Drawn In
“I get it! Now I see.” These are the kinds of exclamations we utter when something shows itself and we perceive at last the value of what is there. We could say it is an epiphany. Now, these could be little things, but on the other hand, sometimes they are profound indeed.
Certain elements of the New Testament material are all about Epiphany. Traditionally, we embrace the Epiphany of the Magi seeing a star and knowing they must travel and find the figure announced by a mysterious star. The Epiphany is fully revealed when they see the child born to Mary and Joseph in the city of Bethlehem, not far from Jerusalem. (Matthew 1:18—2:12) This wonder, which we associate with the celebration of Epiphany, comes with another by tradition, which is the Baptism of Jesus. We contemplate the voice that announces Jesus: “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” The carpenter, now rabbi, is revealed as the anointed one when the heavens open, as though giving birth, when through that portal comes the Spirit of God, descending like a dove, alighting on Jesus. Epiphany!
There are more elements associated strongly with Epiphany, or the revealing of Christ’s divinity, by the early Church. Early theologians and bishops accentuate the first miracles of Jesus. For Christians, these acts shimmer as signs that the reign of God has emerged. The wonders that come with the realm of Jesus’s ministry are supernatural processes of healing and restoration. Demons flee, water becomes wine, blindness drops away, sound floods ears that once were stopped, and the sinews of weak limbs are sparked and grow strong. These beautiful acts of power show the divine identity of the loving one who performs them, and so epiphanies dawn in the hearts of those who encounter them.
Another powerful revealing: people are called by the Savior to follow. This challenge and privilege sweep in as epiphany, as he calls them—as they respond. Jesus begins his preaching at the Galilean seaside. He invites a few to accompany him as he launches words and acts that will change everything.
Peter, Andrew, James and John.
fisher-folk of skill and brawn,
shift your trade from net and wave
to burdened folk God means to save.
Your lives of three score years or four
these fish sustain, but there is more.
To endless ages shall you live
with what the Holy One will give.
Come follow me. I call you now:
step up to ride another bow
with nets that bring souls stuck in night
to live forever in the light.
Far down the road, should they hear,
I’ll call more folk to drop their fear,
swap for their load the yoke I give,
to learn of love from me, and live.
(dwp+ Feast of the Confession of St. Peter, 2023)
Jesus asks a lot of us; indeed, he asks for everything we have. But look at what he offers. Following in the steps of Jesus, in the embrace of the Author of love, we gain everything he is. He draws you into a life of proclamation because there is Good News to tell that you can communicate like no other. Each of us has unique opportunities that others will never have for telling of God’s love. We dare not let these moments pass. Pray this Collect from the Book of Common Prayer, page 215, Third Sunday after the Epiphany.
Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.