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| Summary: Epiphany is about the surprising and seeming illogical courses God lays out before us. God’s way is not the course of routine, of ritual, of tradition, of habit. And if we follow God’s will, chances are, our lives won’t take a logical course. While we search for meaning in the routine, God moves in an unexpected direction. Epiphany calls us to listen for and celebrate the unexpected and surprising paths God wants us to take. |
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| Summary: Jesus’ epiphany celebrates his manifestation to the world, but it also demonstrates how he was recognized for his unique role in salvation history. As Jesus was sent by God into our world and was recognized for who he was, so the Lord has chosen us to be his followers. Let us hear the Master’s call and willingly chose to follow him. |
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| Summary: Reason and what we can learn from the natural world can get us started on the road to Christ, but we need the church’s book, the Bible, to get the rest of the way there. |
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| Summary: The familiar camels of Christmas cards and manger scenes are mentioned in the First Lesson for Epiphany. Camels in reality can be tough animals to deal with. But human beings are also pretty tough animals for God to handle, always wandering away and resisting God’s call, as God’s dealings with both Israel and the Gentiles show. The fact that God does deal with us, that the fulfillment of God’s promises depends on God and not on our co-operation, is why there is hope for Israel and the Gentiles and the whole creation |
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| Summary: While each year, nativity scenes depict the wise men at the stable, their visit may have come as much as two years later. Who were these mysterious men? Where did they come from? Did they know their gifts would hold as much significance as the church places on them? We can still learn much from these men who came seeking and worshiping the king of the Jews. |
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| Summary: Succeeding at the sort of change represented by New Year’s resolutions requires not so much willpower as a particular kind of focus. |
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| Summary: The Magi’s journey to Judea and encounter with Jesus invites us to find true life in Jesus. This is a life that is open to all. |
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| Summary: The light came upon the Israelites who had suffered through captivity in Babylon. The light of Christ has also come upon the people living in other places of darkness today. This light shines brightly in Epiphany when we bask in the glory of the Christ child. |
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| Summary: We don’t want to have to live in darkness, and we long for light. The promise of the Isaiah text and the coming of the Magi point to the spreading of Israel’s light to the whole world. Those who come to Christ are able to see the world as it really is, and are called to carry his light to others. Because he is the light of the world, we are to be lights to the world |
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| Summary: Epiphany reminds us that Jesus Christ has come into the world as the Light for all humanity, and that nothing can extinguish this light. |
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| Summary: A good telescope brings distant things into focus. In somewhat the same way, the Bible brings Jesus into focus, helping us to learn what he has to say to us. In other words, the Bible enables us to have an epiphany. |
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| Summary: God’s light is shining — do we notice it? God is inviting us to discover new revelations — are we willing to be surprised by God? |
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| Summary: Every house has its rules, whether it’s for the way we play games, the way we serve burgers or the way we make each other family. In his letter to the Ephesians, the apostle talks about the “house rules” of God’s grace, which make us, regardless of where we’ve come from or how we got here, “fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus ...” |
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| Summary: The wise men followed God’s guidance perfectly, handled King Herod perfectly and brought perfect gifts. They are models for those of us who are looking for Jesus today. |
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| Summary: The traditional nativity set has it all wrong when we squeeze three Magi in between the sheep and the shepherds. It gets worse when we call them kings. What we know is that months or even years after Jesus was born, at least two sorcerers come from the East to present gifts to the young king of the Jews. They personify the idolatrous notion that the gods and humanity are controlled by the stars, which reveal their secrets to the initiated. They also represent the boundless will of the incarnate Savior to save everyone, no matter how lost. |
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| Summary: The wise men teach us to look for fresh epiphanies and to act on them. |
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| Summary: Our text promises that when Jewish exiles have returned to Jerusalem, the glory of God will come to the city, and through Israel, it will be a light to the Gentiles. That promise begins to be fulfilled with the coming of the magi and Jesus’ encounters with Gentiles during his ministry. The glory of God is fully revealed when Jesus is crucified under the Gentile Pontius Pilate and raised on Easter. |
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| Summary: The apostle Paul’s life sometimes reads as though it’s been lifted from a contemporary cloak-and-dagger spy novel. In today’s text he speaks of a mystery — or being a prisoner and of a commission and of being a part of a great plot to create a “one new humanity.” What’s going on? The good news is that what is going on is no longer a mystery! |
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| Summary: Many forces in human life can shatter families and ruin friendships. But we can defuse explosive situations by showing gentleness and patience, speaking the truth in love, and forgiving others as Christ has forgiven us. |
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| Summary: Ours is not a God of pain and suffering. Loss, grief and sadness are all part of this earthly existence, but God did not send the Christ child to bring pain. Christ came to bear pain, to experience all that it means to be human, and reorder and recreate it into something good. Our God is a creative spirit that moves over the chaotic void and organizes it into something meaningful and good. |
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| Summary: Imagine Mary’s postpartum experience in scripture, reading as though it were happening today. Bethlehem would be the site of a media storm unparalleled in its history: TV cameramen in the streets, talking heads giving interviews and every social media site lighting up like Christmas trees. Think now of the parents in this story: Total strangers — priests of another religion — are in their home giving their child gifts that are — to say the least — not age appropriate.
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| Summary: The people we call the “wise men” were moved to make a difficult journey to discover divine truth. What they found when they finally made it past Jerusalem — and the lying king there — and got to Bethlehem was a different king: one who was, himself, the truth. We can search for the Christ child today and discover his eternal truth for ourselves and others.
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