Come and See

Fri, 02 Jan 2026 22:17:43 GMT

Seeking Light and Life in the Gospel of John - Epiphany

There’s a strange circular graphic posted on felt and placed on a stand in our sanctuary. It is a liturgical calendar. For those who grew up in “non-liturgical” congregations or not in church at all, the liturgical church calendar can be confusing and strange. But with open inquiry and curiosity, the church year can help us focus on Christ’s life and ministry in new and fresh ways.

Epiphany is one of the days on the liturgical calendar. It is officially January 6th each year, and most commonly celebrated on the closest Sunday (our congregation will celebrate Epiphany this week). Like Christmas, it is celebrated with the colors gold and white. It is a season of LIGHT testifying to Jesus as the LIGHT of the world. It is also the last day of Christmas season. Epiphany draws our attention to Christ’ manifestation to the three wise men or magi – Gentile people who were considered to be outside of the covenant faith community.

As the church has largely been a Gentile community, James Allen Wildeman writes, we tend to forget how shocking the inclusion of the Gentiles into the early church was. God gave Peter a vision to convince him that God was for all nations. The early church held a council to determine exactly how to receive the Gentiles. This was not a simple matter!

“Celebrating Epiphany, then,” writes Wildeman, “should help us understand the grace of God, who has seen fit to include those of us – who for centuries seemed to be excluded from the plan for salvation among the chosen people.” As we have received grace, so should we offer that grace to others – particularly those who might have been, or currently be, considered unwelcome.

Epiphany also reminds us of how the magi responded. They recognized that they were in the presence of the King and gave rich gifts in response. As Christmas reminds us of God’s gift to us in Christ, Epiphany reminds us of the appropriate response – worship, and the offering of our entire being.

Epiphany also reconnects us to our natural world. While the shepherds who heard the message of Jesus’ birth heard supernaturally from the angels, the magi saw a star, something in our natural universe, and inferred that a significant figure had been born. The discovery of the Christ was an outgrowth of their vocation, whereas for the shepherds it was more like an intrusion into their work day. Epiphany reminds us to look for the work of God in our natural, everyday lives, and to keep from dividing our lives into spiritual and natural realms.

These themes carry right into our reading from the Gospel of John this week. In it we read of John identifying and announcing who Jesus is, “the Lamb of God.” Hearing this, two of John’s disciples begin following Jesus and asking questions and Jesus responds to them with an invitation, “Come and see.” It is an invitation to come to Jesus, to know Jesus, to believe in Jesus and to testify to Jesus. To be welcomed in, included. And then to go out and include others. In this passage we read about individuals – Andrew, Phillip, Nathaniel – who are invited in and go out to invite others. Together they form a community, which becomes the church. A community that is called to bear witness to Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, together in our collective life and worship. Our liturgical life, and specific days such as Epiphany, hopefully contribute to this witness by reminding us of the abundance of God’s grace toward us and calling us to embody that grace and abundance in our lives and in our welcome of others.

Blessings on your preparation for worship!

Works cited: https://www.reformedworship.org/resource/epiphany-what-do-we-celebrate

Reading John

Wed, 31 Dec 2025 16:45:52 GMT

Seeking Light and Life in the Gospel of John

As the calendar turns over to mark the start of a new calendar year, inside our congregation we make a turn also. Our worship at The Bellbrook Presbyterian Church is guided by the Narrative Lectionary, a selection of Scriptures that take us through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation over a four-year period. Each fall we immerse ourselves in Old Testament texts that guide our worship. And at Christmas time we make a turn, entering into one of the Gospels. This year, our Gospel is the Gospel of John. John’s Gospel will remain our focus until just after Easter.

John’s Gospel offers a shocking alternative to the day-to-day life-taking that many of us endure in real-time through violence, loss of life, demeaning words, health issues, financial strain, or chronic stress. Others of us are exposed to life-taking by proxy through news streams and social media. Either way, whether we realize it or now, we are impacted.

Thankfully, John points to another way, a much better way, a way of Light and Life through Jesus.

Jesus brings light, he does not extinguish it.

Jesus brings life to all the earth and all people.

Jesus is Light and Life in a world that knows death all too well. When he was a young child, Mary and Joseph fled with him to Egypt because King Herod, the ruler of the time, wanted to kill Jesus – to take Jesus’ life. Herod was a jealous ruler, a self-centered ruler, and one who feared of anyone who might challenge him for the throne. In his anger and fear Herod killed many young children. (See the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 2 for the full account.)

But visitors to Jesus, Mary and Joseph – the magi – took action to preserve life. It seems we, like the magi, are given the opportunity to set our intentions in this New Year to do the same – to follow Jesus, and to bring light, and preserve life (all life, and all lives, for God loves the entire world, John tells us in John 3:16!!) in Jesus’ name.

If you are seeking light and life, if you are seeking Good News, I invite you into the Gospel of John. Join us weekly here on this site for an exploration of scripture each Friday, in worship on Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. in the sanctuary, or at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoons and/or 6:30 p.m. on Monday evenings for Bible study. Or set aside some time to read through the Gospel of John on your own, or play it through an app for Scripture. However you enter into it, the Gospel of John offers the Light and Life of Christ to a weary world. What a wonderful gift for the New Year, and for these winter months ahead!

Jaime Clark-Soles offers a most simple prayer in her book Reading John for Dear Life . It goes like this:

God of life, light and love, help us to know your truth, the truth that sets us free.

Jesus who is Light came for you that you might have Life.

Blessings on your New Year!

bellbrook-presbyterian-church

Come and See

Seeking Light and Life in the Gospel of John - Epiphany

Reading John

Seeking Light and Life in the Gospel of John