Epiphany

This Thursday is Epiphany.  It’s a day in the Church year that has mostly gotten swallowed up by Christmas and the New Year.  At Ferrysburg Community Church, we’ve not traditionally done a lot with Epiphany.  We mention Epiphany Sunday (this coming Sunday) and sing some Epiphany songs, like “We Three Kings.”  But other than that, it gets little attention.  Epiphany comes from a Greek word that means “an appearing” or “a manifestation.”  In the Greek language this word was sometimes used to describe the appearing of an enemy coming to attack.  Epiphany was also used to describe the dawn - the appearing of the sun.  

This is a powerful way to picture Jesus being revealed to the world.  We often think of Jesus bringing light and life to us, the people of God.  But imagine the forces of sin and death seeing Jesus appearing on a ridge, marching toward them into battle.  Picture Jesus, like the sun, breaking into the darkness with rays of light.  As great as it is to celebrate the birth of Jesus, Epiphany marks the start of business time.  Epiphany means that the battle has begun in earnest.  As we live out the drama of Christ’s life, Epiphany is a time to remind us that Jesus has declared war on brokenness and sin.  It’s on!  Light has come!

Christmas Letdown

The lead up to Christmas is a marvelous one.  So much preparation: gifts are purchased, decorations hung, tree trimmed, food cooked, clothes bought, gatherings planned.  It’s the equivalent of planning a small wedding each year.  As the day comes, our anticipation grows, our expectations grow, our hopes grow.  And nearly every year, Christmas itself is no match for these things.  The gifts disappoint initially or eventually.  The food - no matter how delicious - devolves into leftovers.  The people - no matter how much we love them - often leave us with a splinter or two if we’re not careful enough.  And so after Christmas we are left longing still.  We long for the things Christmas was not able to bring us or deliver.  Hope has not been quenched.  We are still waiting.

I believe that a Christmas is coming that will meet every longing.  There will be a Christmas that delivers beyond every expectation and hope.  It is the Christmas when Jesus returns to this world.  He will come not simply to announce his kingdom, but to bring it fully.  He will come not just with promises, but with fulfillment.  His return won’t just point to a day to come.  It will be that day.  In your every hope, longing, desire, and wish, that is the day - the Christmas - you are ultimately waiting for.  The Christmas letdown that you feel right now is perfectly appropriate.  It tells you that the real Christmas is yet to come.

Untainted

For many people, Christmas is the best time of the year.  The whole season is full of good tidings and cheer.  We seem to rise above the doldrums and embrace our better selves and the better parts of those around us.  It’s a time of hope, if only because we choose to believe that people are still good and, for a day or two, can channel their generous side.  But it’s not that way for everyone.  For some, Christmas is a miserable time.  Whether it’s because of loss or strained relationships or an aversion to crowds and chaos, some people dread December.  For them, Christmas is far from the best time of year.  It is the worst.

I’d like to suggest that both parties have got it wrong.  Both the “Whos down in Who-ville” and the “Grinches” are wrong for the same reason: they see Christmas from their own perspective.  They evaluate it based on how it affects themselves.  It’s the idea that Christmas is what we make of it.  Sort of like a baked potato.  The potato is just a platform for butter and cheese and sour cream.  The potato itself is rather tasteless and unremarkable.  While we may think that Christmas is what we make of it, we are very wrong.  Christmas is not simply a platform we decorate with generosity and gifts, family and food.  Christmas is the defining event in history.  It requires neither presents nor carols, neither relatives nor eggnog to be remarkable.  We don’t decorate the birth of Christ.  It decorates us.  We don’t make it good.  It makes us good.  Christmas is unenhanced by our revelry and untainted by our humbugs.  So don’t let yourself try to make the best of Christmas this year.  Let it make the best of you.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year?

You know the Andy Williams song, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”  It’s about Christmastime.  There is something special about this season.  Even I, though given to bouts of “grinchy-ness,” feel the excitement of celebration and cheer.  We enjoy the time with family and friends.  We cherish a few days off to eat and rest and give and receive gifts.  For those of us who belong to Jesus, Christmas has an even deeper reason for joy.  We celebrate the birth of a savior.

At the same time, I think we should recognize that for many this is not the “hap-happiest season of all.”  At the holidays many are confronted with loneliness, dysfunction, grief, and pain.  It brings hurtful family dynamics to the forefront.  Losses are magnified at Christmas.  If you struggle at Christmastime, I want to direct you to a much greater promise than presents and family and shopping.  It’s the promise of a returning Savior who will wipe every tear from your eye and make all things new.  And for those who are blessed to be able to enjoy this season, say a prayer for those who struggle.  When you pray before a family meal, remember those who will not be gathering with family for various painful reasons.