Happy Ephiphany

Well, Christmas is over (again, depending on how count the days). Last night was Twelfth Night (any big Shakespeare buffs out there?). Today we celebrate Epiphany. Well, maybe we don't do much celebrating of it, but Epiphany it is, nonetheless. Epiphany was actually celebrated in the early Christian church long before Christmas came into play. In some traditions, it is still the day of emphasis during this time of year. For some, it is when the presents are given.

Epiphany, meaning manifestation, marks the revelation of God in human form (especially in coming to the Gentiles as well as the Jews) through His Son, Jesus. Epiphany notes the visitation of the Magi (however many actually came--the Bible doesn't say, only that they brought gifts of gold, frankincense (an expensive incense, as the name implies) and myrrh (an arboreal perfume used in embalming), so the tradition came that three men brought three gifts). It was "pagan" astronomers from the East who had the epiphany that a King was born. Epiphany also commemorates Jesus' baptism by John the Baptism at which God the Father noted His pleasure in His Son and God the Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove (the Trinity, all present).

However you celebrate Epiphany, know that God has revealed to us the Light of the World, the Salvation for humankind. God is with us (Emmanuel). God has walked among us in human form, and shown us the way He intends for us to live (by loving Him and loving others).

Before our service began at church this morning, Beth noticed a couple familiar faces walking through the door to the sanctuary. It was Bob and Pam Hubbard from Chicago (Bob was one of my Old Testament professors in seminary and Pam spent a lot of time with the spouses of seminarians). They're spending 7 months while Bob is on sabbatical living in Vancouver where Bob will be doing research on the book of Joshua at Regent College. We were privileged to be able to have them over for lunch after church and enjoyed some time catching up with them (Anders had to show them his room and everything else he has). I guess they've been our first American visitors since we've been here (except for Nate--the fiance of a pastor's daughter who's living in New Westminster--he's from Wisconsin; but they're the first from our past--the honour of being first overnight guests is still up for grabs). It was good to just sit around the table and talk.

And that's the neat part of Epiphany--that God has come to invite us all into His family. No matter how far away we are from our biological family, we can be a part of a family where ever we're at. That's been a blessing to us this past year. (Sorry for another pictureless blog entry.)