An Epiphany

A cold coming we had of it

Just the worst time of year

For a journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.

So wrote T.S. Eliot about three visitors from the East who traveled to see a newborn child. It was a long and harsh trip, with only a star to follow. To find…What? What did they expect to find?

Theirs had been years of study, watching the stars, looking for a celestial sign.  Then, one dark night, those wise men, now with aged and wrinkled faces, saw a bright star blazing overhead. They believed the star would lead them to find what they sought. A king?; or maybe one greater than a king?  Perhaps a savior, though not entirely sure what that might be.

And they found, in an ordinary shelter, a baby, a tiny, squalling infant.  Was he what they expected? Perhaps not. Yet somehow, they knew that they had come to the right place. And dropped to their knees; in wonder and in thanks.

Theirs is the story of Epiphany. There, next to a cradle, all the knowledge from their years of study was transformed into wisdom of the heart. They knew, they recognized, they worshipped. Then returned home by a route different from the road that had led them there, choosing to evade Herod’s command to bring him the news of the birth. That’s how their story ends.

But what if their return by another way was not only about escaping Herod’s ugly plan, but about a change of heart, a new way of perceiving? They had experienced what is known as an epiphany; that is, an appearance of holy presence. It led them to walk a new path, previously untrod, on their life’s journey. We don’t know because the story doesn’t tell us, just how their lives changed, but I suspect that no longer did they rely on signs like a star to guide their lives. They began to follow their heart’s leading. In the presence of holiness, something shifted. An awareness, an assurance of a light within, a beacon as trustworthy as a blazing star. Perhaps that was the “other way” which they had found by the cradle.

Epiphany asks all of us: In this new year, what will you be searching for? Where will your journey take you ?

And Epiphany asks us: Is it time for us to try another way? Is there an “Aha” out there already waiting for you? And will you know it when you find it? Will it cause you to turn to the business of living by another way?