Celebrating the Epiphany Day and Season

By Pastor David Tinker

The Epiphany of our Lord is on January 6.  We will celebrate this on the weekend of January 1 and 2, 2022, at our regular weekend services: Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 10 a.m.  For Christians around the world Christmas gets to be celebrated into January.  It is a great joy to participate in these special events in the days after the Festival of Christmas.

An important Bible Verse to help us understand this festival is: ‘The People who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness — on them light has shined.’ – Isaiah 9:2

The Epiphany of our Lord is mostly known as the celebration of the arrival of the Magi for their visit to bring their gifts of Jesus.  It is much more.  When we celebrate the Epiphany, we are celebrating the spreading of the Good News of Jesus Christ.  The Epiphany reminds us about the growing glory of God in the Son of God, the Son of Man, Jesus Christ.

Epiphany is the manifestation or showing of Jesus to the world.  The Magi were non-Jewish foreigners who came to worship Jesus, and they are thus representatives of who would eventually benefit from the birth, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus.  This visit, from Matthew chapter 2, foreshadows the mission which Jesus grants to his followers.  In the Great Commission in Matthew 28:16-20, our Lord commands us to make disciples of all nations, not just of the Jews.

Celebrating the Epiphany of our Lord

– Attend worship on Saturday, January 1 at 6 p.m. or Sunday, January 2, at 10:00 a.m. as we celebrate the Epiphany of our Lord at Martin Luther Lutheran Church in Carmine.

– Read the story of the Magi in Matthew chapter 2

– Pray for Christian missionaries as they spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

– Pray for the Church around the world.

– Host an Epiphany Party, sort of like a Christmas party, but in January.

– Give generously to people in need. Remember, as Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)

– Sing songs about the events of the Epiphany.  The most familiar are: “We Three Kings” and, “The First Noel.”

– Attend worship on all or most every weekend in the season after the Epiphany.

Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh

The gifts of the Magi to Jesus point us to who Jesus really is. The Magi offer gold, a possession of kings; frankincense, used in ritual and prayer to indicate the presence of God; and myrrh, an oil used at the time of death as well as for anointing priests. By their gifts, the wise men reveal the identity of this child: the king before whom nations will bow down, the anointed High Priest of God, and the suffering servant who will die for the ones he has come to serve.