This article was originally published on Fri, 05 Jan 2024. 

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Lord’s Epiphany which literally means manifestation. Christmas is not so much about remembering the birthday of Christ, although that is how we explain it to the children. But it is really a day when we remember the Incarnation, God becoming one of us and living with us. You see, what really struck the first Christians about the feast is not so much the stories about a baby laying in a manger with angels and shepherds milling around, or wisemen from the east paying homage. Rather it was the sudden appearance of God in their everyday lives. This is the mystery we celebrate during this beautiful season.  The story of the Magi is especially important because Matthew tells us that when God manifested Himself, it was not only for the Jews, the first chosen people. Rather God’s revelation was for every human being represented by the Magi. God is the God of all, and His love is offered universally. This is the radical message of Christmas. Christmas is called the feast of the manifestation of the Lord. Thus, it makes all the sense that we end the season of Christmas with recounting the Baptism of the Lord, another event of revelation. Remember the scene in the synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. When Jesus was baptized in the Jordan river, the heavens were torn open, a dove descended on Jesus and there was a voice that said: “This is my beloved Son, listen to Him.” This event reveals the identity of Jesus as God’s Son.  As we return to what the Church calls “Ordinary Time” and go back to our normal routine of home, work, or school, Howard Thurman reminds us that the true meaning of Christmas begins: When the song of the angels is stilled, When the star in the sky is gone, When the kings and the princes are home, When the shepherds are back with their flock, The work of Christmas begins: To find the lost, To heal the broken, To feed the hungry, To release the prisoner, To rebuild the nations, To bring peace among brothers, To make music in the heart.

God Bless,
Fr. Ritche