Epiphany

Sunday was the Day of the Kings, or Epiphany Sunday. Traditionally here in Portugal and neighbouring Spain, it is a day associated with the arrival of the three kings, and the revelation to them that the promised Christ child, the Son of the Living God, has arrived and appeared unto men.

Much more so in Spain than here, the day has come to be the Christmas Day of present giving and feasting, in place of December 25th. Which is interesting. The reason to celebrate and rejoice becomes then, not so much the fact that Jesus was born in the manger in Bethlehem, but that He is who He is, and has been revealed as such! “Epiphany” means appearance, or manifestation, or a sudden realization of a great truth. In fact this is what it has come to mean in our current use of English. A new insight or enlightenment.

Something we need, not just on 6th January, but again in again in our lives. To wake up in the morning, and have an epiphany - This is God’s day!  Jesus is alive, and reigns on high and in my heart! That makes for a more meaningful Christmastime than a box of tinsel and a tray of mince pies.

So, happy Day of Kings, then!