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When I hear the word Epiphany, I automatically think of the Feast of Epiphany, the story of the Wisemen who came from the East to seek and to pay homage to the newborn king, Jesus. In secular terms, the word epiphany means a moment of sudden revelation or insight. We’ve all had epiphanies of one kind or another. (One day you looked in the mirror and realized you weren’t 22 anymore and had lost the ability to turn people’s heads. That’s a sad epiphany). With every epiphany, something we hadn’t considered comes to consciousness and we inwardly say, “wow” or “isn’t that interesting” or “I never thought of that before.” Those are good epiphanies. Some people’s entire lives have been transformed because of a single epiphany, a single moment in time. 

Now we don’t often associate the word epiphany with the word “crisis.” However, I would like you to think about “crisis,” not only because it’s part of our lives but also because crises are in all three scripture readings today. At its root, the word “crisis” means “turning point.” Nobody, in their right mind, seeks out a crisis, but a crisis can be an opportunity to blaze a new path. Someone with an illness is in a moment of crisis and their condition will either improve or deteriorate. If the patient gets through this stage, they’ll be fine, otherwise it’s all over. You can look back on your own life and see such moments in your marriage, in your career choices, or when there was family turmoil. They were all turning points that forced you to consider a new path in life or, at least, a new way of thinking, a new way of putting the pieces of life together. Of course, with a crisis, with each new turning point in our lives, trust and a readiness to move forward are required if we are to get through it.

Isaiah, in that first reading, speaks of a crisis. He says, “For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples”. However, that’s not the end of the story. Darkness is never final when we have God in our lives. This crisis is actually a turning point. The darkness mentioned here is when the Jewish people, some 600 years before the birth of Jesus, were defeated in battle and deported to Babylon. Everything they valued, including their country, their beloved city of Jerusalem, the Temple, and even their religion and language were taken from them. Now, as Isaiah tells them, comes the crisis–the turning point. The Lord will arise upon you and his glory will appear over you. You, my Chosen People, who were deported from your own country, so that you would be assimilated and eventually disappear, will now come home stronger than ever and become a magnet for the rest of world. Not only will you come home to Jerusalem, but nations shall come to your light. They will return with you to your homeland. Sons shall come from far away, not only Jewish sons who were deported, but all sons. Daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms, not only Jewish daughters who were deported but all the nations’ daughters. They shall come from Midian, Ephah, and Sheba bringing gold and frankincense to Judah, the very country you were kicked out of, and they will come and proclaim the praise of the one, true Lord of us all. Out of crisis, a turning point was created, a revelation was given, people responded, and God brought people home. 

A crisis, a turning point is also being played out in that second reading, Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Remember, Paul was a super-Jew, a model Pharisees. He believed in the laws of the Jewish faith and had no problem punishing anyone who violated even the small iota of the Law. He saw his job as being judge and jury of all things Jewish. His job, at least in his mind, was to get everyone in the same box that he was in and to keep them there. If someone stepped outside the box, Paul made sure severe punishment would be the consequence. However, Paul had a necessary crisis, a turning point in his life. He was struck down and blinded by a light. In the middle of the blinding light, came the voice of Christ who said, “Saul, why are you persecuting me?” This was Paul’s epiphany, Paul’s crisis that led to a turning point, a turning point that transformed Paul’s life forever. He recognizes that in every person he was persecuting, he was persecuting the Messiah, the very one Paul and the Jews were waiting for, for centuries. Paul goes from trying to put everyone into his self-constructed box into blowing up the box entirely by telling us today, “the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, the promise of Christ Jesus is for all humankind. The outsiders, the very ones I was persecuting, are my brothers and sisters in faith. The revelation has been given to me so that I could give it to you.” 

With each crisis comes a decision. The Wisemen are in crisis, at least, initially. They cannot find the child who has been born king of the Jews. This is a problem. Like I said, with each crisis, we will only see it as a revelation of God working in our lives if we trust and prepare to be open. The revelation first came to the Wisemen in the form of a star. They had to trust in that star and be open to where it was leading them. Next, the revelation came in the form of priest and scribes. The Wisemen had to trust and be open to the advice of the priests and scribes when it was enquired of them “where the Messiah was to be born.” Finally, the Wisemen had to trust and be open to a dream that warned them not to return to Herod but to leave for their own country by another road.

Epiphanies require trust and openness. That’s probably why it says they opened their treasure chests. Herod is not open. He was his own star. He found nothing. The opposite of openness is boxing yourself in. We do that whenever we are afraid. When King Herod heard this, he was frightened.

My prayer and wish for you as the Christmas Season draws to a close, is that 2023 will be a year full of epiphanies for you. Some of them may come in the form of a crisis. But do not fear, like Herod did. Instead, trust that this crisis is actually a turning point, a revelation of the closeness of God in your own life. When you know that, you will easily trade in your gold, frankincense and myrrh for the real treasure—Christ, the Prince of Peace. 

Fr. Phil Mulligan