Grace Lutheran Church

From the Pastor

“Today, I had an epiphany!”

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Was that with cheese and waffle fries? It’s not a food choice but a life-changing breakthrough. It is an “aha” moment when things come to light. But what about the Day of Epiphany or the season of Epiphany?

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Let’s see winter, spring, summer, fall and epiphany. Okay, it’s a season of the church year between Christmas and Lent during “Cabin Fever” days. The day of Epiphany is celebrated on January 6, and the larger season underscores God becoming visible to humanity from the celebration of Jesus’ baptism to the transfiguration of Jesus, tied together by the heavenly acclamation, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased!”

By now we’ve packed away our Christmas tinsel for another year and have entered the time where the snow is no longer white but has been smudged with salt, sand, and the grit of winter. Christmas carols have turned to laments of “how long” as we bide our time and wait for winter to pass. However, living life does not stop.

That’s epiphany. God makes a visit or becomes manifest during these cold and uneventful days. It more than a one-day celebration of God’s “aha” moment. It is one that carries us through an often lonely and depressing time. I probably don’t have to tell you how cold it gets during this season, and I’m not talking about the weather. The loss of a loved one, the loss of a job, family issues and concerns are all events that take on a “coldness” that befits the season. Faith answers this chill over a series of days and weeks. God makes that promise manifest over the time it takes for us to be rescued. The “bah-ha” moments of a cold, winter season give way to God’s “aha” moment for us. Son of a gun—no, Son of God!!

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Gary