Today is Epiphany, a day on which we celebrate the appearance of God in human form–the incarnation.

Although we celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25th, today we celebrate the first “appearance” of Jesus to the Gentiles. This marks his being seen by the Magi, the “three kings.” They symbolize the first non-Jews who saw Jesus and his expansion of the circles of people he would touch.

The word epiphany is used in the New Testament to refer to Jesus’s birth, but also to his post-resurrection appearances and even to his future waited-for appearance.

A related word is theophany, the appearance of God. This is God being manifest in a burning bush, or a pillar of cloud or fire, or speaking to Hagar or Abraham in the form of an angel. The epiphany of Christ is also a theophany, an appearance of God.

One definition of Theophany is an “unambiguous appearance of God” such that the person perceiving God has no doubt that it is God. Well, when do we ever experience an unambiguous appearance of God these days? For me, God does not speak out of clouds or bushes when I walk by. I have to look for God in much subtler ways.

There’s no star for me to follow. There’s no manger at the end of my looking. But there is a place for me to fall to my knees, to be overcome with awe. Or to cry out in need for a strong and reliable comforter.

Those are two times when I often feel God’s presence. First, when I’m around incredible beauty, and second when I feel a very great need. These two kinds of situations crack me open.

What opens you? What makes you have an epiphany of God? What kind of moment or situation helps you open to God?

Here is my Epiphany sermon from this morning at St. James, in which I teach about traditions of celebrating epiphany, reflect on my own experience of epiphanies, and invite people to practice marking the doorways of their homes in blessing, as is traditional in Eastern Orthodox and some Catholic churches.

I love learning different ways of honoring and encountering God through other Christian traditions.