Happy Epiphany!
It doesn’t have the same ring as “Merry Christmas” or “Christ is risen!” but it carries significant repercussions for our Christmas and Easter theology. In some sense, Epiphany is the key that unlocks both classic Christian festivals. Epiphany secures the triumph of Jesus’ life and mission.
In Epiphany, we celebrate the “manifestation” of Jesus to the Gentiles. When Magi came to give him gifts, they gave him gifts as a foretelling of the great gift the Son will give the Father at the end of history (I Cor. 15:24-26). When Christ returns, he returns with the kingdom as a gift to the Father. Jesus receives gifts, but he is the great gift-giver of history.
Jesus introduces himself to the Gentile world as a fulfillment of Simeon’s song. He is a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of Israel (Matt 2:1-12). Jesus’ entire ministry is a ministry of gift-giving, which culminates as his body is given for his people (Lk. 22:19). Indeed, gift-giving is a crucial component of the revelation of Jesus to the world.
The reason we can be certain of the fulfillment of the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20) is that Epiphany’s gifts to Jesus are gifts that will be dispersed among men. Jesus is the unfailing gift-giver to the nations. He has never failed to provide for his people. Even in Israel’s underserved position, he still offers them life and light.
For the Christian, Epiphany signals a season of discipleship through rituals of gift-giving. The entire biblical premise of sanctification entails a life of exchanges (my life for yours). Christians are called to think through their ordinary rituals and adjust them accordingly for the sake of revealing Christ’s work to the nations. Three questions arise for us to ensure the gift-giving environment:
First, how can my home be a gift of refreshment to my children and those who enter it?
Second, how/what are my daily habits? In what ways are those rituals bringing life to my own soul and those around me?
Third, how am I being apostolic in my endeavors? How is my private and public life sharing the mission of Messiah to the world?
Epiphany means to make known what was hidden. Christ’s presence was a mystery to the Gentiles, but now his life is made known to the nations as a babe and as the Creator of the cosmos. It speaks to our need to wrap our lives as gifts to those around us and to be constantly on the lookout to give of ourselves to others out of the abundance of gifts we have received from Christ(mas).
