An Epiphany...

Every once in a while, someone will ask me why we do the things that we do in church. Many of those questions arise from some of the customs that we have or practice in the center of worship, such as the liturgical colors, or seasons. Much of the time, these questions come from folks who are not just inquisitive, but because somewhere along the way, the church has failed to educate and explain what we do and why.

The Seasons are the greatest example of this. While the rest of the world begins its secular celebration of Christmas with jolly old elves checking lists and decorating trees and cookies long before the leftovers from Thanksgiving have been consumed, the Christian Church quietly goes about its somber, soul-searching preparations for the coming of the Christ Child in Advent. And when the Christmas music of winter wonderlands, snowfalls, and bells jingling have all turned back to the regular secular music of the rest of the year on the 26th of December, the Church’s music turns to joyous angelic singing, shepherds being summoned, and heaven rejoicing for twelve more days because the babe of Bethlehem has finally arrived. And the greeting card companies have wise men visiting the stable, when there is no mention of that location in the Gospels.

It may even seem as though the Church has somehow gotten out of sync with the rest of the world, or that we have fallen behind the times! The reality is just the opposite. The Church has it right while the world rushes ahead. What is missing in the world’s approach? The capacity to be still, reflect, and meditate on what this most peculiar yet precious gift truly means for us. Those wise men – star gazers – astrologers – likely visited the child after he had grown into a toddler (See Matthew 2:13-18 for the rest of the story!). Their visit is the beginning of a revelation that this child Jesus is not intended to be for just a single group of people for a single generation. Because these star gazers were from another land and another tradition, their visit was a symbol that this child was intended to be for all peoples and places and times and generations…

Epiphany – a word that literally means “the manifestation of Christ to the world” – is the season that follows the twelve days of Christmas. It is the season in which the Church celebrates the baptism of Jesus, and the visit from these strangers from the East. And it is our opportunity to proclaim that this child, born out of wedlock in a barn in a backwoods village in a foreign occupied territory, is truly the Son of the Living God. And that means that our God is doing something fantastic – truly fantastic – out of a great love that knows no boundaries.

It has been revealed to you – it is your epiphany! Who are you going to share it with?

See you in Church!

Grace and peace,
Brad

The Birth of a Child...

It is interesting to see how new families adapt when a little one is on the way. From the moment when I buckled our newborn daughter into her car seat for the very first time, I knew that life would be tremendously different than it had been for the previous five years of marriage. She seemed so small in that enormous car seat! It was as if it had swallowed her up! So tiny, so fragile, so new.

Still, I remember that drive home. I think I drove slower than I had ever driven before – like I was carrying eggs in each hand as I attempted to climb a ladder! Jan was still recovering, and every bump in the road made me nervous and aware that this trip – and every trip hereafter – would be different.

Jan and I had been married five years. Oh, we had a dog that we had raised as a puppy, and practiced our parenting skills on that poor fella, but this was going to be for real. We had a daughter! And she was going to change things tremendously. Our life was going to involve a whole new set of priorities. Getting up and going out at the spur of the moment would now take at least a half-hour to get diaper bags, coats, blankets, bottles, formula, wipes, strollers…all gathered up and loaded into the car. Date nights would now involve advanced planning and insuring that the sitter could be there at the appointed time. And on and on…

Someone once said that the most powerful person in a family system is often the most vulnerable. I think that is true, especially when that person is an infant. The entire family’s lifestyle changes to accommodate that little one because it cannot fend for itself. Schedules change, priorities change, even people change, and as a result, relationships change. It is never the same again. And that is not always a bad thing.

A young woman discovered that she was expecting – rather unexpectedly – and it changed her life. She wasn’t married, and had never been with her fiancé. He was supposed to leave her, and she would be publicly humiliated, even tortured for her infidelity. He decided not to when he was told that this birth would be different. When she went to visit her cousin who would watch over her during her pregnancy, she uttered some fairly powerful words about what was happening with her, and how this child would turn the world upside down. Within thirty three years, that child would turn the world around, and we would never be the same again. The birth of a child has that effect.

This season, I pray that you will take some time, in the midst of all your holiday preparations, to dwell, if even for a moment or two, about how that one child has changed your life. I pray that you will contemplate how your life is different, more meaningful, more purposeful, because of that child’s birth. Then I pray that you will join my family and me as we celebrate his birth in one of our three Christmas Eve Services (5:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m. & 11 p.m.).

“I once was lost, but now am found…” The birth of a child changes things.

See you in Church!
Grace and peace,
Brad