Happy Epiphany

For most New Orleanians, Epiphany just marks the beginning of king cake season (basically a cheese danish made into a cake--not anything amazing). Another weird thing about king cakes is that there is a tiny plastic baby Jesus buried in the cake and whoever finds it in their piece is supposed to bring the next king cake. So to celebrate the manifestation of Jesus among us, people are trying to avoid finding Jesus in the cake? ...It is a confusing culture down here.


Celebrating Epiphany is a new experience for me as I've moved to New Orleans. I've come to understand that Epiphany is a season of celebrating the manifestation of Christ among us by recognizing the gradual revelation of his mission on Earth through the visit of the magi, Christ's visit to the temple as a 12 year old boy, His baptism in the Jordan, and the miracle of turning water to wine at the marriage feast--ending  in typical New Orleans fashion of course. 


Going along with the season of Epiphany, our church sermon today was about God being with us in our daily battles. It focused on 2 Kings 6:8-23, where God delivered Israel's enemies into their hands and commanded the Israelites to feed and serve them. The fact that God miraculously saved them from their enemies reminded me that I am not alone in this battle of ministering to my community. Not only that, but God is constantly at work. I have a tendency to picture God sitting and waiting in heaven until the day that he decides to call us home, but he has not left us alone. He has given us the Holy Spirit to be with us. 

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,  to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified."

Isaiah 61:1-3 (KJV)

"And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

Romans 5:5 (NIV)

"And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you."

Romans 8:11 (NIV)

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will"

Romans 8:26-27 (NIV)

"We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us."

1 John 4:13-16 (NIV)