Union Presbyterian Church of Endicott, NY

Our Mission

As members of Union Presbyterian Church, we live to serve our Lord, our congregation, our community, and our world. We unite our spirits in faithful, loving commitment to this calling in Jesus Christ and, as a church family, we celebrate the Kingdom of God. 

From the Pastor: The Season of Epiphany

 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, magi from the east came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star in the east and have come to pay him homage.”
~Matthew 2:1-2
 

Dear Friends,

You know what an epiphany is—it’s an “aha” moment, a moment when something is revealed to us—something we hadn’t realized before. The moment when we realize, “Hey, I’m in the wrong job.” Or “This person really means a lot to me.” Or “I actually love [knitting/ running/ math]!” (You can fill in the blank.)

An epiphany can reveal to us something about ourselves. Perhaps we finally recognize a gift we didn’t know we had. Or we have a realization about some change we need to make to be well or happy. An epiphany can also reveal to us something about someone else—someone we know and love, or someone we find it hard to get along with, or someone who may become a friend.

The celebration of Epiphany in the church is about an “aha!” moment that shook the very foundations of the world we live in. There were at least two epiphanies that took place in the traditional story we find in the gospel according to Matthew. The one that sets the story in motion is the discovery of the magi (astrologers, wise ones) that a king has been or is about to be born. Scholars believe the magi were probably Zoroastrian priests from western Persia (what we now know as Iran). Traveling in search of the king, they cause the second epiphany: King Herod learns the news—and it is most unwelcome to him. His fury and fear terrify the local populace.

There are two epiphanies in the story. But the story itself is about the revealing of Jesus Christ to the world beyond his local clan, community, religion, and nation. The story of non-Jews believing the Christ child was a king of note reveals that Jesus is God’s gift, not to one people, but to the world. That is the Epiphany we celebrate this month.

The stories of the Epiphany season (which extends to the season of Lent) themselves contain epiphanies. We will explore these stories, both from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians and from the gospel according to Luke, as the season unfolds. May it be a time for each of us to be open to those things God reveals to us about ourselves and our world, as we continue to follow the one born in Bethlehem.

Grace and Peace,

Rev. Pat Raube

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