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Posted: January 9th, 2008 at 12:25am By: Rev. Rebecca Schlatter
Last Sunday, we Lutherans entered the season of Epiphany, which comes from the Greek, meaning "manifestation," "make known." Epiphany is when God comes out of hiding, so to speak (if, indeed, God was "hiding" at all).
Epiphany is the "aha!" season of revelation, understanding and clarity. We sing songs like "Arise, Your Light Has Come!" and "Shine, Jesus, Shine." We read Scriptures that reveal Jesus for who he is — aha! — not only teacher, healer and worker of miracles, but also Son of God, Messiah. We celebrate all the ways in which God is revealed in Jesus.
However, few Christians I know spend their lives in an Epiphany mood. Most have experienced their fair share of darkness, doubt and mystery. Many have never had an "aha!" moment at all. Some hold out hope that they might, someday. Others don't seem to miss it, relying instead on a quieter, steadier trust over time.
Still others question how faith can exist without epiphanies. Not long ago, I encountered someone wondering whether to keep hoping for an "aha!": "I want to know what I can expect," he said. In his spiritual life, would there ever be an epiphany? Was there anything he could do? Should he give up hoping? I didn't know what to say.
I do know this: People who always live in Epiphany make me a little nervous. Can faith, like any aspect of uncertain human life, be totally clear and free of uncertainty? And I feel sorry for people who think they must live in Epiphany — no doubt possible, only certainty. That sounds exhausting, and doomed to disappointment.
I also know that anyone waiting in the dark for their own "aha!" has good company in the classics of Christian spirituality, such as "The Cloud of Unknowing" (14th century) and "Dark Night of the Soul" (16th century).
I know that whenever God is revealed, God is not constrained by our expectations of the spiritual life. And I know that human beings can make an idol out of anything, including "aha!" moments of revelation. God, of course, is not interested in coming second to anything we idolize, especially to our own understandings or feelings. It's appropriate to acknowledge always the hidden God, the God beyond our understanding, the God who always remains unclear to us.
When it comes right down to it, God is not interested primarily in what we believe, know, feel or experience of God — common implications when we talk about "faith." A more biblical meaning of "faith" would be a relationship between God and us — not only individually, but as part of community, one of God's people. This relationship is fulfilled not just in what we know or say, but holistically, in how we live.
The good news is, it is quite possible to live this relationship with a God who seems more hidden than revealed, a God we cannot see face-to-face, and sometimes don't see at all. In this relationship, we live out the communal faith of our Christian ancestors, and do what they did: worship, pray, study Scripture, care for "the least of these," serve our neighbors, work for justice, love God and one another. In all of these, an "aha!" moment may be an important motivator, and it is surely a blessing whenever it comes.
A living and lived Christian faith absolutely depends on the revelation of God to God's people through Jesus. But living within this relationship does not appear to depend on any personal, individual revelation. Yes, Jesus says in John 3 that we must be "born anew." He does not describe an "aha!" or a particular form of belief, feeling or "spiritual" experience. He does use images of baptism, a powerful ritual sign of our relationship with God lived out in Christian community. Then he goes on to talk about the mysterious and uncontrollable ways of the Spirit.
So I still don't know what we should expect; personal spiritual lives are such unique mysteries, sometimes rewarding, often frustrating. But I wonder whether, in this kind of biblical faith, the most important "aha!" may be a revelation of who we are and Whom we belong to.
— — —
Rev. Rebecca Schlatter is an ordained minister in the Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Reno, Nevada. You can contact her at {email newhousesfromoldbricks@hotmail.com}newhousesfromoldbricks@hotmail.com{/email}. © Copyright 2008 by Rebecca Schlatter.
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Last Sunday, we Lutherans entered the season of Epiphany, which comes from the Greek, meaning "manifestation," "make known." Epiphany is when God comes out of hiding, so to speak (if, indeed, God was "hiding" at all).
Epiphany is the "aha!" season of revelation, understanding and clarity. We sing songs like "Arise, Your Light Has Come!" and "Shine, Jesus, Shine." We read Scriptures that reveal Jesus for who he is — aha! — not only teacher, healer and worker of miracles, but also Son of God, Messiah. We celebrate all the ways in which God is revealed in Jesus.
However, few Christians I know spend their lives in an Epiphany mood. Most have experienced their fair share of darkness, doubt and mystery. Many have never had an "aha!" moment at all. Some hold out hope that they might, someday. Others don't seem to miss it, relying instead on a quieter, steadier trust over time.
Still others question how faith can exist without epiphanies. Not long ago, I encountered someone wondering whether to keep hoping for an "aha!": "I want to know what I can expect," he said. In his spiritual life, would there ever be an epiphany? Was there anything he could do? Should he give up hoping? I didn't know what to say.
I do know this: People who always live in Epiphany make me a little nervous. Can faith, like any aspect of uncertain human life, be totally clear and free of uncertainty? And I feel sorry for people who think they must live in Epiphany — no doubt possible, only certainty. That sounds exhausting, and doomed to disappointment.
I also know that anyone waiting in the dark for their own "aha!" has good company in the classics of Christian spirituality, such as "The Cloud of Unknowing" (14th century) and "Dark Night of the Soul" (16th century).
I know that whenever God is revealed, God is not constrained by our expectations of the spiritual life. And I know that human beings can make an idol out of anything, including "aha!" moments of revelation. God, of course, is not interested in coming second to anything we idolize, especially to our own understandings or feelings. It's appropriate to acknowledge always the hidden God, the God beyond our understanding, the God who always remains unclear to us.
When it comes right down to it, God is not interested primarily in what we believe, know, feel or experience of God — common implications when we talk about "faith." A more biblical meaning of "faith" would be a relationship between God and us — not only individually, but as part of community, one of God's people. This relationship is fulfilled not just in what we know or say, but holistically, in how we live.
The good news is, it is quite possible to live this relationship with a God who seems more hidden than revealed, a God we cannot see face-to-face, and sometimes don't see at all. In this relationship, we live out the communal faith of our Christian ancestors, and do what they did: worship, pray, study Scripture, care for "the least of these," serve our neighbors, work for justice, love God and one another. In all of these, an "aha!" moment may be an important motivator, and it is surely a blessing whenever it comes.
A living and lived Christian faith absolutely depends on the revelation of God to God's people through Jesus. But living within this relationship does not appear to depend on any personal, individual revelation. Yes, Jesus says in John 3 that we must be "born anew." He does not describe an "aha!" or a particular form of belief, feeling or "spiritual" experience. He does use images of baptism, a powerful ritual sign of our relationship with God lived out in Christian community. Then he goes on to talk about the mysterious and uncontrollable ways of the Spirit.
So I still don't know what we should expect; personal spiritual lives are such unique mysteries, sometimes rewarding, often frustrating. But I wonder whether, in this kind of biblical faith, the most important "aha!" may be a revelation of who we are and Whom we belong to.
— — —
Rev. Rebecca Schlatter is an ordained minister in the Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Reno, Nevada. You can contact her at {email newhousesfromoldbricks@hotmail.com}newhousesfromoldbricks@hotmail.com{/email}. © Copyright 2008 by Rebecca Schlatter.
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