We All Have Epiphanies!

Sermon-1 Epiphany B-Jan. 8, 2012

O Lord, we pray, speak in this place, in the calming of our minds and in the longing of our hearts, by the words of my lips and in the thoughts that we form. Speak, O Lord, for your servants listen. Amen.

Every season of Advent and every season of Epiphany we hear the story of John the Baptist. I have preached on John over 60 times in my career, or you might say, you have had to listen to my sermons about John many many times. So, I thought rather than subject you to yet another sermon about John the Baptist I would try to give you, THE BIG PICTURE.
Epiphany is the season immediately following the 12 days of Christmas. The length of Epiphany varies, from 5 weeks to 9, and ends at Ash Wednesday. The word Epiphany means unveiling or revealing or manifestation. And we usually talk about it as a surprise, or as it’s defined: “a sudden intuitive leap of understanding, especially through an ordinary but striking occurrence” .There are four stories that are associated with the season of Epiphany-the first one is the coming of the magi, the wise men. We always hear that one on Jan. 6. The first Sunday (today) after the Epiphany we always hear the story of John the Baptist baptizing Jesus. When Jesus comes up out of the water we hear God say: ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” This is an epiphany, a sudden intuitive leap of understanding for all the people standing around him at the Jordan. The 3rd story that is associated with the season of Epiphany is Jesus turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana. We only hear this story once every 3 years but it’s only read I Epiphany. And the last story is always read on the last Sunday after Epiphany-it’s the story of the Transfiguration-Jesus on the mountaintop being transformed into a glowing figure.
All of the stories told in Epiphany every year have to do with Jesus being revealed as the Christ to people who weren’t expecting it, or prepared for it. Epiphany is the season of surprises, of revelations, of the unexpected. There is one phrase that I love that I always associate with Epiphany, and it gets lost so easily. But whenever I hear this expression it always makes me stop and think about my own life.
The magi were wandering, unsure where to go, uncertain what they were looking for. They had lots of distractions on their journey. And then they found a child, and they left the burdens that they had been carrying at the manger. And the story ends with this phrase, “and they went home by another way.” And every time I hear that story, those few words jump out at me- they went home by another way.
Because whenever I hear those words I think, “that’s what Epiphany is all about-an event, an experience that changes our direction, changes our life.” Think back for a moment. Think about people in your life who have touched you, changed you, redirected you. You were going along on your life, and then you met someone, and your life was never the same-because you were never the same.
A year ago this month a part-time actress, Elise Ballard, published a book entitled, “Epiphany: True Stories of Sudden Insight to Inspire, Encourage and Transform”. Ballard went around and interviewed 50 well known people and asked them if they had ever had an epiphany, “a moment of great sudden revelation; an intuitive grasp of reality through something usually simple and striking; an illuminating discovery, realization or disclosure”.
She discovered that everyone one of them had had an epiphany-and easily remembered it. And afterwards every single person changed their life, they all went home by a different way. There was one more thing she learned. “After people began to take action on their epiphanies, circumstances seemed to fall into place so that they could take the next steps.”
Every story that you will hear in Epiphany season in church will be about someone who encountered Jesus and went home by a different way, in other words, they went away changed, they became different people. When did you meet someone and become someone else? When was your epiphany? How were you different afterwards? Think about the wise men, the magi, astrologers from the east who follow a star-and leave precious gifts in a barn. They have their “sudden intuitive leap of understanding” and their lives are never the same.
This season of Epiphany listen for the next 6 weeks, especially as you hear the stories of all the people who are transformed as they meet Jesus. Listen as disciples are called, people are healed, lives are changed. Listen as we hear stories of how people have , a sudden intuitive leap of understanding. And as you hear these old familiar stories, begin thinking about the epiphanies in your own life-the ways you have been redirected, challenged, changed. This is a season when we watch ordinary people going through their lives-when they meet God-and they are never the same.
This is the Epiphany season, a time when people follow stars and dream dreams. It is a good time for us to think about our own journey, our own pilgrimage in life. Listen to the stories of this season and start to wonder, am I ready to go home by a different way?