Epiphany
Celebration of God
Manifested in the World
January 6, 2015

 Scripture Reading: Genesis 1:1-5

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

The structure of the liturgical year is not biblical per se and not followed by all Christian churches, but it establishes a tradition of seasonal remembrances that rather follow the example set by the Israelites. They identify seven feasts to commemorate their lives with and through God: Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Pentecost, Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles. The beginning of this Jewish year of celebration is not the New Year but the feast of Unleavened Bread—the preparation time for the Exodus, God’s most profound act in their history. The beginning of the Christian year is marked by what is called Advent, the preparation time for the coming of one who will bring us healing and reconciliation—the birth of Christ.

The Christian year liturgical components are Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Ash Wednesday, Lent, Easter, Eastertide, Pentecost, and what is called Season following Pentecost, but what I call Living in the Spirit. Of all of those times Epiphany is probably the least familiar to Protestants by name but not by practice. It begins with the celebration of the coming of the Magi or Wise Men, which is often cast as the recognition of God’s inclusiveness of all God’s children. Epiphany is much more than that. It is a time to review the life and example that Jesus set for us while on earth. It is a time to see what Jesus’ priorities were, how he related to God, and how he loved. This is an important time because we are called to love like Jesus and it takes a lifetime to learn all the facets of his love.

Prayer: Lord during this time of Epiphany open my whole being to a greater sense of the ministry of Jesus Christ and show me ways I can best emulate him. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.