Reflection by Stewart Perry
Christmas is officially over… given what’s been going on in the world at the moment Christmas Day does seem like an eon ago! But in terms of the church’s calendar, the 12 drummers drummed their last beat on Wednesday the 5th of January & the feast of Epiphany was Thursday the 6th (even though we are acknowledging it in our services this Sunday). The period of time between Epiphany & Lent is loosely termed ‘the season after Epiphany’ but I like to treat it as a whole season of Epiphany.
If you look up the definition of the word ‘epiphany’ in a dictionary you’ll find something like: ‘a moment of sudden and great revelation or realisation.’
I know that for some people they have had one single revelation and realisation of the power of God in their life and that continuously fuels their Christian journey. For me, personally, my experience has been one of a number of revelations and a number of realisations throughout my life – I actually hope and pray those realisations and revelations keep coming.
So for me, in a world of unsettledness, confusion and constant changes and challenges, having a whole season of revelation and realisation actually sounds pretty good to me! Maybe it might also for you and those around you, particularly those for whom you are praying for at the moment.
I wonder how much our perspective might change if we were to be expecting realisation and revelation as opposed to the range of other emotions we might be expecting at the moment?
We announced last year that we were committing to be 100% online and 100% in person. Of course that is dynamic and ever changing and what that meant 6 months ago means something different today. I wanted to assure you that this is still our commitment and that we are measuring our response around a sense of deep care for both our staff and key leaders as well as our deep care for our church members.
We believe we are as ready as we possibly can be for what we might encounter next but would appreciate your prayers and continuing active involvement in the life of our church as we continue to move forward together.
What are we expecting? Who knows? But at the very least I’m expecting God’s revelation and the realisation of God’s active presence in the world to be on full display!
If you have a personal experience of great revelation and realisation I’d love it if you could share that with others, and if you get a chance with me or one of the ministry team.
God bless as we expect a whole lot of of Epiphany!
Stewart