Epiphany 2009
January 2009
As you all know Epiphany means the ‘manifestation of a god.’
Today we celebrate the manifestation or revelation of Jesus Christ to the Magi or the wise men from afar.
The manifestation of Jesus to the shepherds on Christmas night represents the manifestation of Jesus to the Jewish people.
The manifestation of Jesus to the Magi at the Epiphany represents the manifestation of Jesus to the rest of the human race or as they say in the Bible, to the Gentiles.
Being a Christian is manifesting Jesus Christ to everyone I meet, in on way or another.
This is done by how I think and act and what I say.
Some religious groups or churches insist that their members do this by house to house visitation or by preaching publicly in the street or market place.
This may appear very difficult to our way of thinking, but after the initial plunge one can get used to it very quickly and even enjoy it.
Today I will propose a way of manifesting Jesus Christ to others which at first glance appears easy but on the long run is far more difficult.
I propose that for the new year, we, that is you and I, manifest Jesus Christ to our marriage partner, children, parents, siblings, relatives and friends by being attentive to, fair with, forgiving & supportive of, non judgemental, kind and generous towards them at all times.
This is something we seldom advert to. Over the years I can get into a way of treating those closest to me which is unkind, dismissive and even downright rude.
Very likely I do not see this myself because I am so used to it but visitors see it and it puts their teeth on edge.
If I try this I will very soon find that it impinges on me in a big way. It impinges on what I regarded as my ‘rights.’ It impinges on the way I ‘like’ to do things. It impinges on what, up to now, I definitely regarded as the ‘only way’ to do things. It impinges on the way I acted, up to now, towards my marriage partner, children, siblings or parents.
This is always a mighty shock to the system and few can sustain it for any length of time before sliding back into the old comfortable rut, with a sigh of relief.
Unfortunately, this is what Epiphany requires of you and I.