Today is Epiphany, which officially ends the twelve days of Christmas. The word epiphany means an appearance or revealing of the divine, and the Christian festival of Epiphany celebrates Jesus being revealed to the Gentile Magi or Wise Men. (We celebrate twelve days after Christmas, but it is unclear when the Magi actually arrived. From reading the story in Matthew, Jesus might have been as old as two.)The Daily Lectionary readings don't include the story of the Wise Men because it is found in the readings from another lectionary, the one used for Sunday worship. This lectionary has a full set of readings for an Epiphany service. However, the Daily Lectionary readings do speak of God's glory being revealed, a theme that fits the day perfectly.
One of those readings is from near the end of the book of Revelation. Revelation is likely the most misunderstood and misused book of the Bible (with Daniel a close second). It is not a book of predictions and timetables for the future. Rather it is an artistic and poetic call to hope. It reminds suffering First Century Christians that God is still in control, no matter how bad things seem. God controls history and it will move toward God's appointed end.
This promise is described in a wonderful vision of a new Jerusalem. "I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb." There is no temple in the city because nothing is needed any longer to draw near to God. All that separates humanity from God is gone. The vision also says that the city's "gates will never be shut by day -- and there will be no night there." In ancient times, city gates were shut for safety, closed when an enemy attacked and closed at night to keep out bandits and robbers. But Revelation hopes for a day when this is not longer necessary, when God is literally present with us, and all danger is gone.
We live in a world filled with fears and anxieties. Polls say that Americans are no longer optimistic about the future. But Revelation's hope for the future is not based in human ability to make progress, but in a faith that God ultimately controls all things, even the flow of history. And today we celebrate, remembering that God's love entered into human history as a baby born in Roman occupied Palestine, all those years ago.
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