Ephiphany's Promise and Challenge

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Epiphany is a time of discovery, of revelation. Saturday was the feast of the Epiphany for those who follow the western church calendar. In addition to being “an appearance or manifestation especially of a divine being” [1] it is also “(1): a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something (2): an intuitive grasp of reality through something (as an event) usually simple and striking (3): an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure b: a revealing scene or moment” [2]

I was struck by a thought in a textbook for the Spiritual Formation course I’m taking this semester. Marcel Proust said, “the real act of discovery consists not in finding new lands but in seeing with new eyes.” [3] Isn't this what epiphany is really about? May God give us new eyes with which to see.

[1] Meriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary, Online: http://merriam-webster.com/dictionary/epiphany, [7 January 2007].

[2] Ibid.

[3] Kenneth Boa, Conformed to His Image: Biblical and Practical Approaches to Spiritual Formation (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001), 60.

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