Today is Epiphany!\u00a0 Have a merry and happy Epiphany!\u00a0 It isn\u2019t just about the wise men.\u00a0 It\u2019s the beginning of a whole season in which the scheduled Bible readings on Sunday deal with \u201cepiphanies\u201d of who Christ is:\u00a0 His baptism, in which the voice from Heaven says, \u201cThis is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased\u201d (Mathew 3:17); His first miracle; then other Gospel stories, culminating in the Transfiguration, in which the voice from Heaven again says, \u201c\u201cThis is my beloved Son,with whom I am well pleased\u201d\u00a0 (Matthew 17: 5), bracketing Jesus\u2019s ministry with the Father\u2019s identification and favor. I\u2019m interested in the word \u201cepiphany,\u201d which is also a literary term (meaning a character\u2019s or the reader\u2019s moment of realization in a story) and a term referring to experiences of ordinary life, in which we suddenly see the significance of something.<\/p>\n After the jump, I post an excerpt from a dictionary on the various meanings and uses of \u201cepiphany.\u201d\u00a0 Read them and reflect on how even the seemingly non-religious uses of the term can apply to Jesus.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n epiphany<\/strong><\/p>\n noun epiph\u00b7a\u00b7ny \\i-\u02c8pi-f\u0259-n\u0113\\<\/p>\n Simple Definition of epiphany<\/strong><\/p>\n Epiphany : a Christian festival held on January 6 in honor of the coming of the three kings to the infant Jesus Christ<\/p>\n : a moment in which you suddenly see or understand something in a new or very clear way<\/p>\n Full Definition of epiphany<\/strong><\/p>\n plural epiph\u00b7a\u00b7nies<\/p>\n 1\u00a0 capitalized : January 6 observed as a church festival in commemoration of the coming of the Magi as the first manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles or in the Eastern Church in commemoration of the baptism of Christ<\/p>\n 2: an appearance or manifestation especially of a divine being<\/p>\n 3\u00a0 a (1) : a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something (2) : an intuitive grasp of reality through something (as an event) usually simple and striking (3) : an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure b : a revealing scene or moment<\/p>\n
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