EPIPHANY?  

COME AND SEE

This heading is the inscription on our sign out front of the church these days.  It is the season of Epiphany, the church season between Christmas and Easter.  Come and see speaks of invitation.  In the Gospel of John, Philip, a follower of Jesus’, invites his friend Nathanael to meet Jesus.  He tells him that he is the One that all the people were looking for and that he’s the real thing!  Nathanael, however, has his doubts, don’t we?  “Can anything good come out of this,” he asks skeptically.  Rather than debate or argue with his friend, Philip says, “Come and see.”  Or as we might say, “Check it out for yourself.”

I want to invite you to “Come and see” us at Tansley.  We are excited about this time of year!  (no, we’re not crazy – who doesn’t love January?)  The reason is that we are collectively having an epiphany!  Epiphany means to ‘reveal’ or ‘make manifest’ and at this time in the church we’re drawing our sights on Jesus.   At Christmas God promised to send us his Son and didn’t disappoint.  By this time in January, Jesus is all grown up and he is revealing more and more about himself and God’s purpose for the world.  The message is one of hope, love, and possibilities. 

I imagine that most readers have had some kind of “epiphany” in their lives; that moment when something seems clear and understandable.  We could all use a few more of these experiences in these uncertain times today.  And when it comes to subjects like God and Jesus and faith and church, we all could use a little more illumination.  Is God real?  Do people really believe?  If God is real, what difference does it make in my life?  And you have your questions.