Prof. Matthew UMUKORO

The word ‘epiphany’ is defined by Google as “a sudden, insightful realisation or a spiritual manifestation” of an idea or event, thus giving clarity to what used to be considered obscure. It derives from the Greek word ‘epiphaneia’, meaning ‘manifestation’ or ‘appearance’, relating to any sudden moment of awareness or insight. But in the religious context, it refers to the manifestation of a deity, and in the specific Christian context, the revelation of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, as our Messiah, in fulfilment of age-old prophecies.

        Although the Epiphany of Our Lord occurred as a sudden event, it nonetheless observed a gradual process of consolidation through endless proselytism and centuries of conversions. It began with the anonymous Magi who were guided by the revelatory star to journey from East of Palestine in search of the newly-born baby king to pay their homage to him in Bethlehem, and present three significant gifts to him (see Matthew 2:1-12). The Bible is silent on the exact number of the Magi, but the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, suggest that there could have been only three of them. The Wise Men were not necessarily astrologers or astronomers, as some have speculated, but they were unquestionably holy men of God with prophetic insights into celestial events, who were able to recognise the mysterious star by divine instinct not possessed by ordinary people. Herod the Great got wind of this sudden birth of a new king which threatened the future of Jewish monarchy, and decided to nip the ‘danger’ in the bud by the bloody massacre of innocent male children two years and below, in Bethlehem and environs, when the returning Magi cleverly dodged him in obedience to a divine order received through a dream. Joseph, also warned in a dream, had fled to Egypt with the new child and mother, where they remained until the actual danger was over (Matthew 2:12-21). Thus, Herod was one of the earliest responders to the Epiphany, although in a negative and pejorative sense.

        We can now address the fundamental question: why the Epiphany? As we learn in the story of Creation, God created the World by means of the Word, the nucleus of which was located in the Garden of Eden (presumably somewhere in modern-day Middle East), which was conceived as an earthly paradise. Adam and Eve had no need of any epiphany as they knew their Creator too well, and were in close interaction and communication with Him. But the devil, in the guise of a snake, caused Adam and Eve to disobey God, thus bringing about fundamental estrangement between God and humanity. Over time, mankind lost complete touch with God who now became a distant and mysterious Creator, whose existence was only speculated upon through the physical and natural worlds He had put in place before the creation of Adam and Eve. This led to the rise of idolatry and paganism, exhibited by the worship of inanimate objects such as rivers, trees, and mountains, to satisfy the inherent religious instinct in human beings. There was a vague awareness of a Supernatural Being existing somewhere who was either uncaring or unapproachable. Meanwhile, mankind wallowed in sinfulness, as the murder of Abel by Cain followed the first sin of disobedience by Adam and Eve, with no injunctions and commandments whatsoever to restrain their descendants from committing more ignominious actions against one another. It was largely a lawless and permissive world, exemplified in Sodom and Gomorrah, and God eventually flushed out the first world, leaving only those preserved in Noah’s Ark for the sake of continuity. It became imperative for God to make Himself known to mankind in the interest of humanity.

        God thus inspired and empowered select individuals known as prophets to reveal Him to His creatures through preaching and prophesying future events, particularly the coming of the Messiah to liberate mankind. The most significant figure in this new dispensation was Abraham (rechristened by God from Abram) the anointed father of many nations.  When he was 99 years old, God appeared to him in a vision and said: “I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect (Gen. 17:1). This was the beginning of God appearing to select individuals to make Himself known, and assign them specific tasks in the rejuvenation of humanity. This process had to be gradual and painstaking, with initial focus on the Jewish tribe before recognition began to spread to the rest of the world, who were first regarded as the Gentiles. God struck an everlasting covenant with Abraham, saying: “And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly” (Gen. 17:2). Abram (as still then known) fell flat on his face, not daring to look at God’s sacred face. A vision is a powerful physical encounter with the divine, as against a mere spiritual encounter in a dream. That God chose to interact with Abraham through a vision underscored the depth of their relationship. Abraham proved to be worthy of this enormous trust when he demonstrated absolute willingness to sacrifice his son, Isaac, in unquestioning obedience to God’s request, designed to put him to the test. 

One other notable figure with whom God had a physical encounter was Moses in the process of proclaiming the Ten Commandments from Heaven in the  midst of thunder, lightning, trumpeting and a smoking mountain which scared off the people, but Moses fearlessly stood near the intimidating darkness to receive God’s message for the people (See Exodus Chapter 20). Most of the divine encounters in the Bible were usually done by proxy through angels appearing in a dream or vision to pass on God’s message as happened with the Annunciation to Mary in a vision by Angel Gabriel, God’s favourite emissary. Many other Old Testament prophets from Elijah to Daniel played significant roles in revealing God to humanity in the process of converting souls. In the New Testament, the greatest prophet of the Epiphany was John the Baptist, Christ’s closest associate and forerunner, who also administered the exemplifying Baptism on Christ in River Jordan during his thirtieth year. Christ himself was the last prophet who incarnated to fulfil all that had been written by all the previous prophets from time immemorial.

Thus, the liturgical celebration of the Epiphany of Our Lord on the twelfth day after Christmas (usually the first Sunday in January) is in commemoration of the First Advent when God the Father finally decided to send Jesus, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, into the sinful world to redeem mankind and save those that are willing to be saved. Jesus has sufficiently revealed himself during his thirty-three years on earth, and performed the supreme sacrifice to end all sacrifices. When Jesus promised mankind, through his Apostles, that he was going to prepare heavenly mansions for all deserving souls, doubting Thomas wondered how they would know the way. Our Lord hence authoritatively proclaimed: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one cometh unto the Father, except through me” (John 14:6). Jesus is the sole redeemer of mankind, and no saint or angel, regardless of his or her divine status, is entitled to share in this glory, other than to pray for humanity. Jesus was the one who solely bore the physical and mental agony of redeeming the world, and bringing God to the full knowledge of mankind.