Epiphany

January 22, 2021

Scripture Reading:
1 Corinthians 7:29-31
I mean, brothers and sisters, the appointed time has grown short; from now on, let even those who have wives be as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no possessions, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.

Paul realized that we would not know the time of Jesus’ return. While he noted that the appointed time has grown short, he indicated it did not matter because our commitment to Christ is from now on. That still applies today.  I confess the second coming is not something that concerns me. I have even jokingly said that Christ might be waiting for us to do our work in building God’s Kingdom before he returns. Of this, I am sure God is calling us to be the Body of Christ in the world today, and I think when Christ returns, he would like to rejoice in our progress fulfilling that call.

 Do we really understand what it means to be the Body of Christ? Perhaps as we start a new year, hopefully, we will reach the apex of COVID and soon be conquering it. We are experiencing a change of federal leadership, a good time to be reminded what it means to be a part of the Body of Christ. There are many ways to do that. Re-reading the four gospels and seeing how Jesus modeled his love for us might be an excellent place to start. Several years ago, I read about a meditation practice where one puts themselves in the role of people in Bible stories and envision how we would respond to Jesus. I wonder if it might be beneficial for us to put ourselves in Jesus’ role. What would we have said to the foreign women who asked Jesus to heal her daughter (Matthew 15:21–28)?  What would we tell the rich young ruler (Mark 10:17-27)?  Try it. Be honest. Try to envision some of these characters in our world today. How would Jesus respond to them?

Prayer: Lord, let this winter be a time of self-evaluation to see how closely we follow your example. 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.