Minilogue - January 2006
Lifted Moments
By the Rev. Bruce Johnson
January 6th is known as Epiphany in the calendar of the Christian liturgical year. In the Western churches it is remembered as the occasion on which the Christ child is manifested to the nations as represented by the visiting magi. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, it is celebrated as the day of Christ’s birth itself -- i.e., as Christmas. Either way, it is seen as a time of divine appearance or manifestation, a “shining” or “showing forth” of the Holy. That is what epiphany literally means, in Greek -- a “shining upon.”
Whatever one may think of this Christian Epiphany, I would argue that epiphanies - plural and with a small e -- are vitally important within the Unitarian Universalist tradition.
Our Principles and Purposes state that we draw upon many sources for religious inspiration, including, first of all, “direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces that create and uphold life.”
Our religious tradition, in other words, honors and values and draws upon direct personal experience as a primary source of spiritual authority. But not all experience is the same! In the words of William Channing Gannett, “The soul has lifted moments/above the drift of days/when life’s great meaning breaketh/in sunrise on our ways.” (Hymn #40, “The Morning Hangs a Signal,” Singing the Living Tradition) These “lifted moments” are what we might call “epiphanies.” Epiphanies are the particular, revelatory and memorable moments which shed light upon our more mundane, ordinary experiences.
In the 1960’s, the psychologist Abraham Maslow coined the term “peak experience” to describe such transformative moments. He investigated these experiences from a purely naturalistic, scientific point of view, and concluded that not only were they the source and origin of the world’s major religions - Moses, Jesus, the Buddha, and Mohammed, e.g., all had vivid and classic peak experiences - but also that they were fairly common occurrences among many psychologically healthy people today. An epiphany moves us emotionally as well as intellectually, and it impels us to ethical action in the world.
Maslow found that most, if not all, people had the potential for peak experiences, but that “non-peakers” tend to repress awareness of them when they do occur. Even when the force of such epiphanies is undeniable, many of us tend to keep quiet about them, for fear of being misunderstood, or even ridiculed. Strange as it may seem, it is sometimes more difficult to share the “lifted moments” of our lives than to reveal our pains and sorrows. But when we risk revealing to one another the stories of our diverse epiphanies -- we build and strengthen community, discovering new sources of courage and inspiration.