An epiphany is a manifestation and realization of a truth, like an awakening to something that was formerly unknown, an “aha moment”. Today is the feast of the Epiphany, “a feast day celebrating the revelation God in Jesus Christ, to the world”. This feast celebrates the three Wise Men, also known as the Magi, who followed a star to discover God hidden in an infant, born among the animals in a stable. The star is a light that is visible in darkness, providing some light so we don’t walk in total darkness. They followed that tiny star and watched it as it grew, getting bigger as they got closer, and then they found the greatest treasure.
We can imagine that their nine-month journey through many deserts and various lands was not easy, but they felt the need to fill a void in their lives – because who in their right mind would leave everything to follow a star? Their journey can be likened to every person’s human life journey. Within each of us is a yearning for something more, and many of us don’t know how to articulate what we’re missing, but we all know there is more to life. We might bury ourselves in work, unhealthy relationships, gambling, drugs and alcohol, fun and noise, or whatever will distract us from looking within to fill this inner void. These other things often lead us to problems and heartaches. Their fill doesn’t last long and the novelty wears off and they leave us feeling emptier. We, like the Magi, need to look to a higher sphere, to the more in life, and journey through the deserts, the ups and downs in life, as we search to fill the void that only God can fill. As God fills our void, then we will become a light, like the star that the Magi followed, and we will be leading people who are searching to fill their void, to God through Jesus. We may be a dim light but, as our void becomes more filled with God, we will become brighter, as the Magi’s star got brighter as they neared Bethlehem.
“The Fourth Wise Man” is a fictional movie about another wise man who didn’t make it to the birth of Jesus, but stopped to help everyone along the way who needed help. There is nothing in scripture to say there was a fourth magi, but there is also nothing to say there wasn’t. Each of us can be that fourth wise person, spending our life in search of the King, using our gifts and treasures along the way for those around us, as we search to fill the void. When we find Him, we will have an “aha moment”. (Watch the movie on YouTube.)
– Sr. Terry (Kateri) Beaudry
