The Epiphany of the Lord

Our readings for the Epiphany of the Lord Sunday are:

1. Isaiah 60: 1-6
2. Psalm 72: 1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13
3. Ephesians 3: 2-3a, 5-6
4. Matthew 2: 1-12

• Finding your inner splendor
• If someone were to come to you and tell you that they've been watching you, and they want to know what makes you the way that you are.
• What would you tell them?
• What would you show them?
• If they were to pay you the supreme compliment of telling you that they would like to become more like you, where would you start?
• Where is Christ in all of that?

• Timetable for justice
• If God is ruler over all of the universe, and He is going to restore justice to the planet in His good time, what responsibility do we have to make ready for that new advent?
• Pope John Paul II once said: "if you want peace, pray for justice."  What do you draw from that?
• How can we bring justice in the little things?
• When we see injustice, what are our obligations?

• Reveling in revelation
• Do you think that God is done revealing Himself to us?
• How do we participate in that revelation?
• What aspect of God have you been revealing lately?

• Nothing to fear but fear itself
• Poor old King Herod gets a bad rap this time of year for acting out of fear, but he deserves at least a little sympathy.
• When was the last time that you acted out of fear?
• Did that decision work out for you?
• Do you think that there's room for fear if we are relying 100% on God?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. How am I showing the glory of Jesus in my life?
2. What am I doing to bring about justice in my home?
3. Are those closest to me any better for me being in their lives?
4. Am I able to find God's beauty in unexpected places?

Finding Courage in Unexpected Places

Some fear change
Believing that the horizon is not a gateway,
But a cliff.

Some fear boredom,
Seeing premature death and ossification
In the clutches of stability.

Some fear ill health,
The steady erosion of options, a closing in of the frontier
As their body betrays them.

I fear my own weakness
That threatens to let fear get the best of me
Shutting my eyes to possibilities

Overcoming fear is not
So much convincing yourself that bad things are unlikely
As much as convincing yourself that they are not fatal.

Believing that there will be a tomorrow
If only I am willing to trust in Him who has guided me all along.
And learn to take it one step at a time.

Believing that pain and suffering
Can be transformed, resurrected if you will
If only I am open to -

Believing that I am missioned
Believing that I am never alone
Believing that I am heading home.

Shalom!