Isaiah 60: 1 Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. 2For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. 3Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
Light is a symbol for God's presence.
Light is what the Wise Men sought. They followed the star; they found the Christ Child.
May we all seek the light this year.
As I have thought about these passages this week, the word Epiphany rises to the top more than Light. What is an epiphany? It is 'an experience of sudden and striking realization.'
Have you had one of those lately? I will never forget the day in small group 3 years ago it hit me that I had been living my life in envy and jealousy of others. All of a sudden I confessed it to my friends and it was over. I let go of it completely. Every now and then it tries to sneak back and I remember that day of letting go; of my Epiphany.
There have been several others throughout my life but that was the most recent.
When was the Epiphany for the Wise Men? When they saw the star in the East? Or when they found the Young Child? Or just all of the above? I'd like to say it's when Herod knew nothing about it. They realized he was a different kind of King. Not one born in a palace or to privilege, but in an out of way town to economically challenged parents.
Epiphanies are not something we can really seek. We can seek Christ; and in that seeking he will give us the experiences of sudden and striking realization. But they hit when we are not expecting them.
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