Who remembers the name of the Holy Day we celebrated last Sunday? In the teaching of the church it’s an important one, right up there with Christmas and Easter. It was Epiphany, of course. But Epiphany is sort of a nickname. Do you know the full name of this feast day? Do you know what it means? What we really celebrate? We are in Epiphany season now. Although properly speaking today and these next few Sundays are not Sundays in a season called Epiphany; they are Sundays after The Epiphany. The Epiphany. Celebrated every year on January 6. Yet even speaking of it as The Epiphany is not its full name. January 6 is The Epiphany of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

And what does that mean? What do we really celebrate on this important feast day? The Epiphany of Our Lord Jesus Christ makes it sound like we celebrate something Jesus did. Jesus’ birth; Jesus death and resurrection; Jesus’ transfiguration. These are all things we commemorate with holy days. So let’s add Jesus’ Epiphany. But that’s not right. Despite the name, The Epiphany is not about something Jesus did. If you somehow associate Epiphany with the wise men, you’re on the right track. But this holy day is not so much about the things we usually associate with the wise men—their arrival in Bethlehem after following the star, or about the gifts they brought, or even about their inspired trip home. The Epiphany is about what happened to the wise men in the manger. Another formal name for this holy day is The Epiphany, or the Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles. It isn’t Jesus’ Epiphany we celebrate on this day; it is the wise men’s epiphany.

The word "epiphany" means sudden recognition or insight, revelation. What we celebrate on the feast day of The Epiphany is that moment in the stable when the wise men said, "My God…" when they said, "my God," and meant it. The Epiphany happened when those pagans from a distant land looked upon the baby Jesus and said, "My God." Their epiphany was when they had the sudden recognition that right then and there they were in the presence of God. The culmination of their journey had brought them not into the presence of a king, but into the presence of God. And they recognized in their hearts that the God born in that little baby was their God, even though God was not the God of their fathers, not the God of their culture, not the God of their prophecies or expectations. Still, in that moment of revelation they knew, and would never forget, that they looked upon the face of their God in that baby in a manger in Bethlehem.

The Epiphany. An Epiphany. That moment when a heart or soul exclaims, "My God." Not as a casual expletive. Not in fear or anxiety. But in recognition. My God. I see my God. I hear my God. I know my God.

Many year ago, years before I went to seminary or was ordained, I was part of an EFM group. EFM, Education for Ministry, is a program for lay people who want to explore and enrich their ministries. Small groups meet for reflection and study. One part of the program involves the telling of spiritual autobiographies. It is a rewarding process to write your own; it is a rewarding process to tell and share that autobiography with others and to hear the stories of others. I remember part of one woman’s story. I've made a few changes to protect confidentiality, but I remember this story well.  She was probably in her 60’s, approaching 70. She had seen and accomplished much in her life. She had known great joy; she had also known great trauma. She knew how death was never far from life. One day she was flying in an airplane. It was very rough.  It was a small plane, and she physically felt the power of fear overtake her whole body. She felt the breath of death upon her skin and she was terrified. Her mind somehow automatically gave word to prayer. And then she knew. She knew without the faintest doubt that God, her God, was with her. And I remember very clearly her telling of the story. She did not say that at that point she knew she would not die. That is not what she said. She said that she knew that God was with her, and that no matter what happened, God would be with her. And that in death, in life, in pain, in joy, God’s peace and love would sustain her. She knew. That day was The Epiphany of Our Lord Jesus Christ to Dr. Emily Martinez.

And, although it may be a simple story, I have remembered it all these years because the power and the conviction of that epiphany to Dr. Martinez shined so brightly in her telling of it.

Throughout these coming Sundays after The Epiphany, we will hear epiphany stories from Scripture. This year, as our cycle of readings takes us mostly through Matthew’s gospel, we will hear from John the Baptist. We will hear the voices of Andrew and Simon Peter. We will hear from the sons of Zebedee, James and John. Lent is early this year, so there are not too many Sundays after The Epiphany, but we will also hear the beginning of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount including the Beatitudes. And then on the last Sunday before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, we will hear—as we do every year—the story of Jesus' transfiguration… which might more properly be called the Epiphany of our Lord Jesus Christ to Peter, James and John on a mountaintop.

In the coming weeks listen to all of these stories with Epiphany ears. We have just heard of the Baptism of Jesus. It’s not the baptism that makes this an epiphany story; it’s the voice that speaks as Jesus comes up out of the baptismal waters. "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." It’s not clear in the gospel accounts who heard that voice in addition to Jesus, but we may be quite sure John the Baptist did. Next week he will still be shaking with the revelation, still breathless and awestruck with the new recognition that Jesus is his God. "I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God," John says. "My God!" John says as he looks upon Jesus. Jesus’ baptism was an epiphany for John.

We will also hear the stories of Jesus’ call of some of the disciples. As Jesus walks among the people along the dusty roads of Galilee, he will say to Andrew and Simon Peter and James and John, "follow me." These are epiphany stories not because Jesus calls, but because those men follow. In Jesus’ voice they hear God’s voice. When Jesus says, "follow me" they recognize their God calling them. In that moment they recognize that their own God stands before them and invites them to join him. In total wonder, they must have thought, "my God." An epiphany. When we acknowledge the wonder, the power, of that revelation, that epiphany, it is not so odd that they immediately drop everything and do follow.

They and others follow the voice of their God to a mountain somewhere in Galilee where Jesus sits down and begins to teach, "Blessed are the poor… Blessed are those who mourn… Blessed are the meek… Blessed are the merciful… Blessed are the peacemakers…" Wise and comforting teaching, memorable and thought-provoking words, but then Jesus says to the people, "Blessed are you." "Blessed are you. Rejoice and be glad. Blessed are you." And I imagine that the words were no longer just words, but that the people knew they were blessed. In that moment, they were no longer just listening to words, they were feeling and experiencing God’s blessing being given to them. God blessed them. Their God was there with them and God blessed them. And they knew that they were blessed. An epiphany.

Epiphanies still happen. The presence of God, the words of God, the loving touch of God are around us and offered to us every day. Certainly one place to meet God is in the Scriptures. They are the word of the Lord. But do you just hear them as words or do you experience them as God’s voice, speaking directly to you? I’d like you to listen again to the Lord’s words from Isaiah. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Imagine, not my voice, but a voice that carries the wisdom of all time within it. Don’t worry about anyone or anything around you. Focus your awareness on yourself and the words. Listen:

"You are my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon you. I am God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it. I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a light to the nations. I am the Lord, that is my name."

This is the voice of your God and mine.

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