The word ‘Epiphany’ means the manifestation of a God in human form. Epiphany celebrates not only the adoration of the Babe of Bethlehem by the wise men from the East but also our own call to Christ in the gift of faith and our surrender to Him in response of faith. We shall be united with all men of goodwill who are seeking to find Jesus in their daily lives; we shall pray with them and for them that their search and our search for Jesus in our life today and every day of our life may be successful.

The story of the Magi teaches us something important about faith; the faith is God’s gift to us revealing Himself and His plan to us, that faith is not the product of human scholarship or the accompaniment of social status or prestige, that faith is not and cannot be imposed upon any one but can be given to the willing seeker. The wise men from the East sought for the Messiah-King; they struggled hard to find Him. How many must have been the hazards and the set -backs, not only physical but also psychological and spiritual, they had to face in their search.

On Christmas night, we received the Babe of Bethlehem, our God with us. Today we are in fact celebrating man’s response to God’s call and His long and arduous search after the hidden God. The story of the Magi is our story, the story of humanity. Each one of us, our history itself, is led by the star of the Saviour. We are all searching for God. Our star is the yearning of our hearts for freedom, for goodness and bliss, the regret that we are weak and sinful men. Jesus who is in our hearts, in our history, is the star. He is at once our star and our goal.

But Jesus is not there all bright and glorious at the beginning of our lives and of our search; but as we venture out into the dark alleys and by-ways of life, constantly asking: “where is he who is born king of the Jews?” gradually his figure emerges. At the end of this search, at the end of life’s journey, Jesus will be revealed in all His glory and He shall be our reward, and we shall lay before Him all our treasures, all that we have acquired along the path of life.

Sr. Apollonia HC
St. Joseph Convent, Aquem Margao.