22nd January 2024

Epiphany: bringing things to light

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
Isaiah 9:2 (NIV)

I enjoy visiting caverns and what always fascinates me during a cave tour is when we are deep underground, and the tour guides turn off the lights. It’s a darkness that is difficult to explain – a complete absence of light. Everyone anxiously waits for the light to return. Without light, there would be no way out of that darkness. This is what Epiphany is all about – the light revealing what has been hidden. John described Jesus as ‘the light of all mankind’ who ‘gives light to everyone’ (John 1:4,9). This means Jesus is not just the light to those who believe but to the whole world.  

This season of Epiphany points to three events: the magi visiting Jesus from the East, the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, and the turning of water into wine in Cana. ‘A star guides Gentiles to a future king, a voice identifies Jesus as the beloved Son and a set of wine-brimming pots reveals miraculous power. Epiphanies!’ ¹

During this season of Epiphany, we focus our attention on Jesus who told us to ‘come and see’ (John 1:39). We note the worship and the gifts of the Magi. We pay attention to his baptism and the revealing that he is the Son, in whom the Father is well pleased. We note the abundance and generosity of his first miracle. We see how he teaches his disciples. We watch him as he heals the sick and focuses on those who are hurting and lost. We watch and we learn what it means to bring light to darkness.

But Jesus wants us to do more than acknowledge who he is. The one who calls us forward to ‘come and see’, also tells us we are to ‘go and tell’. We too are the light of the world, called to go out on his behalf and show and tell others how to live in the light (Matthew 5:14-16).

Epiphany is a season reminding us that as we focus on Jesus’ life and mission, we are not only able to see his glory but to reflect it. In this way we make his glory known to others around us. Epiphany is a season where we encounter Jesus. It’s a time we see him through new eyes that are enlightened by his presence. It is a season for us to immerse ourselves once more into his story and ask God to reveal things we hadn’t seen before – to ask God for epiphanies. As we immerse ourselves into his story, and as we are enlightened by what we see and learn, we then tell the story. 

Epiphany reminds us that the message we share is not about us, it is about Jesus, the Master. We are messengers and mirrors of the light. When Jesus calls us the light of the world, it is because he is in us through the Spirit.

As Bobby Gross says: ‘We focus our gaze on Jesus in order to glimpse his glory, his transfigured beauty and power, his embodied grace and truth. And what we are given to see, we gladly speak of to our friends that they might share with us the light of Christ.’ ²

Study by Rick Shallenberger

This is an edited version of an article published on 5/1/23 in the Equipper magazine

¹ Bobby Gross, Living the Christian Year, p. 83.
² Ibid, p 24.

About the writer:
Rick Shallenberger is a minister in Grace Communion International and is editor of the Equipper magazine.

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