When I think of Epiphany, I think of a story about Jesus as I would imagine it. I picture him as a boy — the oldest of several boys in his family. A boy from a nondescript northern Galilean village. Of course, he was close to his mother and father and his brothers, but he always seemed connected to something much bigger. His mother seemed to understand this part of him from the very beginning of his life. She remembered that at his circumcision an old man named Simon said some pretty strange things about her child. She also remembered that trip they took to Jerusalem at the festival of Passover. As a 12-year-old boy, he disappeared from them for several days and was finally found sitting among the rabbis in the temple, asking brilliant questions. Now as the child grew in strength and spirit, she continued to wonder, as most mothers would, what will become of him. Like many oldest sons at that time, he probably started to learn carpentry under his father’s tutelage. As his father grew old, he took over his father‘s business and helped support his mother and brothers.
In his early 30s, when his younger brothers had assumed the responsibilities of the family, he was free to open his mind and heart to a much bigger commitment that had lingered in him for years. I imagine God used the prophetic figure of John the Baptist and his baptism of Jesus to confirm Jesus’s calling to proclaim the good news of God’s forgiveness and love for us all! As tempted as Jesus might have been to choose an easier WAY, he chose to follow God wherever God was to take him. This is where I see the most powerful image of the season of Epiphany.
In many ways, I think one can define their life by looking at the many epiphanies they have experienced! Birth, first day of school, siblings, sex, death of pet or friend … leaving home, work, parenting, middle age, physical limitations, etc. Some epiphanies are welcomed and some endured! My definition of an epiphany is: a vision of reality that we are challenged to accept and learn from or avoid through denial.
In my 77 years on this Earth, I have done plenty of both accepting and rejecting truths about myself and about life. I have learned from both kinds of responses about my fears and my God-given strengths! Real epiphanies, I believe, are God-sent to help us understand better what is God’s meaning and purpose for our lives. Our resident seminarian Alan’s Wednesday evening offering to our community is all about Epiphany and the wisdom we might gain from sharing our journeys with one another. It’s well worth attending!
— The Rev’d B. Anderson McCarthy
