many epiphanies. It’s not a one-shot deal.
Our faith journey includes many peaks and valleys and we sometimes fall into bad habits or spiritual dryness.
But God never lets us alone. He is constantly searching for ways to reach us … constantly chasing us … constantly knocking on the doors of our hearts.
We need only to pay attention and answer His call.
So many of us become exhausted with running away from the Lord, happy to maintain our comfortable lives.
God doesn’t want us to be merely comfortable.
The comforts that come by being His followers far outweigh the creature comforts of our ordinary lives.
From today’s first reading …
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God, and everyone who loves the Father loves also the one begotten by him.
In this way we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments.
And his commandments are not burdensome, for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith.
