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Pastor Don Matzat The Wonderful Season of Epiphany
The length of the season of Epiphany is determined by the date of Easter. A late Easter means a longer season of Epiphany and an early Easter means a shorter Epiphany. (Of course, as you probably already know, Easter is the first Sunday, after the first full moon after the first day of spring.)
I love the season of Epiphany because it is all about Jesus. Defining the
person of Christ is We read in Hebrews 1: "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven." Following the season of Epiphany we enter the season of Lent where we focus upon the work of Christ – His suffering and death on the Cross for the forgiveness of the sins of the world. The subject of the work of Christ is most certainly not separated from the person of Jesus Christ. The two subjects, the person of Christ and the work of Christ, must remain intimately connected. Consider… For Jesus to be under the Law; to take our place; and to suffer and die on the Cross, He had to be a true man. For Jesus to perfectly obey the Law; to live a perfectly righteous life for us; to defeat death and the devil; and to be raised from the dead, He had to be true God. How do we know that Jesus really suffered and died on the Cross? We know this because He was truly a man, fully human and able to suffer as we suffer. How do we know that this suffering and death of Jesus on the Cross was a sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world? We know this because this Jesus who died for us was God in human flesh. Paul writes in 1 Timothy 3:16: "Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world,was taken up in glory." May this season of Epiphany be meaningful to you as you are confronted with this person of Jesus Christ.
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Zion
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The season of Epiphany begins on January 6th
and continues until Ash Wednesday. The word “epiphany” means “to make clear” or
“to make manifest.” Epiphany begins with the visit of the Magi to Bethlehem and
ends with the Transfiguration. During the season of Epiphany we also celebrate
the Baptism of our Lord. Jesus is manifested! Following the account
of the wedding at Cana, John writes: "
vitally important. Is He a mere man who is able to work miracles or is He God
in the flesh? For the first 250 years of Christians history these questions
where widely debated and many heresies arose. Finally, at the Council of Nicea
in 325, after much study of the Scriptures, the person of Jesus was defined,
drawn from the clear teachings of the New Testament. Jesus is truly God, of the
same substance of the Father, and He is truly a man, born of the Virgin Mary.