WHAT ARE WE REVEALING? (AN EPIPHANY REFLECTION)

Yesterday morning as I walked by the city park playground, I smiled, remembering… There was a time when I resented that playground, because it is situated on what was once my favorite view along my walking route–a quiet grassy meadow surrounded by rolling hills. But after enjoying a few afternoons of playful fun and laughter there with our daughters and grandchildren, the playground has become a sacred space, a keeper of precious family moments.

In contrast, since moving to this neighborhood, I have been approached by at least fifteen different unleashed dogs (I won’t carry pepper spray because the dogs are not to blame). I have been sniffed, nipped, chased, jumped on, growled at, and even confronted face-to-face by one large dog with his paws on my shoulders. I am now quite fearful of the sweet animals I once enjoyed.

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The playground and the dogs offer an Epiphany insight for me today.

In this season of Epiphany, followers of Christ gratefully revisit the stories in which Jesus reveals God’s loving presence through his humanity and his divinity. We then seek to live and serve as Jesus did, to become his bodily presence in the world. We are called to love, to compassion, to peace, patience, kindness, justice. We are called to offer healing and hope and hospitality. We are called to forgiveness and mercy. We are called to continue revealing God, who is always here with us, through living and loving as Jesus did.

Understanding how my perceptions of the playground and the dogs have been influenced by my experiences with them, how my daily perceptions of the world around me are often determined by the feelings I have after each encounter, I then wonder…

How are we representing God?
How would people see God’s love, shown through Jesus, revealed in us?
Would they see us as a sacred space, a place of love, joy, and tenderness–or as a hindrance, an obstruction to a lovely, expansive vista?
Would they see us as affectionate, exuberant creatures, or would they feel threatened by our territorial approach or intrusive demeanor?
Would they look forward to our next encounter, or try to avoid us?

Richard Foster says it well: “We can’t proclaim the Good News and be the bad news.” *

May we seek to live each day as genuine examples of God’s goodness and love, so humbly revealed to us in the life of Jesus. May people experience such peace, joy, and lovingkindness that they long for more. May this Epiphany season open our eyes to see God’s presence in the world–and open our hearts to be Christ’s love for the world.

* Richard Foster–Hope for a New Reformation, Renovaré podcast, May 1, 2016.

(Photo by Karen–Epiphany star mounted on a hillside water tank. If you look closely, you may be able to see a white outline of a church steeple underneath the star–the star is quite large!)