Awakenings

by Father Thomas Keating

Celebrations of Jesus' Presence

Chapter 24

Epiphany

When you read this you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to human beings in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit, that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 
(Eph. 3: 4-6)

    This feast is a study of the manifestations of Christ in his divine nature. It is clear from the readings for this day that the liturgy has three important epiphanies in mind. In each of these appearances Christ manifested his divine nature in and through his humanity.

    Somehow the divinity of the child was manifested to the Magi. Somehow the divine nature of Christ was manifested to John the Baptist and his disciples at the river bank of the Jordan. Somehow his divine nature was manifested to his disciples when he changed water into wine at the marriage feast of Cana. What is the significance of these divine manifestations the liturgy has picked out to celebrate on the Feast of the Epiphany? It is obvious that the Church is hoping that in the course of the celebration of this Christmas-Epiphany cycle we too will be awakened to the same perception of the divinity of Jesus. How that will happen, when it will happen, how profoundly it will happen--this is all part of the mystery. But it is happening.

    The grace of Epiphany is the call to become divine. Christ's birth as man is nothing less than the visible expression of his eternal birth as the Word of God in the eternal silence of the Father. Of course, in the Father, silence is the fullness of everything. This silence--fullness becoming aware of itself--is the Word, God's Son. Epiphany is the celebration of the grace of this eternal birth in us. This is effected, after the pattern of our Lady, by our informed consent.

    The substance of the question that the angel Gabriel put to Mary was: "Are you willing to become the mother of God's Son?"

    How could she be the mother of God's Son without in some way becoming divine herself? Thus, the real question the angel asked was: "Mary, will you consent to become divine?"

    A second question seems to be implied: "Will you consent to manifest God in your body?"

    You would think that anyone would jump at the chance of becoming divine while still in this life. But we are scared to death of such a prospect. Even Mary and Joseph, the two who were best prepared, hesitated to become involved in the mystery of the Incarnation. Although there is something in every human being that reaches out for unlimited life and happiness by becoming one with God, there is also something in us that is afraid of being squashed by his transcendence. Of course, God is infinitesimal as well as infinite, gentle as well as powerful. There is no danger of his stepping on us. Like the hart leaping over the mountains in the Song of Solomon, he is more surefooted than any creature.

    Our Lady is the heart of the human response to God because her consent is the source of everyone's consent. We will never consent to God as fully as we can until we understand what her consent really meant. She gave the most practical advice of all time in her offhand remark to the waiters at the marriage feast of Cana. "Do," she said, "whatever he tells you." That is precisely what she did. To do the will of another is, in a sense, to become the other. To do God's will is to lose one's own separate identity To consent to the fact of God's interior presence is to know where you came from and where you are going. It is to know who you are.

    "Do you consent to become divine?" That is the question asked of us today.

    The second question is more concrete. "Will you consent to express me, your God, in your body?" That is scary! To be God in everything we say and do and are! Such is the radical consent that our Lady gave. The Church, in her irrepressible ambition for each of us, invites us to do the same.

This chapter is taken from the book Awakenings by Fr. Thomas Keating. You can obtain a copy from the Bookstore.  See Awakenings