The Epiphany: The Manifestation of God - Fr Conrad Saldanha

EPIPHANY; ‎denotes the manifestation of Christ to the unbelieving world, with special reference to His appearance to the wise men of the East, who came to adore Him and bring Him presents (Matt 2:1-12)     

“The all powerful limitless God”, they say, “cannot be contained in narrow boundaries or human forms, figures, or images”; --such a God indeed appeals to the human senses! But what use is this God who is unlimited and all powerful and yet shows Himself as powerless in limiting himself in entering into the frailty of human existence, and in reaching out to His creation?

We have a God in Christ Jesus who by taking upon Himself a human existence has proved Himself as all powerful; By virtue of the very choice He has made, this unlimited God has now shown His power and glorious might, by limiting Himself. This limiting of Himself does not project Him as powerless, but makes His power shine forth all the more (cfr. Phil. 2:5-11, Jn.19:10, 10:18).  

Whereas, with human beings it is different: A child aspires to be big and strong, but rarely will a grown up desire to return to his childhood state. Even if one wanted to, the only reason would be, to‘re-experience’ the freedom and pampering of yesteryears; yet he would not want to lose the power that he now holds. “Am I a child that you treat me like this or Am I a child that you thought you could cheat me or I am no child” are the common phrases we hear from grown –ups. Even in old age when a person enters ‘a second childhood’ he would rarely admit it, and only after much resistance, frustration and complaining would resign himself to this state.    

 “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again; this charge I have received from my Father." John 10:17-18

We have a Saviour; the Crucified Christ, whose limitation in human form is not a sign of weakness. This may be our way of looking at things. His power to limit himself in human form is equally a manifestation of His great power and glory which never changes. His birth and subsequently, His death and resurrection are all a manifestation of this very power, in equal measure, all throughout his life here on earth.  We as human beings with our limited vision may begin by first seeing it in the resurrection!

The rain comes down and brings forth life in creation and it returns back as vapour and cloud to water the earth again. They lose their identity in order to empower and bring forth life on earth.

As Catholics we see this same manifestation of the power of God Almighty in the Sacraments, when Christ makes Himself manifests to us all, beginning with the Eucharistic bread and wine. ‘Take this…. This is my Body, This is my Blood’.  The unlimited can become limited (to our perception) but never loses His power and might! This same power is at work in us who accept and believe (Eph.1:19).

The Unlimited has deliberately limited himself to become one like us so as to take us to His realm of unlimited glory and power. The eternal Word dwelling for all eternity in the bosom of the Father is become flesh so that all flesh may be freed from its bondage to decay (Rom. 8:21). This can happen to us if we accept this in faith and then allow this unlimited power made manifest in Jesus to take charge of our lives and guide us. He is that light that dispels every influence of the dark reality that confines us.

Now we too, because of the power that is at work in us, can experience this power and live in sure hope. We can assuredly count on the promises of Christ: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (Jn. 12:24-25). We can now limit or curtail ourselves to the point of no existence, that is death and be confident of life unlimited/immortal. We can deny (limit) ourselves and take up the cross and walk in the unlimited freedom of God’s chosen children (cfr. Mt. 16:24 & Mk. 8:24). We can endure all pain for the love of him who sets us free.

Prayer: Come Lord Jesus, come and take charge of my life and reign in me, so as to lead me into Your glory. Help me to make a daily surrender and even die to myself so as to allow You to speak to my heart and mind. May I be obedient to Your voice and never flee from Your Holy presence.