Epiphany

Three definitions of the word "Epiphany"
1. a Christian festival held on Jan. 6, commemorating the manifestation of Christ to the Magi
2. the appearance to man, in visible form, of a god or other supernatural being.
3. A sudden manifestation of the essence or meaning of something

We are used to thinking of the call of the church as being to reach out to the local community. Partly I guess this is because we have become used to seeing empty chairs during our services. Partly it’s because we are increasingly aware of the deep spiritual hunger of many who have not been brought up to go to church and do not see it as a viable answer to their need. We know we need to reach out. So there is almost a dream-like quality to the image of crowds and crowds of people from all nations, all walks of life actively seeking us out in order to find God and spiritual fulfilment.
It’s as much a dream now as it was in Isaiah’s day, as it was in Jesus’ day. Picture it. Wouldn’t it be amazing? Imagine this whole neighbourhood having an epiphany, a sudden manifestation of the meaning of life, and pitching up here on a Sunday morning.
How would we cope if people suddenly started flooding in?
Would we be able to help them with their search?
Would we understand their questions?
Would we know the answers to any of them?
Would we be overjoyed to see them pouring through the doors, or would they pose a threat to the way we normally do things here?
What if they don’t behave like we do?
What if they make a noise, or interrupt, or bring their emotional baggage with them?

When Simeon finally met Jesus in the temple after a lifetime of waiting he described him in Luke’s gospel as a light to lighten gentiles. We need to recognise that being a light to lighten the gentiles can actually be quite disturbing. If we do, we can start to understand something of the hesitation that the Jewish people will have had about welcoming the early Christians in the early days of the church, many of them totally ‘unsynagogued’. It becomes clearer why Peter and Paul needed to work out their disagreements. Reaching out is scary. It can feel threatening. But we can also feel the excitement of a church moving in a new direction, of a church filled with hope as well as challenge. A church that is alive, that grows, that changes, that becomes more as God wants it, that is active in the world.

Epiphany is the time we remember the Messiah being shown to the gentile world, and it is of particular significance to us here at St Anne and All Saints. The light of the world is for everyone; all groups, all nations, all cultures, all ages…not just those who we are familiar with, or approve of, or who know how to behave in our church. Since most of us here are not Jewish, that is we are gentiles, we often tend to underestimate the significance of Christ being shown to the gentile outsiders. Surely it just means to people like us?

No. The reading said “all assemble and come from afar”. We need to ask ourselves who the nations and kings drawn to the light might be in this area, who the wise men might represent today, who the outsiders are in this time and place.
To enter into the spirit of Epiphany we need to alter our perception until we understand that to God there are no outsiders, no person or group excluded from receiving his mercy.
We need to alter our mindset so as to be welcoming to those who we don’t know.
When we come to worship all of us, not just those on duty to hand out booklets, need to be actively thinking about welcome, about putting people at ease if they don’t know what our usual routine is or if they don’t seem to be behaving like we do.
What do people experience as they enter? Try imagining it is your first time here next time you come in. Really notice what you see, what you hear, what you experience. I know it’s good to see each other here as we gather as a family, but the gospel demands of us that we look beyond fellowship to inclusion.

It was God’s delight to reveal his baby son to some searching pagan foreigners in order to fulfil his plan that the good news would be for everyone, as predicted by Isaiah 600 years before his birth. Just imagine if today someone arrived here seeking God and they ended up leaving baffled because no-one took the time to show them where to sit or what to do or took an interest in their journey here or spoke to them after the service. Imagine if they left having not met Jesus in any of us here.

Each of us, not just whoever is at the front, each of us, is responsible for bringing about the appearance of God in visible form, of bringing an epiphany to those who we meet.
Who does he want us to reveal Jesus to here and now?
As we have sung about these outsiders, travelling many miles over difficult terrain in order to find the for themselves the world’s enlightenment, we would do well to bear in mind all those in our own times, in our own neighbourhood, who are spiritually awake and searching, many travelling over difficult terrain, and to ask what we can do to ensure that the lamps are lit, ready to welcome them.
What can we each do to show Christ to someone who seeks Him?
Not just here on a Sunday, but during the 167 hours a week when we aren’t here.
And then we need to resolve to do it.