Another Epiphany Reflection: The Search for God Amid the Violence

"During Advent we anticipate the coming of a Messiah. During Christmas season we celebtate the coming of a Messiah. During Epiphany we reflect on the nature of the Messiah who has come, and we face the risky problem of how we are to act on the basis of our reflection." (Robert McAfee Brown)

This Sunday is Epiphany. Epiphany means "a manifestation of a divine or supernatural being or "a moment of sudden and great revelation or realisation." The story, which begins the season of Epiphany, is the story of the Magi's journey to pay homage to Jesus, the Christ child, born in Bethlehem (Matt 2:1-12).

Who has come? And what does it mean to follow him?

I have to say, this story hits differently this year. What we don't hear in the gospel reading but which follows right after it is the infanticide committed by King Herod, a puppet king in the service of the Roman Empire (Matt 2:13-18). Matthew 2:16 tells us that Herod, having had his plan to kill the Christ child thwarted by the Magi, ordered all children under or around the age of 2 in the area of Bethlehem killed (the church commemorates that horrific event on December 28th, Holy Innocents Day). And now, 2000 years later, we have the Hamas-Israel war, rockets fired into Israel, Christ in the rubble of Bethlehem, and the death of 1000s of Palestinian children. According to Save The Children, in the first three weeks of the Hamas-Israel war, more Palestinian children were killed by bombing in Gaza than the annual number of children killed in all the world's conflict zones since 2019, including the war in Ukraine. The resonances of this story and what's unfolding in the Holy Land are palpable: power-hungry leaders, imperial violence, and the slaughter of innocent children. 

"A voice was heard in Ramah,
    wailing and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
    she refused to be consoled, because they are no more." (Matt 2:18)

So, who has come? God, in the person of Christ, the Prince of Peace. Jesus, the Prince of Peace, is who we anticipated coming at Advent, whose coming we celebrated at Christmas, and whose life we reflect on (and seek to emulate) during this season of Epiphany and beyond. And what does it mean to follow him? In this fractured and broken world, it means to take seriously the nonviolence of Christ, to resist responding to violence with more violence, and to live God's peace in a world ravaged by hate and fear. More than ever, we need the Prince of Peace, and we need to follow in his footsteps.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Guide our feet into the path of peace.
Empower us, Holy Spirit, to build lives as individuals and communities that embody God's peace. 
Help us stand for peace.
Through us, make your kin-dom of peace visible.
Let your peace, embodied by us, as best we can and as costly as it is, be an epiphany for others and hope in a hurting world.
Amen.

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Image: Christ in the Rubble | Kelly Latimore Icons