Witnessing God: A Reflection on the Epiphany of the Lord

By Adam Stubitsch
Source: Public Domain

The Epiphany of the Lord signifies the indescribable feeling we have when encountering the power of God in our own lives. After discovering a bright star foretelling the coming of the king of the Jews, the Three Wise Men travel to Bethlehem to visit the young Jesus for the first time. Once they lay eyes on Him, the men are overjoyed and present gifts as a symbol of their worship. This classic Bible passage strongly conveys the feelings we as Catholics experience when we witness God. But exactly how do we see God in our own lives? Does it require a physical manifestation such as that in the form of Jesus, or does He take more subtle forms?

I find that God exists in every one of us, but we are only able to see Him appear when the host commits actions in His name. When the three Wise Men laid eyes on Jesus for the first time, it was their faith in Him that propelled them to offer gifts and praise their soon-to-be king.

When we witness someone acting selflessly for the good of their neighbors, we are not just simply seeing that person sacrifice their own interests for the greater good of others. We are experiencing God acting through them, and in doing so, we become inspired to do the same. It is this strong faith in the good will of the human race that has grown the Catholic community for centuries, and the reason we worship God, follow His teachings and sing His praises. We may not see God directly as the Wise Men did when they laid eyes on Jesus, but we feel Him in the selfless actions of our neighbors every day.