Epiphany is the day and the season of the church year when we patiently watch and listen as God is quietly revealed before us once again. Sometimes, even when we try hard to do so, we just don’t see God in our everyday lives or in the events of our troubled world. Epiphany gives us the time and the resources to watch, wait, listen, look, anticipate, and discern the light, life, and truth of the Lord’s presence in our midst.
Contemporary observances of Epiphany include the coming of the wise men with gifts for the Christ child and the baptism of Jesus. The season concludes with Transfiguration Sunday, when the church remembers the radiant vision of the disciples who saw Jesus’ garments turn bright and they heard a voice from a cloud that overshadowed them saying, “This is my Son, whom I dearly love. Listen to him!” (Mark 9:7).
Epiphany is the time when the church gathers to remember and reflect on the mighty acts of God in the birth of Jesus Christ. As we watch and wait for the light of Christ to overcome the darkness, we see the Christ child who will become prophet, healer, teacher, and savior. Much of the story remains to be told, but the biblical readings for Epiphany remind us of the direction in which this one sacred life is moving. Here was life at its purest and best. Life lived as it should be lived. Life that came from God, walked with God in the world, and would one day be fully with God in the world to come (John 13:3). The life of Jesus is our light and model for how we too may live. As we recognize the image of our true humanity in the life of Jesus Christ, we also begin to understand that we have come from God, are invited to walk in faithfulness with God in this world, and one day will be welcomed to our eternal home. There we will still be with the God who loves us beyond our capacity to fully understand.
From A Guide to Prayer for All Who Walk with God by Rueben P. Job, Norman Shawchuck and John S. Mogabgab. Copyright @ 2013 by Upper Room Books. All rights reserved.
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