In the past, some scholars believed that in the early Church, the Nativity (or Christmas), the Visit of the Magi (or the Epiphany), the Baptism of Jesus (a theophany) and the Wedding at Cana (yet another theophany) were commemorated on the 6th of January. Over time, these developed into separate events in the liturgical calendar. Once again, we have a thematic kind of a homily because we know everything or almost nothing about the Magi except their famous offerings: gold for the Shepherd-King, incense for a Priest-God and myrrh to prepare the Redeemer-Prophet for His mortal death.
Perhaps we can dwell on the notion of manifestation or showing forth. It is not the ghostly or the horror movie type. Rather it is of the divine revelation in which God is shown to the world and this has implication for each one of us. In the Epiphany, the wise men were able to recognise Jesus whom they had been searching for. For us, our epiphany or theophany is that God shows Himself to us and through us He reveals Himself to the world. Will the world be able to recognise Jesus in us? This is definitely challenging as Gandhi pointed out. “I believe in Christ but I do not believe in Christians”. A slap on the face indeed but it illustrates what it means to be a Christian and how frequently our behaviour does not measure up to our belief. A good example would be as simple as being mindful in the manner we park around this neighbourhood.
The truth concerning performative contradiction is our lack of awareness. We might not realise that our conduct in a way negates or invalidates what we profess or claim to believe in. It may not be wilful but still, it feels like a form of hypocrisy to the observer. Therefore, the often-repeated accusation that the Church is hypocritical should not surprise us. Everyone is a hypocrite because everyone is a sinner. But, we seem to have forgotten this existential reality and instead, we have unconsciously assumed a construct which is sinless, as if everyone were immaculately conceived.
Within such a framework, our reaction to sin arising from our fallen nature is that we are often taken by surprise that people are flawed. And our reaction to failing imperfection may come across as “enlightened”. Take a look at the performing arts where leading actors are celebrities we look up to. In the matter of public behaviour, some who are permanently offended will judge a past action of an actor using the criteria of present-day standards. There seems to be an unwritten rule that one should never have sinned in the past. Once a blot has been discovered, the actor is supposed to apologise for doing something which was in the past acceptable but is now in the present unacceptable.[1] If not an actor, a public figure like a politician. The minute a politician is discovered short of his calling, he should resign. We esteem that as accountability or professional standard, believing that it is an enlightened response. How many of these celebrities or politicians have had to apologise for the wrong thought they had or expressed when they were young and found out now? Better still, “leaders” apologising for their ancestors’ behaviour!
Is there a more sober kind of spirituality that is more in touch with our fallen nature? There is, in fact. The sacramental system is tailored to fit in with our brokenness. Our depraved nature on its own is incapable of doing anything for itself. Instead, it needs grace to be lifted up onto the plane of a supernatural life. The more we fall, the more we need God. Hence, in His infinite wisdom, the Lord has left us, through His Church, the Sacraments. They are His personal help to us in the ascent to holiness.
Sadly, the world thinks otherwise. The more we fall, the less we need the Sacraments. After all they are “ineffective”. As a result, we need to rely on ourselves. This self-reliance that believes that it is possible to achieve supernatural life on our own volition is Pelagian. The simple truth is, without the Sacraments, we can never go to heaven.
This is indeed a loaded assertion. Almost arrogant because it discounts the others who do not have access to the Sacraments. How about those who, through no fault of theirs, have not been baptised? Such a statement only makes sense when we accept that the Sacrament of Baptism is the ordinary means of salvation intended by Christ.[2] At the cusp of the Ascension, He commanded His Church to go and baptise all nations using the Trinitarian formula. It was not a suggestion and furthermore, He added in John 6, “If you want eternal life, eat my flesh and drink my blood”. There was no equivocation about the necessity of the Eucharist for eternal life.
In a way, the Epiphany in which Christ is manifested to the world can be linked to the challenge of living the sacramental life to its fullest. Why? We are witnesses to Him despite our sinfulness or brokenness. An “immaculately” conceived world is not really a perfect world. Rather, it is a world steeped in despair. How many of us have reasoned that the Sacrament of Confession is useless simply because we continue to sin and are canonised in a particular habit of sin? In our despair, it does not take much for us to relativise the necessity of the Sacraments and by extension, the Church for our salvation.
The gap created by our performative contradiction should invite us to embrace a more vibrant sacramental life. We need more of the Sacraments and not less. Chesterton remarked that the Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried. It explains our insipid or tasteless witnessing. We are neither here nor there because we have no faith that the Sacraments are powerful.
Finally, Monday or tomorrow is the Baptism of the Lord. It is an important theophany in which the Blessed Trinity is revealed through the baptism in the Jordan of the 2nd Person. What is the point of manifestation, that is, of an epiphany or a theophany if not for the attraction of people to God? Indeed, God becomes more attractive if we live a more convincing life. As St Therese de Lisieux said, “The value of life does not depend upon the place we occupy. It depends upon the way we occupy that place”. Thus, the Epiphany, together with the theophany of Christ’s baptism are meant to carry us into the ordinariness of life, no matter who we are, a Tan Sri or a Tong Sampah Collector and no matter where we are, in a tower or on a tree. Who we are and where we are, in our encounters with the world and the world that encounters us, Jesus Christ is manifested through our thoughts, words and deeds. The Sacraments, properly and faithfully received, are there to help us narrow the gap between what we believe and how we behave.
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[1] The Black Minstrel Show used to be entertainment. Today, it is called “black face” and considered to be highly offensive. Some of us might recognise the toothpaste brand, “Darkie” which has since been rebranded as “Darlie”. The point is “standards” do evolve and change. What we canonise today as the “standard” might be considered primitive 50 years from now. Perhaps, judging should be a little bit more nuan
[2] If there is an ordinary means, there must be an extraordinary means. We are bound by the ordinary means because that is what God has intended. God Himself is not bound by that means.
