Epiphany Sunday

The Hidden God Revealed

by Chaplain Mike

Adoration of the Magi, Bassano

Truly, you are a God who hides himself,
O God of Israel, the Savior. (Isa. 45:15)

No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known. (John 1:18)

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I love the posture and the expression on the face of the kneeling wise man in Jacopo Bassano’s painting, “The Three Magi” (c. 1562) above. His look of utter incredulity as he leans in to get a closer look at the baby Jesus in his Mother’s arms captures the essence of Epiphany. The God who hides himself has made himself known, but in such a strange way! How can it possibly be?

Our God, heaven cannot hold him, nor earth sustain;
heaven and earth shall flee away when he comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed
the Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

(Christina Rosetti, “In the Bleak Midwinter”)

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I borrowed this post from The Internet Monk web site. Totally on the mark for Epiphany Sunday. In the calendar of the Christian year, Epiphany celebrates the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ. On this day Christians commemorate the visitation of the Magi to the Baby Jesus, traditionally associated with Jesus' manifestation to the Gentiles. Epiphany = revelation.