Epiphany. It’s a word and a day that I love, but without being able to give particularly satisfying or even clear reasons as to why. 

I like the sound of the word? Like ephemeral, or incandescent, or celestial, “epiphany” just rolls off the tongue. It’s fun to say, and it’s pleasant to hear. 

The definition of the overarching word is lovely, too: a sudden perception of the meaning of something. I love the idea of a quick burst of insight, something finally making sense after a time of struggle in understanding.

As for the day, the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, it falls within the Christmas season, and draws attention to the three magi, who otherwise garner little (no) attention in the Bible. All of this appeals to me, but I don’t know much more than what I just wrote. In other words, I have scant data to explain how drawn to the holy day I am. 

Maybe all of this feels familiar to you. You know a little bit about Epiphany, and what you know, you like. And yet you feel like there’s something you aren’t fully grasping. Your knowledge and connection to this feast day feels, I don’t know, anemic? You’d like to know more. 

If that’s true for you in the way that it is for me, join me in taking a few minutes to reflect on this important day and what it means to us as faithful Catholics. 

What do we remember on the Solemnity of the Epiphany?

The Epiphany marks the arrival of visitors, identified in Scripture as the magi, to the place where Jesus was born. Their story appears exclusively in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 2, where we are told that “Magi from the East,”  guided by a star, journey to find and worship the newborn Jesus. As they made their way to the manger, they crossed paths with King Herod, from whom they sought advice on finding the infant and his mother. Herod sent them to Bethlehem and asked them to return to him to tell of Jesus’ location after they pay homage; but being warned in a dream not to report back to Herod, they travel to their own country by a different road after greeting the Holy Family. All we know of their encounter with Jesus is that they were “overwhelmed with joy” to have found him, they “knelt down and paid him homage” and they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Scripture doesn’t specify their names or number, but tradition often names three: Caspar, Melchior, Balthazar (these names first appeared in an 8th century Christian text, Excerpta latina barbari).

What does Epiphany even mean, as far as it appears in Scripture?

The Greek word epiphaneia is found several times in the New Testament, but interestingly, not in the second chapter of Matthew. In other words, we’ve come to call the visitation of the three Magi to the manger “Epiphany,” but that’s based on tradition, not Scripture. 

Here’s where epiphaneia shows up (translated to English):
1 Timothy 6:13-15:  In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will bring about at the right time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords. 

2 Timothy 1:9-10: This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 

Titus 2:11-13: For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

Why do we call the appearance of the three Magi “Epiphany,” then?

Epiphaneia means manifestation or appearance, and in the story that we’re told in Matthew 2, Emmanuel – God with us – is manifested to the wider world through the appearance of Jesus to the Magi. In this story, the Magi represent the wider world not just because they come from afar, but because they are gentiles. They aren’t Jewish. Up until this point, Israel – the Jewish people – had been awaiting a Messiah for centuries, and the expectation was that the Messiah would be a descendant of King David come to redeem the Jewish people, restore Israel, and rebuild the Temple. While the coming of the Messiah would bring blessings to all humanity in the form of world peace, the primary focus was on spiritual and political redemption for the Jewish people. In other words, the Messiah wasn’t supposed to matter so much to Gentiles. 

And that’s precisely why Jesus being revealed to the magi matters. It’s the story that highlights that the Messiah wasn’t just coming for the Jewish people; God was coming for everyone. This was shocking and significant: it was an epiphany. 

What does Epiphany mean for the faithful today?

Is it heretical for me to admit that it’s hard for me to feel especially moved by the idea that Jesus came to save all people – not just Israel – as is revealed in the story of the magi visiting the manger? It’s not that I don't think or feel that this is a wonderful thing. It’s that it is so completely unsurprising to me. That Jesus came for everyone was new information to people back in the early decades of the common era, but it’s old information now. Knowing that Jesus came for all of us is like knowing that the earth is round. I can see that it was a big deal when the knowledge was first revealed, but it doesn’t have a tremendous impact on me from my vantage point right now. 

But that doesn’t mean that I can’t find meaning in the concept of epiphany, or in the historical event of the magi visiting Jesus. I absolutely can. 

The fact that God came into the world – manifested, appeared: this is epiphany –  in human form is nothing short of breathtaking. And how the magi responded to this revealing, this epiphany, teaches us much.

The magi went looking for God, and they found him. I believe that the story of the magi invites us all to do the same: go looking. Go looking without knowing where we will find God. Go looking, and don’t be afraid of going to new places. Go looking, and trust that you will find. Go looking, and when you find what you are looking for, stop. Be present. Worship. Be changed.