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Dear La Côte family and friends,
The Christian year begins with Advent which leads up to Christmas on December 25. Then comes the 12 Days of Christmas culminating in the feast of Epiphany on January 6. And the season of Epiphany lasts until the feast of the Presentation of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple, a.k.a Candlemas.
Epiphany comes from the Greek epiphaneia, meaning “manifestation” or “appearance”. The Sunday Scripture readings during the season of Epiphany provided us snapshots of the manifestation of Jesus Christ as the saviour of Israel, of the Gentiles and of the world.
And so we have the passage from Matthew 2 about the visitation of the Magi, who were almost certainly Gentiles. In Church tradition, the Magi finding Jesus is viewed as the fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah 60:1-3 , particularly verse 3:
Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will rise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
Jesus’ baptism is also linked with Epiphany as a “manifestation” of Christ’s glory. At his baptism, Jesus was revealed to be God’s Son and the Holy Spirit descended upon him like a dove.
Last week, we remembered the conversion of Paul who had his epiphany moment en route for Damascus, when a light from heaven flashed around him and he heard Jesus Christ speak to him. To quote Paul from his letter to the Galatian Christians, “God…was pleased to reveal his Son to me that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles” (Galatians 1:15-16).
And finally, we reach Candlemas which tells of Mary and Joseph, in accordance with Jewish religious observance, bringing the infant Jesus to the temple when he was forty days old, to present him to God. And in the temple was Simeon, waiting for the Messiah, the “consolation of Israel.” Seeing Jesus, Simeon boldly prophesied in the Spirit that the infant was destined to be “light for the nations.”
Come and celebrate Candlemas on Sunday, as we light lots of candles and pray that all who see the outward and visible light will also remember and be blessed by the inner light of Christ who enlightens everyone who comes into the world.
Betty Talbot
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