In the Church calendar of some mainstream Churches such as the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian, and others, Christendom is now in the season of Epiphany.
Epiphany is derived from the Latin word EPIPHANIA which literally means “to manifest”, “to show” and “make known”. Hence, during our Sunday Schools years back, we were told that the season of Epiphany in the Church Calendar is the manifestation of the Divinity of Christ, not only to the Jews but also to the Gentiles (all people).
Epiphany begins on January 6th, popularly called the THREE KINGS Day which is romanticized by the story of the Three MAGIs, which literally mean WISE MEN from the East, as narrated by the Gospel according to St. Matthew 2:1-14, who discerned the truth about the birth of the saviour by studying the landscape or movements of the heavenly stars.
And so, as the Gospel story tells us, it was the STAR that led them to the very place where the baby Jesus was born, where they worshipped him and gave him their gifts of gold, myrrh, and frankincense.
Epiphany, as I said, means the manifestation of the Divinity of Christ (his being God) to all people. Thus, Gospel Readings allotted for Sunday Services during this season include all events that happened in the life of Jesus, what was done on him, the things he said, and the things he did that would affirm his Divinity.
For example, during his baptism at the Jordan river, God affirmed the Godship of Jesus, when the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descended to Jesus and a voice from Heaven was heard saying, “this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” (Matt. 3:17). Or during a wedding at Cana, Jesus performed his first miracle by changing water into wine. But what is important to note is that while these events are affirming the truth about Jesus’s Divinity, they would become less in significance, or have no effect at all, without discernment on our part so that we could see the truth in them.
As I have said, it is because the three wise men discerned the truth about the birth of the Messiah that they did not mind the difficult and toilsome journey to a strange and perhaps unfriendly land in their relentless search for the baby Jesus by trusting only on the star that led them.
In short, their discernment of the truth about the baby Jesus liberated them from being confused, misled, and scared which is in contrast to the fear of King Herod who failed to discern the truth about the baby Jesus who was born King of the Jews. King Herod thought that his kingdom is at risk with the birth of the King of the Jews because he is imprisoned by his lack of discernment on the kind of King that would be born as foretold by the O.T. prophets. Therefore, in his fear, insecurity, and confusion, he created genocide by ordering the mass murder of all newly born male children in Bethlehem, which the Church now celebrates in its glorious tradition by calling it Holy Innocents Day on December 28th.
In a nation that is predominantly “Christian” the spirit of the Epiphany season should instill in us the virtue of discernment as we contend with issues of truth and falsehood that we meet, see, hear and experience each day. At this point in time of our existence, as we prepare for the May 9, 2022, National and Local elections, we cannot deny that our common life is now being bombarded by the avalanche and deluge of issues that have something to do with truth and lies.
Bloggers and trolls are now dominating the social media with their cache of naked lies, some of which come with ugly words, photos, and caricatures on some candidates. While no specific candidates and supporters could be blameless for this, it is nonetheless underscored that our common life is torn apart by this war between truth and lies. And while this war is “bloodshed less”, it cannot be denied to be viciously violent, because it creates animosities, hatred, and disharmony. Furthermore, these lies and falsehoods being peddled are corruptive of people’s minds thereby keeping them enslaved by false reality from historical facts.
It is only the truth that can set us free from the evils that lies and falsehood create that mutilate our common life and lead us to destruction by choosing the wrong candidates comes election day. Therefore, we must be discerning, meaning we must possess objectivity and a sound judgment to be able to distinguish whether the news, information, and stories about our current Candidates are right or wrong, true or false and genuine and fake so that we shall not falter in our choices comes May 9, 2022.
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