Epiphany

We all have moments in which the spiritual meaning of ordinary things seems to break through to our consciousness.
The word, "Epiphany," which really means shining out, can be used for such moments. Let's think about the experience together.

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, my friends!

No, I'm not crazy... well, no more so than usual!

Today is the Twelfth and last Day of Christmas.

Tomorrow is Epiphany, or Kings' Day,
  at least in the western liturgical tradition.

Epiphany celebrates the arrival of the Magi, the Wise Men,
  or the Kings as they are called in Spanish speaking cultures.

They symbolise the shining out of the Newborn King Jesus
      before the whole world.

We have a wonderful symbol of Epiphany,
  a many faceted Moravian Star
     that hangs over the entrance to our sanctuary.

We hope to be a place and a community
    where the truth can shine like a star
       for all kinds of people to find hope, joy and love.

Epiphany is a "shining out" - a very good thing,
  not like the Shining of Steven King fame.

There are other bad shinings, too,
  like the Greek king over Israel
    who called himself Antiochus Epiphanes,
      meaning something like Antiochus the Shining One.

He thought he was personally a revelation of the gods,
  and his persecution of the Jews was so horrible
    that he triggered the Hasmonean rebellion
      and the need for a re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem.

There was not enough holy oil to keep the altar lamp burning
   for the eight days needed for the dedication of the Temple.

Yet somehow, the light continued to shine
   for the whole required time, 
     and that was the miracle of Hanukkah.

I want us to think today about the shining out of the truth,
    something that people of all kinds of religious persuasions -
         and non-religious persuasions - can agree
            is or would be a very good thing!

We all have those moments in which certain ideas seem to glow in the dark.

We all sometimes say, "A HA!"
  or, "Now I understand!"

It happens in every form of human endeavor.

A student of languages can reach a moment
    in the language we are studying
        suddenly has meaning
          instead of seeming like gibberish.

A student of mathematics can suddenly see the truth in a theorem.

It all begins to make sense!

Pope Francis experienced an epiphany just before 
   he signed the document to accept the papacy.

He said that his mind went blank for a moment,
   not unlike the experience of meditation,
      and he was filled with peace.

When the chamberlain brought the overwhelming vestments
   for his presentation to the city of Rome and to the world,
      he refused them, saying, "The carnival is over."

His moment of epiphany has changed the course of the Catholic church
    and brought a new focus on the needs of people.

So this morning we are speaking of the epiphanies
    that we all experience from time to time.

It's not the same as a revelation
   which is thought to have a source outside ourselves.

It is more like the sudden realization of something,
     like a light bulb coming on
         enabling us to see something
            that for some reason we were unable to see before.

We could say that an Epiphany
   is anything that sheds light on things.

A new light is even better.

Trying to see things in a new light is a wonderful discipline for the mind
  in any area of life.

Relationships that seem hopeless may suddenly take on new meaning
   if we can just see them in a new light.

Politicians who have always disagreed about everything
  can learn to work together
    if they can only see each other
      and each other's ideas
         in a new light.

Religious leaders can find that they have a lot more in common
  than they ever would have thought
     if they can simply learn to see each other -
         and especially each other's faiths -
            in a new light.

That new light is the Epiphany,
   the shining out of light upon anything
      in a new way.

As Unitarian Universalists, we have special appreciation
  for the new light of Epiphany,
    although we are by no means the only ones.

In the first place, our affirmation of
  the inherent worth and dignity of every person
    teaches us to respect every person's experience
      of the epiphanies
        that shed light on all of our lives.

No one is left out from the spiritual experience that we affirm.

Likewise, our Unitarian Universalist living tradition
  draws from the direct experience of transcending mystery and wonder
     affirmed in any all cultures...

The experience of transcending mystery and wonder
  is a universal part
      and maybe the most important part
         of the experience of epiphany.

Epiphany, January 6, can be a very important part of our UU
  celebration of the power of spiritual renewal
     in our congregations
         and in all of our lives.

However, way more important than remembering a particular day
  is the recognition of the epiphanies that come to us many times in all our lives.

Just an AHA! moment can be very significant
  when we learn to pay attention to it.

Sometimes it can be our own subconscious trying to get our attention.

Sometimes it can be the collective consciousness,
 a kind of universal awareness in which we all participate.

Even better, a personal epiphany can be a moment of transcending all of that.

It can be the kind of revealing awareness that takes us by surprise
  by enabling us to see something -
    or maybe everything -
        in a new light.

In our story for all ages,
  the little engine that could had a kind of epiphany
    in the realization that she could indeed pull her very important cargo
      up the steep hill.

Just the realization that we can indeed do something
  that we thought was impossible
    can be an epiphany for any of us.

Likewise, there can be the less pleasant
   but no less important epiphany,
     that we can no longer do some of the things
       that we used to be able to do
         and that we wish we could do.

If we think of that realization in terms of an epiphany,
     in terms of thinking of things in a new light,
         it doesn't have to be all bad:

The gracious acceptance of the changes that life brings to all of us
   can help us all from day to day.

We can be more pleasant people
  when we stop whining about the things we can't do,
    when we stop looking for someone to blame.

Then just maybe we can spend more time and energy
  enjoying the things we can still do
    and maybe even learning to do new things!

Yes, it does occur to me that now I am preaching to myself!

At my point in life,
  I find things that I cannot do any more.

Some of them are a source of considerable frustration to me.

Several of you know very well what some of those things are...

Yet I refuse to despair,
   and it's very important to me to realize
      that there are still things that I can do,
         and the joy of learning new things
            is not any less now than it ever was

We can all experience this kind of epiphany.

Life is full of shining wonder,
   and we all have moments that reveal that wonder to us.

Every moment like that is very important,
   and every opportunity to feel and share the wonder
      helps us realize the beauty of life.

Even if we only realize that we are not dead yet,
   that is a worthwhile thought!

Along with that thought may come the realization that death itself is not to be feared.

I heard something recently that brought an epiphany to me on that very subject:

We do not know precisely what to expect from death.

In death, we may find ourselves in the next great adventure.

On the other hand, death may simply be
  a sleep so deep that not even dreams will disturb it.

Neither of those possibilities sounds so very terrible to me,
  so some new light has shone on my reflections about living and dying.

In case anyone is wondering (and it's OK if you're not!),
  I do definitely believe that there is life after this life,
     but I understand that no one really knows very much on the subject.

Much of what the religions of the world try to tell us is just good marketing and sales.

That realization helped me not to take the speculations about heaven and hell too seriously,
  and it was a kind of epiphany for me in its own right.

Yes, I do believe in Heaven, in the possibility of great joy that lies beyond.

Sometimes I am asked if I believe in Hell.

My only answer to that has to be
  that I don't need to believe in Hell.

I can look around me at many things in this world
    and I can see all that I need to know about Hell.

Emily Dickinson in one of her poems
   spoke some amazingly insightful words
       that speak to my heart in a kind of epiphany:

"Parting is all we know of Heaven and all we need of Hell."

Here is the whole poem ... (It's not long.).


Parting by Emily Dickinson

MY LIFE closed twice before its close;
    It yet remains to see
If Immortality unveil
    A third event to me

So huge, so hopeless to conceive,
    As these that twice befell.
Parting is all we know of heaven,
    And all we need of hell.


We can have epiphanies all through our lives
  and in all the areas of our lives.

We cannot force them to come to us,
  but we can be open to seeing things in a new light at any time.

The very attitude of being open to an epiphany
  makes it more likely that we will experience one.

We can expect to see things in a new light
  if we maintain an open mind.

Nothing can change the realities of life as they occur,
  but we can change the way we experience them
    if we are always willing to see our lives in new ways.

The act of seeing in a new way
  is what is meant by the metaphor of seeing in a new light,
    and that is the heart of the experience of an epiphany,
       at least the way I am speaking about it.

Sometimes it really is as though we were seeing a new idea
   glowing in the dark for us.

More often, it is simply the experience of a new understanding
   of things that are already important to us.

Learning how to meditate can help us open our minds
  so that we are seeing things in a new light.

Meditation is just the quieting of the conscious mind
  so that it is open to new possibilities
    that may come to us from all kinds of sources.

Conscious thoughts are a distraction in most of our waking moments.

Of course, thinking is very important,
  and we don't want to stop doing it!

At the same time, our thoughts come and go,
  and sometimes one thought may be more important than another.

Trying to remember a grocery list can be very important
  when we are on our way to the store or trying to write the list down,
    but at other times it may be a distraction.

Just getting the mind and its many thoughts to be quiet
   so that we can sort things out
     can sometimes be a challenge.

That's when meditation can help prepare us
  to see things in the kind of new light
    that I'm calling an epiphany.

There are no guarantees,
  but if we are wondering about what to do
    when we face choices

or if we are facing one kind of challenge or another in our lives,
  an epiphany can be of great help.

If nothing else, we can begin to  understand what is really going on
  and how we really feel about it.

When we learn to set aside a few moments
   for calm reflection and mindful quietness,

we may just find that new light will dawn and shine on us
  just when we need it,

and that is what I would call an epiphany.

Amen
So mote it be
Blessed be