An Epiphany of Love

The theme of Epiphany is God’s gracious love breaking into the darkness of this world. It began a few weeks ago with the story of Persian Magi – astrologers (condemned by Torah) coming to anoint a child from a poor Jewish family as king. If we are honest that makes no sense. This whole story makes no sense. That is the point. Epiphany is a time to let go of our assumptions about God’s love and how that love might be.

On this Sunday in Epiphany we are offered Matthew 4:12-25. In response to John’s arrest Jesus withdraws and begins his ministry inviting people to repent. Too often we read repent as a moral command to turn from immoral living to more righteousness. But the Greek “metanoeite” is more accurately understood something like “Be of a new mind!” Or, perhaps as “Change your way of thinking!” Or most simply, “Wrap your mind around this!” Epiphany is about seeing the world, seeing God’s action in the world, and seeing ourselves in a whole new light. Literally. We hear the story of Peter and Andrew, James and John changing their way of thinking, their way of understanding themselves in the world, and leaving all that made sense of their lives. Epiphany invites us to remember our own moments of call, of changed thinking; to note the cost of that and the gift of that; and to know God’s inbreaking love in all that.