“Epiphany: Adult Rated Christmas”

(John 1:1-18)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.  What has come into being, in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.  He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.  He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.  The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him.  He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.  But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.  (John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’”)  From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.  The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  It is God the only son, who is close to the father’s heart, who has made him known.

            I think the Christmas season can be a real roller coaster ride of feelings and emotions and memories and energy and events.  By the time I get to this point in time, I can be feeling a bit depleted, …but, also, relieved.

            For me, over these past many years, the post-Christmas season is full of memories and nostalgia.  My sweet sister died on December 31^st of 1997.  She was only 51.  Then, in 2004 my dad passed on December 30^th.  So, during the week between Christmas and New Years, the curtain between life here on earth and the eternal life of the Spirit can feel very thin to me. 

            I know that I’m not alone in these mixed feelings.  Each of us has his or her own reasons for feeling the way we do at this time of year…. 

Given all this, though, Christmas is probably my favorite time of year.  If I took a poll and asked you what your favorite holiday is, I’m guessing that many of you would also vote for Christmas.  There might be a few votes for Easter and some for Thanksgiving.  Who knows, I might, instead, vote for All Saints Day because I love it so, but I suspect there would be no votes for January 6^th, the day of Epiphany.

            Now, I wouldn’t say that Epiphany is my favorite holy day, but I DO find a lot of meaning in this day and this season—the time in which we celebrate God’s “being made known” to us.

            Tradition has Epiphany to be on January the 6^th , that’s tomorrow.  It is the day after the “12 days of Christmas” are complete.  Contrary to some popular uses of the song “The 12 days of Christmas,” those 12 days are not the time before Christmas but the day of Christmas and the 11 days after.  So today is the 12^th day of Christmas.  To save you from going through all the verses of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” in your head and missing my sermon, the twelfth day is 12 Drummers Drumming.  So tomorrow, the season of Epiphany technically begins. 

            There are actually a lot of themes folded into this season.  Among them are the visit by the Magi to Mary and Joseph and the new baby Jesus.  The Wise Men followed the star, the light, to find the newborn King.  Their journey suggests to those of us who wish to follow their example, that we are to carry the Gospel message into all the world.  That’s something worth thinking about.

            Also, Jesus’ baptism is an important theme as it marks the beginning of his ministry in the Gospels.

            But, for me, the scripture text that speaks profoundly to this season is the one you just heard: the prologue to the Gospel of John.

            This famous passage is about the Divine coming as a light into our world of darkness.  I’m sure you noticed the diminishing daylight since September 21^st (the autumnal equinox).  But, then, on the winter solstice, December 21,^st the pattern turned around, and we have begun, little by little, day by day, to have more daylight.

            …All of this reminds me of our reading from John: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness could not overcome it.”

            Epiphany is about God’s coming to God’s people, God sending the light to us, in order to show us what God is like.  It’s about the Word, the Christ, coming to us, giving meaning to each of our lives.  It’s about taking the opportunity to reflect on the Word, on the Christ, who has been with God from the very beginning.  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” 

            This is Epiphany.  Actually it’s Christmas too, but I like to call Epiphany the “adult-rated Christmas.”  Because it has several levels of complexity (the phrase that Rick uses to describe certain foods!).  A scripture text with several layers of complexity….

            Christmas and Epiphany are two ways of celebrating the same thing—two ways of looking at the same, meaningful phenomenon.  In western culture, Christmas is our primary way of observing Christ’s entrance into our world.  I’m sure it’s the innocence and the charm of the Christmas story that has endeared it to hearts for all these centuries. 

            There are significant differences between the birth story that we hear at Christmas and the prologue to John.  These first few verses of John may not draw the hearer into the story in the same way as, “Now, the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way.”  We all know the rest of that story by heart.  It creates a picture in our minds.  We sing the songs in our heads when we hear the story.  You, like me, undoubtedly have memories of this story well-told over your whole life.

            The prologue to the Gospel of John, on the other hand, is quite different.  I wouldn’t begin to try to explain to a child what this means: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and Word was God.”  It’s not a picture.  It’s a concept—it’s a series of metaphors.  It’s for grown-ups.  It’s adult-rated because of the abstract nature of it.  It gives us insight into our God in a mature sort of way, in a beautiful and powerful way, but in an adult way.

            In the text we hear of the Christ–God-with-us, the Word–that has been with God since the very beginning, the one who created and creates life along with the Creator….

            And that life was the light for all people.  No amount of darkness can overcome it.

            This is insight into what God is like.  We NEED to know about our God who is full of grace and truth.  We NEED to know that, in spite of everything that goes on in a person’s lifetime—the good, the bad and the ugly, that this light continues to shine in the darkness, and no amount of darkness can ever overcome it.

            God has sent Christ to show us what gives life meaning.  God has sent Christ to be a bridge between God and us, to be our light and our salvation.

            …Most of you have read the book, seen the movie, or at least, heard about the story of Helen Keller.  In the book and the movie, the pivotal moment was when Helen’s teacher, Annie Sullivan, finally was able to break through the communication barrier that Helen’s blindness and inability to hear had created for her.

            Without somehow being able to name things and interact with others, Helen lived totally in her own world.  She was left with no way to relate to other people or to make sense of all the ideas and images that must have been inside her head.  She didn’t have a way to put words to objects or definition to ideas.

            Then suddenly her teacher helped her make the connection between the signs she was making in Helen’s hand and the familiar objects that Helen knew.  This opened a whole new world for Helen.  EVERYTHING suddenly had meaning.  She had been in total darkness before, but now that words were part of her life, there was light.  There was meaning.

            In the same way as words gave meaning to objects for Helen, so Christ is the Word for us.  As words give meaning to life, so Christ gives meaning to OUR lives.

            Christ personifies the ideal human life.  Christ IS life, the life that is the light for ALL people, the light that no amount of darkness can overcome.

            So, I can tell you as one who has experienced some moments of darkness in this season in the past, the light that is the light to ALL people sustains and encourages me.  This light is what I trust, even when I cannot see it.  I believe that the light of Christ, present from the beginning of time along with the Creator, is more powerful than any amount of darkness that our world and its craziness can produce.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it.  Thanks be to God….

            This, friends, is our year-round Christmas gift.  This is Epiphany.  …So, Merry Christmas and Joyful Epiphany.