Exhortation, Sunday after Epiphany

Last Sunday was the Christian feast of Epiphany, which commemorates the visit of the magi to worship Jesus. The word “epiphany” means “manifestation,” and the theme of this season is Jesus’ manifestation to the world. Jesus comes as the seed of Abraham, but He also comes, as Simeon said, as a “light of revelation to the Gentiles.”

Our readings during this season focus on the various manifestations of Jesus as the King of the Gentiles – to the wise men, at His baptism, at the Mount of transfiguration, to the disciples on the road to Emmaeus, to Mary and others after His resurrection from the dead.

Jesus continues to manifest Himself to us, not in His flesh but through His various ordinances and in the power of the Spirit. Each week, we come to worship so that the Lord can manifest Himself in the preaching of the gospel and in the breaking of bread. Every worship service is an epiphany.But the Lord’s manifestation to us in worship is not isolated to this moment of the week, but is intended to fill the world with the manifestation of the Lord. We encounter the Lord here in worship so that we can be trained to encounter Him everywhere. Every worship service is an epiphany, so we live every moment before the face of God.

Sometimes, we ignore the Lord’s presence here, but more commonly we acknowledge His presence in worship but don’t practice His presence in our day to day lives. We are on best behavior in worship, but use worship as a screen to hide our sins elsewhere. Like Israel, we think that the Lord will be pleased no matter how we live, so long as we bring Him mountains of burnt offerings.