Epiphany

This morning I experienced an epiphany: I learned what Epiphany actually means to the church and the church calendar. I don't remember learning about Epiphany growing up Catholic. It may have been talked about, but I just don't remember it. Since I committed to following Christ as my Savior and Lord in my late 20's, I have been a part of non-liturgical churches. In recent years our church has been getting in touch with some of the traditions that would be more familiar in liturgical churches, such as Advent. Most of my adult life, and especially in the years I've been a Christ-follower, I've had a negative reaction to church/faith traditions or liturgies. My experiences growing up Catholic, and maybe even more specifically some of the experiences my family experienced in the Catholic church, gave me an oversensitivity to what I felt was hypocrisy. And this is how I saw the Catholic church and many of its rituals which felt like they were done without meaning or understanding. Liturgies that were practiced on Sunday morning in mass but not lived out by people throughout the rest of their week. That was my experience and perception. So, since then I have "reacted" to liturgical practices. But in recent years God has been redeeming this in me. As I actually learn the meaning of some of these practices, liturgies, and church traditions I find myself connecting to the depth and richness they hold for our faith in Christ. This year I have more deeply connected with the practice of following Advent ~ anticipating the arrival of our Messiah and celebrating the joy of Emmanuel - God with us - the Incarnation.

So, this morning I stumbled on the meaning of Epiphany, as today is the Epiphany holiday celebrated in the Church calendar. Epiphany is the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi. The day when the Magi visited the baby Jesus in the manger in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1-12). 

In the words of Christine Sine {godspace.wordpress.com}

"We have watched and waited through Advent, we have celebrated Christmas and the joy of our Savior's birth and now we are being asked to follow, to recognize the revelation of Christ in our midst and journey into the new life he offers us."

Come and see, come and follow, go and tell others.

A page from my Advent Art Journal