Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength . . .
The Season of Epiphany: The Season where the scope of Jesus’ mission is revealed!
The scope of his mission isn’t the only thing revealed in Epiphany; As noted on the top of this icon, the Eastern Church calls the Baptism of our Lord the “Theophany.” Which is the moment when the dual nature of Christ is revealed, his human and divine nature as described by the Father and the Holy Spirit.
Our Lord came in humility—born not in a palace, but in a feeding trough in Bethlehem. The eternal Word of God chose silence. He took the slow road of learning, growing, and becoming human, just like you and me. And it was in this quiet humility, while Jesus was still a fragile child, that the Three Wise Men came to worship Him and offer their gifts. From the very beginning, this moment pointed to something bigger. For the earliest Christians, the visit of the Wise Men was a foreshadowing of God’s plan to welcome non-Jewish people into His family. Jesus did not come only for one group of people. He came to bring salvation to all—Jew and Gentile, people of every nation. And these are the truths that the season of Epiphany are all about.
We see this great epiphany unfold again in the book of Acts, when St. Peter is shocked to witness the Holy Spirit falling on non-Jewish believers. Peter declares,
“Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him” (Acts 10:34–35).
This surprising turn of events reaches all the way back to God’s original promise to Abraham—that through his offspring, all nations would be blessed. The scope of Jesus’ mission is vast: from sea to sea, from Jew to Greek, from the foolish to the wise, from heaven to earth. There is no corner of the world—and no human heart—that He is unwilling to seek.
And the amazing part? We get to participate in that mission as members of His Body.
Jesus continues to draw people to Himself primarily through our bodies and our lives. And if we take Jesus as our example, we go to others in the same spirit of humility. In the Incarnation, Jesus slowed down. He listened. He learned language and culture. He grew patiently into who He was called to be. When we step outside our own homes and comfort zones, we are invited to do the same. One of the greatest gifts we can offer others is a listening ear and a caring presence. When people feel truly heard, they will often open their hearts. Even when we know the deepest need is for people to know Jesus, we wait. We listen. We earn the right to speak words of encouragement and truth in His name.
As we engage with the people around us, we can trust that living water is already flowing through us—and that God is already at work in their lives. Our mission is not to “fix” others, but to discover what God is already doing and join Him there.
So this Epiphany, what might it look like to simply share space with others and listen? How could you practice hospitality with people who feel far from God—maybe even in your own home? How might you ask intentional questions to notice where God is already at work in the lives of your neighbors, coworkers, and family members?
Let us pray…
Almighty God our Savior, you desire that none should perish, and you have taught us through your Son that there is great joy in heaven over every sinner who repents: Grant that our hearts may ache for a lost and broken world. May your Holy Spirit work through our words, deeds, and prayers, that the lost may be found and the dead made alive, and that all your redeemed may rejoice around your throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Exhortation: Read on the first Sunday of Lent and Advent as well as Trinity Sunday.
After worshiping in a liturgical church for a season, you begin to notice subtle but significant shifts in the shape of our worship. Because the church calendar revolves around the life of Christ, it is natural that our attention moves between his powerful earthly ministry in the Spirit and his passion, suffering, and death. This rhythm means that our focus moves from seasons of feasting to seasons of fasting.
In feasting seasons, we are reminded of the resurrection and of God’s mighty works—both in overcoming evil and death, and in empowering his people by the Holy Spirit. In fasting seasons, we turn inward. We examine ourselves, join Christ in his suffering by letting go of excess, resist sin and temptation, and intentionally pursue humility as Christ modeled for us.
The two principal seasons of examination are Advent and Lent. These are seasons of preparation for great feasts. Just as you might eat lightly earlier in the day when anticipating a feast that evening, we “fast” in anticipation of the celebrations of the Incarnation at Christmas and the Resurrection at Easter.
One way we begin these seasons of examination is through the public reading of the Exhortation. As its name suggests, the Exhortation encourages us to examine our lives before coming to receive Communion. It is a thorough and searching call to self-reflection—one that can feel like a strong jolt if you are not expecting it. Below is a link to the Exhortation for you to read before the first week of Advent, as preparation for hearing it publicly.
If, after reading the Exhortation, you feel prompted to begin the Advent season with confession, that is a natural and faithful response. Please feel free to reach out to Fr. Ryan or Fr. Chris to do so. And remember: in all of this, Christ has shed his blood for you. Because of that, we can place our trust in him more fully through this process of examination and renewal.
The Lord be with you this Advent season!
All Saints Weekly Blog
This section of our website is for linked blogs to our weekly update. If you would like to subscribe to our Weekly communication email, please sign up below.
On August 24th following service, we will have a very brief training for those who would like to read a lesson from time to time in service. Those who serve in this capacity are called lectors, and these committed, baptized Christians fulfill an essential role in the life of the local church! Below is a very brief list of “Tips for Lectors.”
A Reflection on a Written Prayer
Grant, O Lord, we pray, that, as we seek direction for our parish future, we may find the search leads us to yourself. Give us courage to seek honestly, and reverence to seek humbly; and when our minds are perplexed and we see no clear direction, give us patience to go on with our daily duties and faithful worship.
Life in Christ is a series of changing seasons. Living in Placerville reminds me of the fact that seasons change. This region of California, nestled at the foot of the Sierra Mountain range, makes for a wonderful backdrop to the way God changes things so quickly. It can seem like an eternity however when you are stuck in the “dog days” of summer, paying those high air conditioning bills, or hoping a forest fire doesn’t come near your property. Nonetheless, the seasons will eventually change and inevitably we will feel fall peaking its head out and calling us back into the glory of dropping leaves, barren trees, and cooler, shorter days….
This is a photo from Bassi Falls, a local waterfall in El Dorado county that reminds us of the consistency of God’s provision of water throughout the changing seasons.
