Kindred in Christ,

I am excited to begin our new series, The Epiphanies of Epiphany: A Series About Finding God in the Ordinary. Epiphany comes to us from the Greek word “epiphaneia,” meaning “appearance” or “manifestation,” and refers to the ways we encounter the divine in our ordinary human lives.

For most of us the beginning of a new year tends to focus our attention on the future. For some of us that focus is expressed in our New Year’s resolutions, the intentions we have for our life, and the plans we make. Others of us may not make resolutions but we still have hopes and wishes for the coming year, and we consider the possibilities of what the year might hold for us. Some of us simply want a clean slate, a fresh start, a new beginning.

In whatever ways this gets expressed or experienced, it touches a common longing or desire within us. We seek something we don’t have. We want something different. We are aware of an absence.

You might be wondering what absence has to do with epiphany. At first, they might sound mutually exclusive. But what if the experience of absence and the accompanying longings and desires are the beginning of an epiphany for you?

Maybe epiphanies are the means by which God expresses God’s longing and desire for each of us. Maybe they are God calling and guiding us into deeper communion with each other and Godself. Maybe an epiphany is not so much an “Aha, I got it” kind of moment as it is an “Aha, it’s got me” kind of moment. It’s a moment that awakens us to the deep desires of our hearts, touches the longings of our life, and fills the absence in such a way that we get up and leave transformed and equipped to transform the world.

Join us this Sunday as we explore this theme deeper and consider the Baptism of Jesus (Matthew 3:1-17). Hope to see you in-person or online.

Alongside you,

Rev. Paul Ortiz