Entering Epiphany

Epiphany, an oft-forgotten season of the western church.

But we as humans, we need this season. Epiphany draws us into the divine narrative. In Christmas, we learn how God became man, but it is through Epiphany that we see how the mystery of Christ is made known to us in a deep, personal and cosmic way.

Throughout this season the Church reads through the early chapters of the Gospels to more deeply explore the ways that God is breaking into our world through Christ’s incarnation. Epiphany is the “showing through” of the divine into the human, and it is the great bridge through which we move from Advent and Christmas toward the rest of the journey of our faith this year.

During Christmastide, I heard two different messages in which one described the “thing-ness” and the other the “this-ness” of our Christian faith. These are both funny and similar non-words that make me wonder if the two priest’s were sharing notes. However, each captures an important concept that we should also draw forward into Epiphany. Christianity is not just an idea to which we subscribe. It is a reality we are called to experience, and that we are called to help others experience.

“Thing-ness” illustrates the bearing of physical reality on our spirituality, something that is especially true in Anglicanism. Our faith is sacramental. We bless and sanctify real and…