1 Sunday after the

Epiphany
st

1st Sunday after the

Epiphany
1.The word Epiphany means disclosure, unveiling, showing something or someone in public
for everyone to see. God is a mystery and every time we learn something about God is an
epiphany.
On Friday we celebrated the Epiphany of Jesus, the first time when Jesus, God who had become a
human baby, was shown in public, when outsiders first became aware that this child was not just a
regular kid, but that he was the chosen one.
When dealing with God, we could never say, I got it, I have complete grasp of God. God is infinite
and our minds are limited. Yet God continues to disclose himself in the Bible. These disclosures, help
us gets a different perspective of the infinite

2.The O.T. reading from Isaiah is one of 4 passages in 2 nd Isaiah called the Songs of the
Suffering Servant, that the church applies to Jesus.
We need to remember that 2nd Isaiah was a prophet sent by God to support the Israelites during the
Babylonian exile. The exiled Israelites were the original audience of these words, not the Christians
who came 6 centuries later.
However, even though prophecies were written for specific situations, they are the word of God, so
they convey a timeless message that continue to speak to similar situation even in different historical
eras.
In todays passage, we read how the servant was chosen, like a prophets, was endowed by the Spirit
and sent on a mission to the nations to enlightened those who were ignorant, and free those who were
enslaved.
The other 3 songs of the Servant describe this as (2) one who was deeply despised and abhorred by
the nations, (3) one who listened to the word of God and endured much abuse for it, and (4) one who
suffered to atone the sins of many.
The majority of Biblical commentators agree that for Isaiah, the suffering servant was a symbolic
figure representing all the Israelites exiled in Babylon.
They had been the chosen people of God, but had been defeated and abused, and exiled not just for
their personal sins, but for the sins committed over the centuries by the entire nation.

1st Sunday after the

Epiphany
Centuries later, the Church readings these passages from Isaiah, saw in them them and accurate
representation of Jesus and of his mission: He was innocent, became a victim, was abused and
killed, however, through his death, salvation came to the whole humanity.
The Church started applying these Suffering Servant oracles to Jesus. They were used to provide a
rationale for Jesus death, and become the foundation of the Christian doctrine of atonement: the
belief that Jesus was a sacrificial lamb whose death reconciled humans to God.
We should keep in mind that the original purpose of these oracles was to inspire those who were
exiled in Babylon and could not understand the reason for their suffering.
But Isaiah words found a fuller fulfillment when they were applied to Jesus: the opening line in
Isaiahs reading, here is my servant, my chosen. in whom my soul delights. is echoed in the
closing line of the Gospel of Matthew, This is my son, the beloved in whom I am well pleased
The revelation of God in the Bible expresses perennial themes and aspirations that go beyond
individual historical events and are applicable to all generations. That is why we still read the
Bible.

3. In the second reading from Acts, Peters speech placed Jesus in the context of 2 nd
Isaiah servant songs and made the argument that Jesus was indeed the Suffering
Servant described by Isaiah.
Like Isaiahs Servant, Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit (remember that anointed =
Messiah)
Like the Servant, Jesus mission was to heal the sick and preach Gods message,
Like the Servant, Jesus was innocent, and yet was abused and killed,
But God raised him from the dead , and the churchs mission now is to continue what Jesus had
done
Finally Peter wrapped up by stating that the prophets, like Isaiah, testified about him, and that
those who believe in him will receive forgiveness of sins. (atonement)

1st Sunday after the

Epiphany

5. The Gospel of Matthew describes the baptism of Jesus

Note that the Gospels of Luke and Matthew have infancy narratives: stories about Jesus birth and
early life, while the other 2 (Mark and John) start the narrative about Jesus at his baptism.
That is because for Mark and John it was at baptism that Jesus true epiphany took place. At
Baptism people heard a voice from heaven proclaiming, this is my son, the beloved, in who I am
well pleased and they saw the Spirit of God descending on him in the shape of a dove.
Later John pointed out Jesus to his own disciples and told them to follow him.
The Baptism was a watershed in Jesus life. Up to this point he had been a regular guy, working in
construction with his father. But after his baptism Jesus quit his job, selected his disciples, and
begun to preach and to perform miracles.
We are left to wonder why all at the sudden he changed his life after his baptism. Did Jesus
suddenly gained the awareness the he was Gods chosen one when the Spirit descended on him the
voice from heaven told him that he stood in a special relationship with God?
For Matthew and John the Baptism was a second Epiphany : a voice from heaven, heard by all the
people who were there, stated this is my son.
But for Mark and Luke Jesus heard the voice from heaven you are my son. So this was an
Epiphany for Jesus, a private revelation informing Jesus about his identity and his special
relationship with God.
Just as God is a mystery Jesus is and will continue to be a mystery for us: how can someone be both
human and divine?
Remember that Jesus was a mystery even for his disciples. They wondered if he was a prophet. Or
was he the Messiah? Was he the Suffering Servant sent to atone the sins of all? Was he the son of
God? Was he God? Three of the Gospels never use the word God to describe Jesus. But in Johns
Gospel the apostle Thomas, seeing Jesus after the resurrection called him, My Lord and my God
These Bible readings are epiphanies, disclosures of Gods mystery . We will never fully understand
Jesus, but we can experience Jesus as our point of contact with God, the one who unequivocally
disclosed to us that God is love, and that God wants us to love one another.