[Pearls Ep 153: Bringing Sunday into the Week.]
We’re continuing our reflection of the Epiphany and epiphanies in our own life.
Epiphany is the conjunction of epi and phany. Epi means something like on, above, at the surface. Phany is manifestation or appearance. Putting these together means the appearance of something that is already right there, out in the open, at the surface.
An epiphany is often something hidden in plain sight. Of course it’s more than that – it is, especially, an encounter with Christ, and so it is deeply illuminating.
But for today we’re looking at the “right before our eyes” aspect of epiphanies.
It’s often our simple humanity that blinds us to what is “right before our eyes.” For example, and this certainly describes yours-complicatedly, some of us have a tendency to complicate things.
Take Christ’s calling of Peter – featured in one of last week’s homilies. Christ asks that amazing question, “what are you looking for?” Amazing, because it is the Creator of the Universe asking it. I don’t know about you, but I have a devil of a time getting answers from technical support on the phone, “please press or say ‘one’ … ” and on and on. Here, Peter has the Creator of the Universe saying, “You seem to be a little lost. How can I help you?” Live tech support, from the King of Kings.
Peter at least catches on and says, “where are you staying?”
But we can imagine what happens in Peter’s mind after that, because we see it play out with the Apostles. They start wondering, “what’s my mission?” … “what’s Jesus going to put me in charge of?” … “will I sit at His right or His left?” … “what special powers will I have.” And on and on.
All that they needed to do is to follow Jesus, one moment at a time.
Another way we might miss what is right before our eyes, is from the busyness of the world. Here we have the classic example of Martha. Poor Martha! Too busy with housework to recognize that all she she was called to do was focus on Jesus instead of worrying herself over the presentation of the bread and oil and cheeses.
The bottom line is that many times God has epiphanies ready and waiting for us, but we miss them through the worldly cares, anxieties, and our own foibles.
This is one of the great blessings of committing to daily mental prayer. That time is a guaranteed encounter with Christ. I imagine you’ve had the experience on certain occasions that when you read your scripture for meditation, it is as if God had ordained that passage just for you. You’ve probably heard the words many times before, but that day they are alive in a new way and seem to speak to exactly what is happening in your life. Happy epiphany, and many more.
Blessings on your journey with Christ –
Steve and Karen Smith
Interior Life