Epiphany

The last day of the this year is also Epiphany Sunday, a day I find appropriate to celebrate all the ways I've seen God at work this past year, and a time to resolve to pay better attention in the coming year.

Just what is Epiphany?

I explained it to my Sunday school class something like this:

Epiphany is really about two things. The first is honoring those wise folks so long ago who strapped their treasures to camels’ backs, climbed on and journeyed toward something––a king they suspected––because they had an inkling, saw a sign in the stars. They weren’t sure what to expect, but they knew when they found that child, Jesus. He was the one they’d set out for.

The second part is recognition. The wow-this-baby-has-a-royal-purpose-this-baby-is-part-of-God’s-plan recognition that we can experience in our own lives. We call these God moments Epiphanies.

So, do you get it, about Epiphany? I asked and summarized. It’s the holiday when we celebrate those wise people finding Jesus (and when we can finally pack away our nativity sets) and it’s the aha moment, when you realize God is there doing something important, something that will change your life, or the way you understand life.

“Wait,” one girl said. “Let me get this straight. If God is everywhere, and in everything, then isn’t every moment an Epiphany?”

Aha! And we wonder why God sent a child.