I had an epiphany during mass celebrating the Feast of the Epiphany.

My Epiphany Epiphany

1/8/2017

First of all, I want to say that I am convinced that this "epiphany" is a result of me going to confession right before Mass. Confession rids your soul of sin and allows you to be more open to the Holy Spirit working in your life.

Yesterday we celebrated the feast of the Epiphany. We celebrated the 3 Wise Men reaching Jesus by following the star.

In Mass yesterday, our priest said something profound that I have never thought of before. At first, he reiterated the fact that Herod wanted the 3 Wise Men to find the child and return to him with the location so that he may go pay him homage. As we all know, after being warned not to return to Herod, the 3 Wise Men decided to go home a different way - on a different road.

Our priest noted that after encountering Christ, the 3 Wise Men began to travel down a different road. After encountering Christ, we need to travel down a different road just like the 3 Wise Men.

via GIPHY

As Mass went on I continued to think more about this.

After they encountered Christ, the 3 Wise Men were called to travel down a different road. When we encounter Christ for the first time, we are called to travel down a different road. After we encounter Him in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we are called to travel down a different road. After we encounter Christ in the Eucharist at Mass and in Eucharistic Adoration, we are called to travel down a different road. When we encounter Christ in other people, we are usually impacted by that in some way and we end up changing and travelling down a different road.

By different road, I mean we are called to not go back to our old ways. Our encounter with Christ challenges us to change our ways, start fresh, and go about things differently. We are challenged and called to abandon our old sinful ways of doing things and resolve to change. We are called to travel down a different road. A different path.

As was the case in so many Gospel accounts, people were impacted and changed as a result of their encounter with Christ. Zacchaeus's heart was convicted so much that he promptly resolved to give half of his possessions to the poor and repay those he had cheated four times over! Peter, James, and John's encounter with Jesus impacted them so much that they "brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him". These are just to examples of how an encounter with Jesus can have a massive impact on someone's life.

What do all of these stories have in common?

When I read and reflect on all of the stories in scripture where people encountered, spent time with, or were healed by Jesus, the one similarity they all seem to share is an open heart. For one to deeply encounter something or someone, their heart must be open. If one's heart is not open, the impact is not as deep or intense. If one's heart is completely closed, nothing can get in. When our hearts are closed to the Lord because of sin, hurts, pride, resentment, etc., we cannot truly enter into intimacy with him. In order to encounter Christ, our hearts must be open.

Having celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany at the beginning of this week, may we open our hearts to Christ's love and mercy like so many people have done before us. May we have the courage to open our hearts to the Lord, be vulnerable before Him, and let Him in. May we encounter Christ like never before - in a deeper and more profound way. May our encounter with Jesus, the newborn in the manger, have such a profound impact on us that we follow the example of the 3 Wise Men and choose to abandon our old path for a new way home.

Have a blessed week!

- Lance