by Joanie Butman
Thursday marked the Feast of the Epiphany, which commemorates the Magi finding the baby they’d been seeking for so long. Their journey must have been arduous – certainly more difficult than my return from Florida yesterday, though travelling by camel seems easier and safer these days than flying during a pandemic.
January 6th hails a variety of names: Three Kings Day, Old Christmas and Twelfth Night to name a few. In my family we referred to it as Little Christmas, an oxymoron if I ever heard one. There is nothing LITTLE about discovering Jesus. It is a momentous occasion, a eureka moment. An event that changes nothing and everything at the same time. The circumstances of your life remain the same, but how you perceive and respond to them is transformed. The world is the same, but you’re not.
Webster defines epiphany as “a sudden realization or the appearance of God.” We’ve all had them; epiphanies, that is, not necessarily witnessing the appearance of God. Eureka* moments when an elusive concept or idea suddenly becomes clear to us. It’s probably safe to say that none of us has had the opportunity to experience being in the presence of the Divine – at least not in the way the Wise Men did. However, I think we all have moments in life that change us forever. Perhaps it’s an event or a person that challenges all that we believe to be true, causing us to view life in a whole new way.
We can all relate to these three relatively unknown individuals – not because we share their wisdom or wealth, but because we share their journey. Aren’t we all at different stages of our own odyssey – searching for meaning and purpose in a world that seems to be spiraling out of control. We’re all traveling towards something. Regardless, the guiding light we choose will be different for everyone. For some, like the magi of old, it will be the light of Christmas, which is manifested in the person of Christ. But for others it might be a belief, a dream, an ambition, or maybe even a person that guides their life’s path. The road you travel will be unique to you.
Of one thing I’m certain, whatever path you choose, take comfort in knowing that Jesus will travel any road to find you. How do I know this? Because I’ve taken my share of wrong turns, blind alleys and dead ends. Yet Jesus never gave up on me. He was always there gently (and sometimes dragging me kicking and screaming), shepherding me back into His loving arms.
If you recall the story of the Magi, after they presented their gifts to Christ they returned home. Tony Jarvis, author of With Love and Prayers, concludes his chapter about the journey of the Magi with an interesting sentiment about their choice to return home a ‘different’ way:
That may mean nothing more than the literal fact that they went home by a different route to avoid Herod in Jerusalem. But it also may mean that for the rest of their lives there was a difference; that somehow, their lives had been changed forever by their contact with the baby; that the rest of their lives would be lived ‘another way.’
I believe the same can be said about anyone who has a Divine experience whether it’s in a manger, a prison, a rehab facility, a hospital ward or maybe even in a church. When you meet Christ, “you are a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun” (2 Corinthians 5:17)!
How will you choose to begin the New Year? Same old, same old? Or, like the Wise Men, will you choose to follow the light of Christmas wherever it leads?
Choose wisely!
*Eureka is Greek for "I found it."
**With Love and Prayers, Pg. 147-149