In the Margins: The Epiphany, Pay Attention

The notion that the world is going to hell in a handbasket is nothing new—it can be traced back at least as far as Plato. Yet, since World War II, this notion seems to have taken on new power. From those post-war years of nuclear threat through these days of pandemic and ecological crises, racial violence and internal division, each generation seems to feel more sharply the grip of anxiety and dread, and to find more elusive the hope for which our hearts long. 

Yet, it is into just such darkness and despair that the Word of the Lord comes to us. Comes in the guise of weakness, but with irresistible strength. Comes to illuminate us, and liberate us: “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

This week the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Epiphany—“the shining forth” of Christ into the world. In the gospel, we hear about the star shining in a vast, dark sky, which guides three people into the presence of the Son of God: three seekers, whose only qualification is their willingness to look up and pay attention. 

Moreover, we should remember that Epiphany is not finished in this one event. Rather, the light first seen by the Magi, is shining even now: shining in the humility of Francis, who accepts vaccination to safeguard others, and lunches with a transgendered man because he is a brother in Christ. It’s shining in the women and men of Discerning Deacons, as they lovingly engage in dialogue for the future. And it’s shining in the people of St. Ignatius who reach out to refugees at the border, and pack lunches for those on the streets. It is shining in every act of love we give or receive, whenever we pay attention.