Christ has Come--Now it's Epiphany!
“Nativity with Cow,”©2021 Barbara Bjelland, pencil on paper
“Epiphany” is from a Greek word that means “manifestation,” “coming,” or “appearing.” Epiphany is the current season in the church calendar. The early church included the nativity during Epiphany, which celebrates God coming in the flesh to earth.
I want to share a few thoughts from a book I am reading, that relate to Epiphany and my drawing above:
Beth Bevis writes, that “early church theologians stressed that the incarnation should not be seen as condensation as the descent of God to man but as the lifting up of humanity into the divine life…The nativity enobles the lowliest aspects of everyday life: God chose to be born in a stable, with animals and shepherds as his first visitors.
Kathleen Norris continues,
“This is the glory, and the scandal of the feast we celebrate today...The God of Ages is warmed by the breath of cattle, and by his mother's arms.”[1]
Isn’t that amazing? I often remember that “God came down” to be with us. I often forget that God “raises us up” with Christ.
Every aspect of our lives matters to God.
“Journey of the Magi,” ©2001 Barbara Bjelland, watercolor on paper.
And, every person matters to God.
Epiphany also celebrates the revelation of Christ to the Gentiles, as magi-kings from the East came to worship this infant-King (Matthew 2:1-12). The prophet Isaiah foretold this, hundreds of years before Christ was born:
“Arise, shine; for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you…
And nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.”
(Isaiah 60:1, 3, 6)
Today, may you know that God has come down for you and that God lifts you up with Christ!
Prayer:
Dear Lord, whether shepherds or magi, may we bask in Your radiance. May we arise and shine with your Love. Amen.
[1] Pennoyer & Wolfe, eds. God with Us: Rediscovering the Meaning of Christmas (Brewster, MA: Paraclete Press, 2015), p. 118; 121.