Yesterday was the big day. Epiphany! The day when we celebrate the arrival of the Magi, having completed their star-led journey to the home of the Christ child, Jesus. Today, weather is preventing us from gathering to worship together. This is always sad to me, but, on this day when three visitors arrived at the home of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus it somehow seems fitting that we ponder the meaning of Epiphany in our own homes.
Epiphany
On Epiphany day,
we are still the people walking.
We are still people in the dark,
and the darkness looms large around us,
beset as we are by fear,
anxiety,
brutality,
violence,
loss —
a dozen alienations that we cannot manage.
We are — we could be — people of your light.
So we pray for the light of your glorious presence
as we wait for your appearing;
we pray for the light of your wondrous grace
as we exhaust our coping capacity;
we pray for your gift of newness that
will override our weariness;
we pray that we may see and know and hear and trust
in your good rule.
That we may have energy, courage, and freedom to enact
your rule through the demands of this day
We submit our day to you and to your rule, with deep joy and high hope.
**By Walter Brueggemann – Taken from his Prayers for a Privileged People (Nashville: Abingdon, 2008), p. 163.
On this first Sunday of 2018, this first Sunday of Epiphany, how is God being revealed to you? What is your hope, your prayer, for this holy season of revelation? What is it you are seeking?
This year, we are using Star Words to help guide our seeking. At random, we picked a star from a bowl. Like the star helped guide wise seekers from afar to the Christ child, these Star Words are meant to help guide our attention to the Holy in this new year. Keep ing our word as reminders, incorporating it into our conversation with God, and wondering if there might be something God is revealing to us through our word. (If you would like to receive a Star Word, request one by email here.)
These days, I find myself seeking more light. These winter days are short and the headlines of these days are full of darkness – fear, anxiety, brutality, violence, loss. So I find myself seeking kindness, gentleness, hope and love. Light that can calm the anxieties of my heart. Light that can warm the coldness of our world. Light that can guide me, guide us, on our way and that we might share so that it fills all creation.
In the Gospel of John, the very first thing Jesus says to his disciples is, “What are you looking for?” After they respond, he then says to them, “Come and see.” He invites them to see what it is they are looking for in him. This is precisely what we will do this Epiphany season. Through the Gospel of John’s stories of Jesus, we will seek all that we are looking for.
In this holy season, friends, come and see. Join us as we explore the life and teachings of Jesus, together, as a community of disciples called Ginter Park Baptist Church.
