Wikipedia defines an epiphany, from the ancient Greek epiphaneia, which has a literal meaning of “manifestation, striking appearance” as an experience of sudden and striking realization. In the case of Jesus, we celebrate the revelation that he was the incarnation of God’s love on Earth. As a culture, we have typically made Epiphany about the arrival of the wise men. They are described as kings in the Bible, and scholars believe that’s so because they are meant to represent the many nations that recognized the sovereignty of this newborn king of heaven. Whether they were magi in the strict sense, who were a priestly mystical Persian religious class or kings in their own right, doesn’t matter as much as the fact that there are what I think of as four important messages to think about regarding humankind’s reaction to the birth of Jesus.

1. The wisest and first person to recognize the significance of God incarnate while Jesus was still in utero was John the Baptist, himself still a fetus. He reacted with the only communication he could while still in the womb—he leapt and let his mama know something had stirred him. So the Holy Spirit filled Elizabeth, his mother, and she cried out recognizing the blessing that was Mary’s baby.
2. The innocent shepherds had a visitation of from an angel who told them about the baby. They believed the angel without question, though of course the multitude of heavenly beings singing “Glory to God” after the pronouncement probably helped convince them. But these innocent people of no social standing went right away to see that God had done something new, and they went without question to figure out what it was and see the baby. They told Mary what the angel had told them and the Bible told us she pondered these things in her heart. She had a lot of thinking to do. Anyway, the shepherds left and then Matthew tells us they were glorifying and praising God for all they had seen and heard.
3. And then the supposedly wise representatives of the power structure of other nations showed up bearing gifts. The rest of the people: the religious authorities of Israel and Judah: it took them a long time to catch up. Theirs was not an epiphany, but rather a slow dawning–
4. The fourth thing you might consider is a question. It’s the what’s-in-it-for-you part: Can you recognize love incarnate when you see it? Is that recognition a powerful and abrupt “aha” or is it the type of realization that takes some time?

Because you see, whether you are a person of wisdom or a person of innocence, or maybe even a person of ignorance for whatever reason, you are invited to look upon the promise of love incarnate in Mary’s baby.

We, as Christians, are all invited to look for the face of Jesus– love incarnate,  in the eyes of our neighbors. When we can see him there, it’s just a short jump to the next step—loving that neighbor.

May God bless you with wisdom and love whoever you are so that you never lose sight of the promise of that baby.