Song of Solomon 2:10–13 (NIV)
My beloved spoke and said to me: “Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me. See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me.”
CONSIDER THIS
Today continues the season of what’s known in the liturgical calendar as Christmastide (this is the “second day of Christmas”). This short period moves us on through the new year and to Epiphany on January 6. Epiphany essentially means “manifestation.” When the ineffable is made tangible, we call that a manifestation. What previously proved elusive is suddenly brought close. We often equate an epiphany with a sudden flash of insight, but that understanding misses the tangible nature of a genuine epiphany. We experience an epiphany, not only when we see things from a fresh perspective, but when we physically behold a reality that wasn’t there just a moment ago.
We have just come through the longer season of Advent, which is a season of waiting and anticipation. With the physical birth of Jesus, we transition now into a posture of beholding. The wait is over. In the bleakness of winter, we look upon the one who is the hope of all nations. The birth of Jesus transforms reality from the inside out. Our long nights of grief are given a sense of meaning. Our losses are not undone but begin to be seen as instruments of redemption that have hewn away our pride, and created space for compassion. With the arrival of Jesus, none of our circumstances are structurally altered, yet all things are now permeated by a primal light, and the shattered fragments have been brought back together. Jesus may not give us all of the answers, but he meets a deeper need by giving us a way to live in the face of uncertainty.
In this sense, Epiphany is not so much a season as it is a person. Jesus is the Epiphany. He is not the revealer. He is the revelation itself. In the lowliness of his birth, and in the radical submission of his ministry, Jesus makes manifest the character of God. He is the radiant, once-and-for-all reminder of God’s unswerving commitment to his creation, and he gives us hope enough to be holy.
THE PRAYER
Thank you, Father, for hearing the deepest cry of our hearts, and for responding by sending Jesus into our midst.
THE QUESTION
Can you hear the voice of the Beloved calling out to you in your darkness? What is he saying? What do the lowly conditions of Jesus’s birth reveal to you about his willingness to meet you where you are?
For the Awakening,
Josh LeRoy
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3 Responses
There is no other answer but Jesus. He is the answer. He sheds spiritual light in the darkest of dark because He is the light. His presence doesn’t change past heartache. He may not always change the current circumstance, but He will change us in the situation if we allow Him.
In my life, I have experienced two of the greatest miracles available.
A. Christ in me
B. Me in Christ.
1John 3:24
The one who keeps His commands remains in Him, and He in him. And the way we know that He remains in us is from the Spirit He has given us.
What are His commands?
John 14:21
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
We love him.
We love others.
And how do we know if we are genuinely loving Jesus and others?
How do you feel about your grouchy, unruly, hateful neighbor you consider as your enemy?
Yep, Jesus said to love Him as He loves him.
Now, that brings the light of love into the darkness.
I was once that grouchy, unruly, and hateful neighbor when I didn’t get my way.
Living a life immersed in drugs and alcohol will do that to a person.
Then, I met Jesus.
Staying 💪’ n Christ
Ephesians 6:10
Finally, stay strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.
Throughout last night a poem was forming in my heart. I wrote it down as soon as I got out of bed this morning. Although I’m unaware of the season of Christmastide, the poem fits well with today’s Scripture and post as it answers today’s questions.
There’s a voice crying out
In the wilderness of your heart:
“Behold the Lamb of God.
There’s more than routine religion.
Prepare the way of the Lord,
Make room for the risen Jesus.
Look. See. Surrender. Be free.
Experience God’s Spirit-led liberty!”
In my personal opinion, I’m not sure that today’s text provides the best foundation for the knowledge attempted to be conveyed. I’m in agreement with the conclusion that Jesus is our Epiphany of the true nature of God the Father. I just would have used a different text to provide the necessary Biblical support, such as either Colossians 1: 15-20 or Hebrews 1: 1-3 or John 14:6-7; Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”