Epiphany – Claiming the Promise of God

January 6^th is Epiphany.  The Epiphany is a significant event in the church calendar. It is older than the celebration of Christmas, and its meaning is deeper. Christmas became a church festival in the West in the fourth century as a celebration of the anniversary of Christ’s birth. It commemorates the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ.

 The older Festival of the Epiphany is broader. It is not simply a celebration of the coming of the Magi. Rather, it testifies to the manifestation of God to the people through Jesus Christ. Thus it also encompasses his birth, his baptism, and his first miracle at the wedding feast in Cana in Galilee.

This gave people knowledge of the living God. The problem of knowing God was a substantial concern in the first century. Jesus disclosed who God is and brought the good news that God loves and cares for all people, but particularly those who mourn, are brokenhearted, poor, in bondage, or oppressed. Indeed, God wills that all people be comforted and made whole.

It seems that even today in the church we also are concerned to know God more fully. When the circumstances of our lives become overwhelming and the pain and suffering that life can bring bears us down, we need to be reassured that God has a particular concern for us when we are most in need.

We have been shown in Jesus Christ that regardless of the circumstances of our lives, God is with us always.  Indeed, God participates in our suffering and can transform even the most negative of situations in which we find ourselves. We find this assurance in the knowledge that Jesus Christ emptied himself of all worldly power and privilege to take on our humanity. In this, he experienced all the good and bad that life can offer and redeemed it by giving it meaning and purpose.

As we begin the New Year, let us claim the Promise of God and lead our lives with faith and love and courage, regardless of what life brings.