Epiphany is the celebration of the truth that the God we worship through Christianity is a God who has revealed God's self to the world. Most clearly we Christians believe that revelation has been made through the person of Jesus of Nazareth, the Anointed One of God, the Christ. Epiphany is the Feast of the Magi, or Three Kings. It is a celebration of light bursting forth into a world shrouded in shadows and darkness.
Unfortunately I did not get up early this morning and walk to the bay to view the sunrise, which would have been a most appropriate way to mark the Day of Epiphany. But temps in the high 30's in Miami are way too cold for those of us who have lived here long enough we no longer have body memory of freezing weather. So, I stayed in my nice warm bed and gained an extra hour of sleep, which I never seem to get in sufficient quantity.
Yesterday, however, the 12th Day of Christmas, I did not receive "12 drummers drumming" but I did enjoy a "revelation" experience. The night before I was on-call for VITAS and had to attend a death at midnight, an event which lasted until 4 a.m. Again, my sleep was inhibited, so I slept late (until 9 a.m.) and decided I had to go for a walk before going to work, so I took my walk to "The People's Dock" late in the morning before noon. ("The People's Dock" was the name of the public landing that abutted the south side of the Deering Estate property in the early 1900's. Access to that dock is still public, even though Miami-Dade County Parks have expanded the Deering property southward beyond the "South Wall". Since my traditional walk destination on the bay has been closed for six months of renovation work, I now walk about a half mile further to "The People's Dock", which in many ways is actually a superior location from which to view Biscayne Bay, some mangrove islands, and of course if I get there in time, the sunrise.)
Anyway, upon arriving at the Dock, I paused before taking in the water view to peer over the gate in the South Wall of the Deering Estate, just to see what I could see and was surprised to be staring down into the face of a mother raccoon and her two babies. She was equally shocked to be staring up at me. They had been moving out from some heavy grass and I believe were in process of crossing the grassy driveway which proceeds from the gate into the property, probably moving toward the water, when I poked my head into their world! We stared at each other for a brief moment in shock, before she quickly recovered her wits and decided to retreat to the protection of the heavy grass, where I could no longer track her movements. Her two babies followed immediately.
It was the briefest of encounters, but was a marvelous experience. It reminded me again of the much wider, much wilder, creation with which we share this world. Even in what we think of as highly urbanized locations, nature still breaks in and exerts her presence. We share this planet with a far more diverse tree of life than we acknowledge on a daily basis. We are surrounded by a wide variety of birds, even amongst our tallest buildings. Any body of water attracts waterfowl more than we usually stop and appreciate. Though we try our utmost best through our fumigating and exterminating, there are far more insects in our personal spheres of movement than we like to think about. And higher mammals have not yet been wiped out by us, but instead continue to find ways to adapt to our omnipresent influence.
Beyond that, though, the experience also reminded me that I need to remain alert in life and be willing to "look over the wall" to the other side from time to time. (I am not advocating voyeurism, but a removal of the "blinders" I far too often wear as I move through my daily existence.) One never knows what lies just beyond the wall, or in the underbrush, or around the next bend. It is so very easy to develop tunnel vision and never look to the left or right as I move through life. How many "revelations" of the beauty and wonder and glory of God have I missed??? I need to be sure and keep removing the blinders and keep looking for God's next surprise!
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