I had moved away from blogging during the early part of the pandemic to focus on video as a needed medium of communication. But, in this new year 2022 I’m getting back to blogging.
Today is Epiphany. This is the last day of the Christmas Season (the 12th day of Christmas) when we celebrate the light of Christ coming into the world and the travels of the Magi to see Jesus who, by this time, was born at least two years ago. (It is a long trip for the Magi!)
Epiphany has not always been focused on all that much by Protestants. Once we get past December 25th and New Years we seem to forget the Christmas Season. But I believe Epiphany and the light of Christ coming into the world is as important and emphasis now as ever.
Recently I removed most of the news apps from my iPhone and I moved the main Apple News app to a less visible location. I did this because I realized through out the Covid-19 pandemic and all that has gone on socially and politically in the last couple of years that I had become news obsessed. I checked the new regularly for pandemic stats, for stories of what was going on in the world to fight the pandemic, etc. almost obsessively. I think many of us did!
I’ve come to realize that an obsession with the daily news cycle and the political news cycle can really be detrimental to my spiritual focus. And that has a Christian I need take make sure there is a balance between knowing what is going on in the world and celebrating the timeless truths of the gospel that we see celebrated in the Christian calendar cycle.
There are events in the news today (and every day) that can overshadow our personal spiritual focus. We can be so focused on this very moment that we fail to focus on the over all work of God in the world and in history. Into a messy world such as this Jesus was born. He was born to a ruler, not a secular ruler, but a the sovereign over all the universe. Christ came to be “God with us.” As we wrap of the Christmas Season today I would rather focus on God being with me and us than on today’s news and the hourly churn of the news cycle.
Remember, Christ came that we might have light and might have light and God’s love in abundance!
Happy Epiphany!
Tim Bonney
Circuitwriter Blog 