This is Epiphany Sunday and I Had an Epiphany

An epiphany is an “ah-ha” moment – when a light comes on in our minds and we suddenly understand something. The original epiphany occurred when three “wise” kings saw a star like none other they had ever seen. This star led them to the Christ child. “Aha! This is the king we have been waiting for!”

I’ll segue here for a personal moment. I wonder why God didn’t let a woman, with all our attention to details, give explicit facts about the story of the three kings, or is it three magi, or were they wise men? Only the disciple, Matthew, writes about the magi and he sure wasn’t detail-oriented. He told us about the wise men visiting the Holy Family, but he left out the details of how long after Jesus was born did the wise men come? How far did they travel? How old was Jesus when they arrived? Where were they from? The East? Matthew, just East? How did they know to follow THAT star? Were there only three who came? One for each gift? Or were there more than that?

At my church today, I’ll be reading the passage in Isaiah 60 that prophecies this “LIGHT has come”. It says “Nations shall walk by Your Light.” Isaiah prophecied that “caravans of camels shall fill you, all from Sheba bearing gold and frankincense and praises to the Lord.” So, Matthew, were there camel caravans that came to the Holy Family and not just three wise kings? C’mon Matthew! Details, we need details!”

Oh, but, I get it, Matthew! I have an “epiphany”! I have an aha moment. Matthew, you are a wise and articulate Gospel writer. You knew this story really wasn’t about the wise men. It was and IS about Jesus. What’s important isn’t the details about the wise men, it’s that God is here, among us, in human flesh and blood. God revealed this to the wise men, and He uses the wise men to reveal it now to us. Indeed they were WISE.

It’s not that “wise men still seek him”, as the saying goes, It’s not that we should seek signs from God in the stars, and not that we should travel great distances to get to Jesus. All those things are about the wise men, what they did; and about us, what we should do. To the Wise Men, their journey was about only one thing: Jesus. They came to fall down and worship Him. And why did they? For one reason only: God wanted them to know that their Savior had come. Not just the Savior of the world or the wise or of the good, but their Savior. That’s why He sent the star. And that’s why they fell down and worshipped him.

Epiphany comes to teach us again about our God. The one, true God. The only One who will not let us down, leave us, or fail us. The only One who keeps His Word and all His promises – even when that means being born as a baby and dying on a cross. The wise men had gods where they came from, so if just any god would do, why bother? And if any religion will do, why make the journey to Bethlehem? These wealthy wise men who seemed to have it all, knew they didn’t. They fell down and worshipped the One Who did. And Who could give them what they needed most. It didn’t matter that He was just a child. The Word made flesh was the gift that had come for them.

I will read and triumphantly declare an AHA – an Epiphany today! “Arise, shine, for your Light has come!”, said Isaiah. And this Light is for all people. For that’s what worship is — not what we do for God, but what God does for us. In worship, we receive what we need. We come as sinners for forgiveness. We come unworthy to be made worthy. We come with doubts and fears and we hear His Word of promise and assurance. We come hungry and are fed by Him — His own Body and Blood.

The wise men left wiser for they saw what no earthly learning could reveal to them — their Savior. And they received what no earthly treasures could buy – eternal life. And so do you and I.
And that’s what Matthew wants us to know. The details about the wise men? Neh. Details aren’t important. Epiphany, when the light goes on. The real Light – not just the Christmas lights that shine for a while, but the Light we need all year round. The Light in our darkness. The Light that changes everything. The Light of Jesus Who we worship anywhere and any time.

Maybe, just maybe, God will use you and I as one of His “wise men and women,” We get it. We really get Him, and we, too, fall down and worship Him.