According to the Web Free Dictionary, Epiphany has two meanings:
1. (Ecclesiastical Terms) the manifestation of a supernatural or divine reality
2. Any moment of great or sudden revelation.
The church celebrates Epiphany on January 6 commemorating the first manifestation of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, represented by the Magi. This year is especially poignant for me because a childhood friend, Janine, died on January 6 after a year long struggle with Glioblastoma brain cancer. Her older sister, Sue, has become one of my dearest friends. Sue has helped each member of her immediate family reach the finish line safely; first her dad, then mom, then brother, and now sister. And so, it seems appropriate to write about manifestations of divine reality. These manifestations are often called signs or miracles; they are present throughout the entire Bible as well as everyday life; if, we rightly relate ourselves to God.
I was driving to Kingston this Saturday to drop off refreshments for the meeting (I am in quarantine with a bad cold), when I thought about how group anniversaries were always special to me because my dead friends seem more real as I cooked their favorite meals. Every day is like that now, a gift of my own brain tumor. I remember days from childhood with clarity that I don’t have for recent events. I have asked people who have lost relatives, especially parents, “Do you find your relationship with them has improved since they have died?” I once stated at a meeting that my relationship with both my parents has never been better. A man, who had just lost his mother, chuckled in a way that let me know he was comforted by the thought.
My prayers each day include both the living and the dead. It seems like the very sick or recently departed have a way of adding additional people to my prayer list. My thoughts went back to Bobbi’s friend Megan and the period of time between her death and service. Each day had a rainbow, just for her and her family and friends. (I think that counts as manifestation of divine reality).
Genesis 9 NIV
And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
This line of thinking always brings me back to the last lines of Paula’s poem:
“…From all of eternity He has cherished you. The world He has created would be incomplete without you.”
This line ties back to my current state of affairs; my brain doesn’t work at 100%, there is empty space where there used to be brains. Yet, I recall childhood Sunday school lessons, wise advise from Sue’s and Janine’s mother, and Bible verses with new found clarity. I suspect this is a gift of the Holy Spirit doing for me what I can’t do for myself. This gift is made much easier now that I am not trying to do everything myself. And if I am correct that some of my thinking is provided by the Holy Spirit, then all memories are in the present –a manifestation of the divine reality.
Jack used to end each talk with the forward to the 24hour book:
…Yesterday is but a dream and tomorrow a vision. But today, well lived, makes ever yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope… I have found this true for me – all of my memories have become good memories. I would have never dreamed this to be possible. There was so much that I have experienced that seemed unforgivable. And yet, everything is possible with God.
In March of 2014 Dad and I were waiting for a plane to head to Texas for a semi family reunion. Our plans were for a few days visiting the birthplace of dad and his brothers as well as the family burial plots. Stephen then drove us up to Colorado for a visit with the Colorado family. In the airport, Dad shared with me that he had been dismissed as the Sunday school teacher for spending too much time teaching lessons from the book of Job to elementary age children. As my dad got older, his understanding of the scriptures deepened, not everyone appreciated this.
I remember fondly the year that Dad taught my 3rd grade Sunday school class.
In one class, we learned how to make mosaic art using minature ceramic tiles. We cut the tiles, designed the pattern, and then used mortar and cement to bind to the support piece.
In another class, we each learned to make our own Bible quiz toy – this was way cool. It still is way cool and maybe just a little too dangerous for young children, but what do you expect from the sixties. On a poster board cut out to the size of a shirt box, we wrote questions on one side and possible answers a,b, c on the other. We cut a small hole near upper edge and squeezed a miniature light bulb through the hole. Dad used electrical tape to attach electrical wire to the base, leaving the other end free. We put a piece of cardboard at the bottom of the shirt box and taped a 9V battery to one end. Dad let us connect the second piece of electrical wire to the battery. Using slips of aluminum foil attached to the back side of the poster board side, we finished the connection only for the correct answers. If you answered the question correctly, the bulb would light up. I still think this is the coolest Sunday school class ever.
As great as these memories are, I recall most often how he helped us study the Bible. I try to do the same with young people today. He would call out a certain passage and we would race to find it first without looking at the table of contents.
Now it seems like it is the Holy Spirit calling out the verse that pertains to my situation. For example, the day of my surgery, Psalm 27 was on my phone as the daily mediation:
The Lord is my light…whom shall I fear…
The Lord is my refuge…what shall I be afraid of…
One thing I ask…to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my (eternal) life…
My friend Susan and I both take a lot of comfort in John Chapter 14.
My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
We often talk about how we will be sitting on the wall with our mothers welcoming the newbies.
I send good morning texts to a growing number of people. I confided to one old friend, that I suspect that is what heaven is like – a bunch of people smiling at each other saying good morning.
All Are Welcome in my Father's House 