Epiphany Demands Change
Elaine Poproski Download: Audio
Scripture
Mark 1:21 – 28
They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, He entered the synagogue and taught. Read more…
1 Corinthians 8:1 – 13
Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that ‘all of us possess knowledge.’ Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. Read more…
Looking to Sunday
by Elaine Poproski
Last Sunday we read a little bit of Jonah’s story (actually, the part we read was the story of the Ninevites). Jonah showed up in their city, declaring that they were so evil, God was going to destroy them. The people repented and God spared them. It was one of a few stories we heard that illustrated that epiphany (new understanding / an ‘aha’ moment / a lightbulb-over-the-head moment) invites a new direction. But when I think about the Ninevites, I find myself wondering what happened next. I wonder how long the repentance lasted. I wonder if they went back to their old ways.
Less than a month ago I was glued to my television screen as the drama in Washington DC unfolded. When it was over, I was just as fascinated reading about all the previously pro-Trump Republicans now denouncing him and his obvious part in the violence. These were epiphanies – ‘Aha!’ moments – as people suddenly understood something about the man that they hadn’t previously understood. Or were they?
A true epiphany demands change. It doesn’t just invite a new direction, but that new direction demands change. It demands that we change the way we interpret past events, but it also, more importantly, changes the way we speak, behave, and even think moving forward. To use an old English idiom: The proof is in the pudding.[1]
God is about the business of epiphany. He’s about the business of revelation – revealing Himself and also revealing new understandings about us and all creation. But an epiphany is different from just learning something new because not only does it invite new direction, but it also demands change. It demands that we change the way we think; and it demands that we change the way we behave. I think this is what makes epiphanies so hard. I think this is why it takes courage to welcome epiphanies into our lives.
On Sunday, one of the Scripture passages we’re going to be reading comes from 1 Corinthians 8. It’s highly contextualized to its 1st century Jewish audience, but it speaks loudly about the demand for change. It parallels a longer, but similarly instructive passage from Romans 14 – 15. In both passages we’re reading the Apostle Paul’s teaching about a particular changed behaviour required of those who have chosen to follow Jesus. Epiphany demands change.
As you prepare for Sunday, I wonder if you’ve experienced an epiphany lately. Have you had any ‘Aha’ moments in which you suddenly understood something about yourself or about God or about God’s relationship with you? What new direction did that epiphany invite? Was it a full 180° turn or just a few degrees in a new direction? What change is required of you if you go that new direction? How can your church family be praying for you and supporting you in this change?
[1] The long-form version of this idiom is this: The proof of the pudding is in the eating (or tasting). It comes from the idea that finding out whether or not pudding is good or bad requires tasting it.