Bethlehem Lutheran Church
The Heart of Bay Ridge
Sunday Service 10:30am
4th & Ovington Avenues
Brooklyn NY 11209
718.748.9502
Dear Members and Friends,
The Epiphany season this year takes us all the way to the end of February. Are you excited? Are you filled with expectation and joy? Will you be anxious to open your Celebrate every Sunday to find out what the scripture readings will be for another Sunday in Epiphany? Or, quite honestly, are you thinking to yourself that you have no idea what the meaning or focus of the Epiphany season is all about? Yes, Advent prepares us for Christmas. Lent prepares us for Holy Week and Easter. The Pentecost season accentuates God’s Holy Spirit active in our lives. But, Epiphany, what is it?
My “Manual on the Liturgy” doesn’t make Epiphany sound very important. It simply states that, “The Epiphany season serves as a bridge between the birth of Jesus and his passion.” It begins with the story of the Wise men (Magi) coming to pay homage to the newborn king, and it ends with the story of Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain. Little emphasis is put on this season in the church year.
This is a sad commentary on a church season that is actually very inspiring and meaningful. During Epiphany, we celebrate that the one born in Bethlehem is a light to all nations and significant events in the life of Jesus are highlighted. We read of his baptism, his miracle at the wedding in Cana, his return to Nazareth where he dramatically reads from Isaiah and declares, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” We read of the miraculous catch of fish convincing the disciples to leave everything to follow Jesus and we have Jesus’ radical new teaching in his sermon to the multitude.
The imagery of light is significant in the Epiphany season, so during this darkest time of year, we are reminded that it is Jesus who dispels the darkness. It is Jesus who shines his light in our lives. It is Jesus who has the power to turn the darkness of this world into light. No one else has the power to do this, only Jesus. Epiphany is about light, revelation and glory and it reminds us that Jesus truly is “God with us”, Emmanual.
The word “epiphany” is defined as “a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.”
Something ordinary happens that makes a light bulb go on in our head and suddenly we discover something extraordinary. During the Epiphany season, we discover that the humble birth of a baby in Bethlehem completely changed the world and our perception of God. The true light, which enlightens everyone, came into the world. That light is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Welcome to a season of insight, a season of light, a season of God revealed in Jesus.
In the Lord's service,
Rev. Paul H. Knudsen
Pastor Paul's January Message
Bethlehem Lutheran Church ® | 4th & Ovington Avenues, Brooklyn NY 11209 | 718.748.9502
A member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
