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Epiphany
Trettondagen
2008
Published in my weekly column, in Swedish: 5th January 2008
Österbottningen tidning
What do you know about the season of our Church Year known as Epiphany? January 6th is Epiphany Day. This day is followed by a season which varies in length. Depending upon the date of Easter, the Epiphany season can vary from one to six weeks.
The word: “Epiphany” means: to show, to reveal or to manifest. Epiphany is a time for celebrating the reality of: “God with us”. Epiphany is sometimes called the “Feast of the Manifestation”, or the “Feast of the Appearing of Christ”, or the “Feast of Lights”. The Star - bright and shining - is the most common symbol of the Epiphany season.
Three crowns, or three treasure chests are also common symbols for the Wise Men. Epiphany is signaled by the arrival of the Magi or Wise Men from the East. The visit of the Magi is the first time the “King of the Jews” is recognized by Gentiles (non-Jewish people) as someone important. This is the first hint of a major theme in the New Testament - tthat Christ came for all people.
In Western churches, it remembers the coming of the wise men bringing gifts to visit the Christ child, who by so doing "reveal" Jesus to the world as Lord and King.
The colors of Epiphany are usually the colors of Christmas, white and gold, the colors of celebration, newness, and hope that mark the most sacred days of the church year. In traditions that only observe a single day for Epiphany, the colors are often changed after Epiphany to the colors of Ordinary Time, usually green or thematic sanctuary colors, until Transfiguration Sunday, the last Sunday before the beginning of Lent. The colors for Transfiguration Sunday are usually the colors of Holy Days, white and gold.
As with most aspects of the Christian liturgical calendar, Epiphany has theological significance as a teaching tool in the church. The Wise Men or Magi who brought gifts to the infant Jesus were the first Gentiles to acknowledge Jesus as "King" and so were the first to "show" or "reveal" Jesus to a wider world as the incarnate Christ.
This act of worship by the Magi, which corresponded to Simeon’s blessing that this child Jesus would be: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, was one of the first indications that Jesus came for all people, of all nations, of all races, and that the work of God in the world would not be limited to only a few.
The day is now observed as a time of focusing on the mission of the church in reaching others by "showing" Jesus as the Savior of all people. It is also a time of focusing on Christian brotherhood and fellowship, especially in healing the divisions of prejudice and bigotry that we all too often create between God’s children.
Christian-Charles de Plicque
Angel House International Missions Ministries r.f.
Karleby Finland
(©) 2008
Article also available in French and Swedish
Christian-Charles de Plicque
Angel House International Missions Ministries r.f.
Karleby Finland
(©) 2008
