Inbetween Christmas and Easter

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." Mark 1:9-11

It’s cold and windy. Dark when I get up and dark when I come home. I’m tired of shoveling snow and slipping on ice. The thrill of Christmas is past and the bills have arrived. The winter doldrums have descended. I just want to hurry up and get to spring and Easter! Yup, going right from Christmas trees, presents, Santa and the baby Jesus, to dyed eggs, jelly beans, The Bunny and the risen Christ, would be so much easier (and more fun) that spending this time slogging through these dark cold months of January and February—this ‘in between’ time of the church calendar called ‘Epiphany.’

Sometimes I fear that because of the post-Christmas ‘let-down,’ we can treat Epiphany like that—as an ‘in between’ time of the church year that we have to go through to get from the wondrous birth of our Lord and Savior, to his glorious resurrection. My concern is that, in our winter doldrums, we just might miss the wondrous things God is saying to us, those wondrous things God wants us to know, as we read and study the scriptures during this time of Epiphany.

The season of Epiphany is so much more than the time that fills the gap between Christmas and Lent. This year the ‘bookends’ for Epiphany, as we read through the Gospel of Mark, are the Baptism of Jesus and the Transfiguration of the Lord. At both of these monumental events in the life of Jesus, ‘a voice’ comes from heaven proclaiming Jesus to be God’s Son, the Beloved.

I was taught in seminary that when a portion of the bible is ‘bracketed’ by God’s voice, one should pay particular attention to what the text within the ‘brackets’ is saying—because the message is likely to be rather significant. And in the Gospel of Mark, the text ‘between the brackets’ calls all people to come and see Jesus for themselves and to follow him. Jesus extends the invitation to come and meet him, learn from him, and follow him. And Jesus instructs his followers to ‘go and tell’ people about him, inviting them to come and see so they can meet him for themselves, learn from him, and receive his invitation to follow.

Jesus calls us to ‘fish for people’ by extending the invitation to come and meet him. To invite others is to follow Jesus. Because Jesus, ‘God’s son, the Beloved,’ wants to share the gift of salvation by grace, through faith, in Jesus Christ, with EVERYONE. And he left the inviting to us—until he returns.

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!" Mark 9:2-7

Trusting God. Following Jesus. <><
Pastor Roy+