Volume XII, Issue III
The Work of Christmas
Our Response to Epiphany
I am the Light of the World You people come and follow me. If you follow and love, You'll learn the mystery Of what you were meant to do and be.
When the song of the angels is stilled. When the star in the sky is gone. When the kings and the shepherds have found their way home. The work of Christmas is begun!
To find the lost and lonely one, To heal that broken soul with love, To feed the hungry children with warmth and good food, To feel the earth below the sky above!
To free the prisoner from his chains, To make the powerful care, To rebuild the nations with strength and goodwill, To call a man your brother everywhere.
This old song was one of our regular favorites in my old student fellowship. It became the theme of our Epiphany message. Indeed, the work of Redemption and Restoration only begins with the revelation of Divine Truth to the nations. It begins with a promise in Isaiah 35:
The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God.
Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.
Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.
And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.
No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there:
And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
This passage begins with the image of the desert, refreshed by rains, breaking forth in blossoms. This is an actual phenomenon that happens in harsh dry places. They come to life when watered! So it is in the human experience. The refreshing Spirit of Christ brings life to the dryness of existence. This passage is about Divine Redemption on so many levels. Indeed it refers to the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, and the Miracle of 1948, but like so many key scriptures, it holds more.
There is a highway through this verdant wonder, and it brings souls together in the presence of the True King! We are all Bridge Builders when we share the light with those around us. Children seem to do it best... perhaps that is why this Kingdom belongs to them. But aren't all of us called to become as little children?
There is healing promised here. Taken in context it is clear that as blindness is healed, lameness healed and speech restored that the Divine purposes to give His people Vision, Vitality and a Voice! All this for the building of His Kingdom! Indeed we are called to the building!
Daniel, long ago in exile, saw prophetically the restoration the Divine promised. But he did not just write it down and sit on it. No doubt, he taught these things to his young apprentices in the Persian Court. On the basis of Daniel's revelation the Magi made their way to Judea to find the new King!
Here is a great lesson. Epiphany is something to be acted on. Those of us who mentor young people have a special trust to pass this Truth to them, so that they may too make the journey!
Highway in the Wilderness
Building the Alcan Highway
The amazing story of an amazing road.
Winter in the Blue Ridge
A cozy cabin. Photo by Bob Kirchman.
Blue Ridge Parkway. Photo by Bob Kirchman.
Rushing Stream. Photo by Bob Kirchman.
Oak Branches. Photo by Bob Kirchman.
