Psalm: Psalm 29
Old Testament: Genesis 1:1-5
Gospel: Mark 1:4-11
Epistle: Acts 19:1-7
Well, we are officially in the time of Epiphany in the Church
Calendar. Epiphany is the time of the year when we celebrate God revealing
himself to us through many ways, but primarily through Jesus. From the beginning
of creation, God has been active and engaged in creation, revealing himself to
humanity. The day of Epiphany, more specifically, has traditionally celebrated
the Wise Men who came to Jesus as a baby to bring him gifts in worship.
Thereby, they reveal Jesus’ kingship to the world. So it is interesting that this
week our Gospel reading comes from the same passage as the second week of
Advent.
I owe some of this post from the sermon I heard today in Church, which was interesting because he preached an Epiphany sermon without ever using that word or explicitly mentioning the Christian Calendar at all.[i] Mark’s Gospel begins not with Jesus’ conception or birth but with the ministry of John the Baptist pointing towards the One who is to come. Within the first 11 verses, Jesus is also baptized by John as many others were doing at the time. But when Jesus came out of the water, something unique happened; the Spirit descended like a dove and a voice declared “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.” This is the first clue that in addition to this story being one of those classic Advent stories about “preparing the way,” it is also a story about Epiphany. The Spirit of God descended and revealed right at the beginning of his ministry that Jesus was the Son of God, doing the will of God. Each Gospel begins at the place where the writer thinks the beginning of the unfolding of the revelation of Jesus lies, be that Jesus’ conception, birth, or even the genealogies where Matthew starts.
But the pastor today ended in such a way that I immediately thought
of Epiphany. He wondered if John the Baptist, knowing that he would be
executed, would still speak out about sin and call people to repentance. His imagined
answer was that John would probably say we should have done more and that he missed
chances where he could have been faithful to God in other ways. The fact is,
the pastor said, we know so little about John other than then his brief
interactions with Jesus and the fact that he was executed. And perhaps that is
the point! John’s life was meant to point not at himself and his wonderful
ministry. John’s purpose was to point to and reveal the Messiah. John lived out
the Epiphany message, before people were even celebrating Epiphany.
John’s testimony is an example to us. The Wise Men we
celebrate on Epiphany and others across the pages of Scripture and history all
lived in this Epiphany spirit. They say, “It is not about me, and my work; let
me tell you about Jesus.” This is what Jesus calls us to. He calls us to
pick-up our cross, die to self, and follow him. Jesus himself lived this type
of lifestyle. Jesus continually pointed others to the Father. His life,
ministry, death and resurrection were in obedience to and for the glory of the Father.
Jesus calls us to point to him, God incarnate, as a way to reveal who God the
Father is.
In this season of Epiphany, let us not seek our own agendas or
glorify ourselves. Let us rather orient our lives so they point towards Christ
to the glory of God the Father. As Jesus himself, we do this not on our own
power, but through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. It is significant
that Jesus publically received the Spirit at the beginning of his ministry. Jesus lived a Spirit-filled life. Thanks
be to God that we also have the Spirit to guide and strengthen us. Let us live a
life worthy of our calling in Christ.
Grace and Peace.
[i] I
was at First Church of the Nazarene in San Diego this morning and Dee Kelly,
the Sr. Pastor, preached.
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