As a kid, I had no notion of Epiphany. We spent three or so weeks after Thanksgiving preparing for Christmas and then came New Year's. That was the extent of my knowledge of things. Imagine my surprise when I learned that the so-called "three kings" weren't actually celebrated at Christmas! Then imagine my shock when it was explained that they weren't kings at all. No, they were wise men. Here's another shocker: read the text carefully and you'll see that we don't know how many of them actually showed up!
Of course, as I've come to better understand the story from Matthew's Gospel that is read at the Feast of Epiphany, it's become clear that they were actually wise, but only by default. The story tells us that they were actually magi; basically fortune tellers who relied on stars to give them divine inspiration. Basically, they were what we call astrologers today. These were not the type of people who would've been accepted in most Jewish homes. In fact, they would have been scrupulously avoided, since many of the Jewish sages of the day considered them to be a bunch of charlatans and the penalty of being seen with one was ... well, let's say the penalty was extreme! Yet, there they were under the same roof with the Christ child, in the same place with the incarnate God of the Ages!
What does this say to us in 2012? Epiphany means "appearance," or "manifestation." In this instance, it is the appearance of Christ to the nations ... all nations and all people, without exception. In other words, all people of every stripe, color, economic status, nationality or sexual orientation have gifts to offer and God accepts them all. In order to truly grasp the significance and depth of Epiphany, we need to completely re-think any notions we may have of who's acceptable and who's unacceptable to us!
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A blessed Epiphany from all of us at St. John's!
