Epiphany
January 6, 2019
Scripture Reading: John 1:1-14
He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. –John 1:10-14
Years ago, Star Trek did several shows about a guy, I think they called Q, who had many superhuman powers. He, for some reason, I do not remember, agreed to function on earth without using his extra powers and had a great deal of trouble adapting to a world where he could not revise everything around him to meet his way of being. The character seems to be exploring a very offbeat view of Jesus, not very agreeable, certainly not gregarious or kind and loving. The show challenged my thinking. Made me realize that God had a purpose in sending Jesus as a baby. It is a whole lot easier to learn culture from an early age. Starting as a child made Jesus more vulnerable to the things that tempt all humans and lead us astray. On the other hand, it also assures that one experiences the full set of emotions like fear and anger, love and disappointment without avoiding them by way of some superpower.
How much effort do we put into understanding what it means to live in poverty or live the life of a person of a different color or come to the realization that we are sexually attracted to someone of our same-sex or be rigidly paralyzed unable to care for ourselves? Jesus developed into a person with utmost empathy withholding judgment. Perhaps that is why he drew the assignment of Judge, he was born to impartiality.
We are called to follow Jesus’ example but like Q we have been steeped in preconceived ideas about what is normal and what is not and sometimes, for what reason I do not know, we mistreat those we classify as different. To follow in the footsteps of Jesus, we must first lay all of those ideas before God and let God filter out that which is harmful to others while filling us with God’s grace, enabling us to love with empathy withholding judgment like Jesus.
Prayer: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Amen,
(Psalm 51:10)