Daily Epiphany

I am not sure if boxing up Christmas decorations is anyone’s favorite task.  I am always eager to open the boxes of time honored festive garlands and nativities, and never pleased to pack them away again.  There is no rule in our house for when the “greens” should come down, yet it seems that enjoying them until Jan 6^th, or Epiphany, has become our practice.  As Advent is marked by the expectation and anticipation of preparing to celebrate the coming of the Christ child, Epiphany claims its meaning as “to show, to reveal, to make known.”  In Western churches, it remembers the coming of the wise men bringing gifts to visit the Christ child, who by so doing "reveal" Jesus to the world as Lord and King.  The word is broadened in its nature as it is also defined as “an intuitive grasp of reality through something (as an event) that is usually simple and striking.  It can be the sudden comprehension of the meaning of something.”  History records that Albert Einstein was struck as a young child when given a compass…..he realized that some unseen force in space was making it move.  It is dramatic to science what that epiphany came to be.

When the last of the decorations are removed, what I see is a naked sort of starkness.  Gone are the reminders of family celebration and fellowship with friends and in their place is an unadorned plainness.  Initially, it appears a little too straightforward, without the ribbons and greenery enhancing the effect. However, our eyes soon become accustomed once again to the familiar and we settle in to what is known.  

After a little more than three weeks of emphatic reprieve from the interferon (such a marvelous gift!), the injections began again.  The side effects have returned gradually, and now seem to be in their full swing again.  Although the onslaught feels somewhat harsh, I pray that the rhythm of the days and my body’s reaction to the treatment will settle again into a familiar pattern. There is a temptation to whine about the deep discomfort and headache that take their toll, momentarily overlooking the “living hope” that has not faded nor failed over these last many months.  The beautiful epiphany of remembering, knowing, trusting, that we do “not pin our hopes (our desires and longings) on things that are in the world, but instead pin our hopes and desires on God” is an intuitive Truth. I miss feeling well, the clear mind and energy.  But as the garlands of physical capabilities are removed, the absolute inheritance remains. God may appear to be an unseen force, but He is everywhere that I see.

I think Peter said it best…..both translations convey the incorruptible reality of what the Magi came to reveal, and what is revealed repeatedly on this journey!
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,  to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials…”


What a God we have!  And how fortunate we are to have him, the Father of Christ Jesus!  Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in Heaven – and the future starts now!  God is keeping careful watch over us and the future.  The Day is coming when you’ll have it all: life healed and whole.  I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. (1 Peter 1:3-6)

Thank you, thank you, thank you, for the prayers and care that keep that Truth a focal point and comfort!