FROM THE RECTOR'S DESK January
1999
Usually, when we come to the
end of the year, most of us have just about had
it!
From Thanksgiving through
New Year's Eve we've run around too much, driven too much, eaten too much,
spent too much, promised too much, forgotten too much. All that
too muchness is just too much!!
No wonder that so many of
us, half-dazed after New Year's Day, completely miss Epiphany. It's about all we can manage to just stop
for a little while to catch our breath.
So Epiphany means little more to us than the day we can take down the
tree, clean up the mess, and begin our descent back to normal.
Which really is a shame,
because within the whole season of Epiphany is found an enormously profound
declaration of Good News. For me,
Epiphany represents the very center of what our salvation in Jesus Christ is
all about.
It is easy to see why
Christmas and Easter get all the press.
From a historical point of view, we can hardly imagine anything more
astounding than God's becoming a human being, or that same human being rising
from the dead. But from the point of
view of the Gospel of Salvation, Epiphany has it all. Consider these Epiphany stories:
The Magi: Imagine this! Persian
astrologers, Zoroastrians, worshipping the true King of Kings and Lord of
Lords. The Jewish Messiah, the Second
Adam, is not just for the Jews, but for all the children of Adam. The Light of the Gentiles has come for us
all! Epiphany is the manifestation of who Jesus is and who Jesus has come
for.
The Baptism of Jesus: Imagine this! The sinless
one baptized for the remission of sins.
God not only became one of us in appearance, but He became one of us as we are. As one of us, as the second Adam, the ultimate human being, he
the sinless one was baptized on behalf of sinful humanity. But there is even more! In the preaching of John the Baptist,
baptism focused on repentance for the remission of sins. But in the experience of Jesus, baptism
included the anointing of the Spirit and the empowering of his human flesh for
the ministry of God on earth. Epiphany is the manifestation of how a
faithful person lives and serves in the life and power of the Spirit.
The Marriage at Cana (in Year C): Imagine this! Water into wine. Jesus transforms that which is most common and ordinary into that
which is both astonishing and extraordinary.
Epiphany is the manifestation of
our destiny -- ordinary humanity transformed by the power of Christ.
The Transfiguration: Imagine this! As the
second Adam, the ultimate human being, Jesus was transformed before the eyes of
his followers. Even his flesh and
clothing visibly radiated the Light of God.
Jesus shows us our destiny -- humanity glorified in the Light of
God. Epiphany is the manifestation of what we are becoming in Jesus.
May the hope of God's transforming power fill your
life this Epiphany season!
Rick +