Issue 30 January 2026

Feast

Feast of the Epiphany

Fr Luke

The word epiphany means "manifestation from above." The prefix epi means "from above," and phany means "manifestation." On this feast, we celebrate the divine revelation in which we are given a glimpse of the Holy Trinity. It is one of the most profound moments in Scripture, where the fullness of God is revealed to us.

In this sacred event, we see Christ the Son standing in the waters, God the Father speaking from heaven, declaring, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," and the Holy Spirit descending in the form of a dove. This moment stands as one of the clearest and most powerful revelations of the Holy Trinity in the Gospels.

Each year, the Church commemorates this holy event and invites us to seek our own encounter: our own manifestation from God. Just as those present at the Jordan were blessed to witness this divine revelation, we too are called to approach this feast with hearts open to God's presence.

We are encouraged to ask God to manifest Himself in our lives, to reveal His love, His guidance and His grace.

Let us pray: Lord, open our eyes so that we may truly see You. Christ didn't need to be baptised, but He did so to give us a glimpse of heaven.

May we approach this blessed feast with faith, reverence and longing, asking God to help us see Christ.

From the pulpit

They know their Creator

Fr Anthony · The Epiphany Liturgy

One time, I went to give Holy Communion to a young man who was probably in his 30s or 40s.

When I went into his home, he had a fish tank. As we were praying the prayer to receive Holy Communion, I was standing about three metres away from the fish tank. While we were praying, the fish swam all the way to the front of the glass, towards the Eucharist, where the Body of Jesus was.

After we finished the prayer, the man very excitedly told me, "They never do that." The fish never do that, but they went in the direction where Holy Communion was. This is the fascinating part. In this icon, can you see the direction the fish are going?

Usually, if a person jumps into the water, which way will the fish go? They will swim in the other direction. But making the fish swim towards Jesus in His baptism is intentional by the iconographer. Why? We say in the Gospel, "All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made." So what is the iconographer doing in this icon when he has all the fish swimming towards the Lord Jesus? The answer is: they know their Creator. They are attracted to the Lord, their Creator.

It was really fascinating when I was visiting this young man and he emphatically said, "The fish NEVER do that." I love how it is in line with what the iconography of the Church teaches.

It is just one of the messages that are important to carry with us from today's feast: that one moment of attraction to the Lord can set us on a path that never ends and leads us to eternity.

It's kind of like the icon of the Transfiguration. Can you see Jesus there in His glory? He has Moses and Elijah before Him. This glory that He was in, Peter, James and John got to see it. After glimpsing His glory, they never left Him.

I reckon maybe relationships in the Church happen that way. Young men may look at their future wives and think, "I want to marry her." It's the start of a lifelong commitment.

Today, on the Feast of the Epiphany, we glimpse heaven and we make a commitment after seeing the beauty of the Lord. We pray and lift our hearts and ask, "Lord, give me just one glimpse of Your beauty to set me on a track where I will never leave You, where I will follow You all the way, Lord, into the Kingdom."

Parish life

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The details of our children's Liturgy are in issue 31.