A homily given at 6pm Night Prayer on Sunday 8th January 2023, the Baptism of our Lord, by The Rev’d Dr Lynn Arnold AO

EPIPHANY – A DAILY NEW DAWN

When the sun sank at the termination of the Sabbath, darkness began to set in. Adam was terrified.

These words begin a rabbinic commentary known as Genesis Rabbah 11:2. The Genesis narrative about Creation detailed in its first two chapters were written with metaphorical intent not literal. In that way, these opening chapters of the Torah can offer us all lessons; thus, the rabbinical commentator of Genesis Rabbah had invited the reader to new insights when he had written:

When the sun sank at the termination of the Sabbath, darkness began to set in. Adam was terrified.

The insight here is that, on the first day of his having been created, Adam opened his eyes to light but, as the day progressed, found himself confronting the looming dark of night. ‘Adam was terrified’ for he did not know that the night would pass and a new dawn would come in due course. The reading from the Genesis Rabbah concluded with:

Light came forth and Adam uttered a blessing over it.

The dawn had come as God had intended but Adam, on the first day of his creation, had no idea of the divine intent. When it did come, his terror was replaced by profound thanks for deliverance from the dark; Adam thus knew that he owed praise to God for it. The appearing of the day through a new dawn had revealed God to Adam in another way. It had been an epiphany which had led to a theophany.

ἐπιφάνεια (epiphaneia) is an ancient Greek word which meant appearing; and in the centuries before the birth of Christ and our Bible idea of Epiphany, it had originally meant simply the coming of the dawn. Later, but still well before Christ, it came also to mean the revelation of a god such as Zeus appearing before a human – what we now call a theophany.

In the western church, Epiphany is associated with the coming of the Magi, the three wise people from the east who had brought gifts to the infant Jesus. In the eastern church, it is associated with the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus at his baptism by John in the River Jordan. Thus, odd as it may have seemed, it makes sense for our lectionary readings for this Sunday closest to January 6 to include the gospel narrative of Jesus’ baptism.

These two perceptions of Epiphany – the coming of the Magi and the Holy Spirit anointing Jesus – both have their place for us. The first dealt with the coming of the divine light to Gentiles, for the Magi were not Jews, indeed scholarship considers that they were most likely Zoroastrian priests. The second dealt with the coming of the divine light to those who followed John the Baptist, mainly Jews. Furthermore, the first came in the form of a helpless babe, the second as an adult about to embark on his ministry.

These perceptions are valuable messages for us; but Epiphany, in this sense of Theophany, can have much more to say to us. Epiphany speaks to each of us in any age both through the example of the Magi and of those witnessing at Jesus’ baptism; but more importantly, it is able to invite us to consider whether we have experienced such an Epiphany in our own lives. Has the divine light of the dawning of Christ amongst us been a reality in our own personal faith and lives? How might we know if it had? In the time of reflection after this homily during which our organist, David Heah, will play reflective music, we each might choose to consider this question:

How might we know in our own lives if the divine light of the dawning of Christ has become a reality in our own faith?

Each evening during this cycle of Serenata of Worship during the first four Sundays of January, I have circulated prayers that I encountered during my participation in the Great Lent of 2012 which led to my decision to proceed with ordination. This evening I have printed the prayers I came across on days 13 to 24 of that Lent.

In terms of the question, I am asking us to ponder this evening, I have been struck by the implied sense of epiphany which appear in a number of the prayers circulated tonight.

The prayer for Day 13, from Lord Shaftesbury, is an example of such an implied sense of epiphany which he seemed to have felt. Listen to these words:

O God … you teach us that love towards the race of man is the bond of perfectness, and the imitation of your blessed self. Open and touch our hearts that we may see and do … the things that belong to your peace.

Similarly, the prayer for Day 17 from Alan Paton:

O Lord, open my eyes that I may see the need of others, open my ears that I may hear their cries, open my heart so that they need not be without succour … Open my eyes and ears that I may, this coming day, be able to do some work of peace for thee.

Or the prayer from Day 20, where John Wesley prayed:

I am no longer my own but yours, put me to what you will … I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things to your pleasure and disposal. And now glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, you are mine and I am yours. So be it. And this covenant now made on earth, let it be satisfied in heaven. Amen.

The recurring theme of these prayers being an opening by us of our very selves not only to God through Jesus but to use this epiphany for the purpose of kingdom building. ‘Open and touch our hearts that we may see and do’, Lord Shaftesbury had said. ‘That I may be able to do some work of peace for thee’, Alan Paton had prayed. While John Wesley had called on God to ‘put me to what you will’. To what does our own personal epiphany – dawning of Christ in our lives – call us?

Our reading from Isaiah this evening spoke of a new dawning through the hand of God:

I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I will do, and I will not forsake them. [Is 42:16]

Daily God gifts us with a new dawn, each new darkness turned into light. With such epiphany then we have each day a chance for a new beginning in our faith. We never know what the new day will bring, but we can take comfort that God is already there awaiting us. As a moment ago our hymn ‘Sometimes a light surprises’ had us singing:

E’en let the unknown morrow bring with it what it may; it can bring with it nothing but God will bear us through. [v2-3]

And in a little later we will sing these words from the hymn ‘Awake, awake, fling off the night!’:

Awake, awake, fling off the night! For God has sent his glorious light; and we who live in Christ’s new day must works of darkness put away. [v1]

The fourth century rabbi had written:

When the sun sank at the termination of the Sabbath, darkness began to set in. Adam was terrified … (then) Light came forth and Adam uttered a blessing over it.

In our own lives, darkness may set in from time to time; but, God is always there to gift a new dawn. As we will sing in our final hymn this evening:

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on your side.

So let us offer a blessing of thanks for this daily gift which God does not have to give. And in giving thanks, let us be empowered by it that it may change not just who we are but the way we live. So, we return to the question of how we may discern epiphany in our own faith and the way we live, the prayer of Jeremiah [Day 18] can guide us:

Pray that the Lord your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do. [Jer 42:3]

A SERENATA OF WORSHIP

Night Prayer, January 2023

Part 2 – January 8

This year, as I lead us through the four Sunday sessions of Night Prayer in January, I will be reflecting back on the time leading to my own decision to proceed along the path towards ordination back in 2012. A key part of the process of personal discernment was the following a strict Lenten practice according to the Orthodox traditions along with a daily search during the Great Lent for suitable prayers that seemed to echo my feelings along the journey. I encountered over forty such prayers which were significant to me on that pilgrimage; over these four weeks, I will be sharing some of those as well as making some commentary about their spiritual import. Each evening, our organist will guide our worship through reflective playing and accompanying us in the singing of hymns to enable our worship to reach that space where we may feel a union with God. There will also be periods of silent worship where we will wait upon the ‘still small voice of God’ amidst the busyness of our lives. I pray that this series of Night Prayer might nourish each of us.

May God bless and keep you always, Rev Dr Lynn Arnold AO

Here follow the second twelve prayers I encountered on the thirteenth to twenty-fourth days of my Lenten Fast in 2012:

Day 13

The Prayer of Lord Shaftesbury:

O God, the father of the forsaken, the help of the weak, the supplier of the needy; you teach us that love towards the race of man is the bond of perfectness, and the imitation of your blessed self. Open and touch our hearts that we may see and do, both for this world and that which is to come, the things that belong to your peace. Strengthen us in the work which have undertaken; give us wisdom, perseverance, faith, and zeal, and in your own time and according to your pleasure prosper the issue; for the love of your Son Jesus Christ. Amen.

Day 14

A prayer from Basil the Great:

O God, enlarge within us the sense of fellowship with all living things, our brothers the animals to whom thou gavest the earth as their home in common with us. We remember with shame that in the past we have exercised the high dominion of man with ruthless cruelty so that the voice of the earth, which should have gone up to thee in song, has been a groan of travail. May we realise that they live not for us alone but for themselves and for thee, and that they love the sweetness of life.

Day 15

A prayer from Reinhold Niebuhr:

God, give us the grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things that should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.

Day 16

A commentary on fasting from the Armenian Orthodox based on a sermon by St John Chrysostom:

Do you fast? Give me proof of it by your works. If you see a poor man, take pity on him. If you see a friend being honoured, do not envy him. Do not let only your mouth fast, but also the eye, the ear, and the feet, and the hands, and all the members of our bodies. Let the eye fast, by disciplining them not to glare at that which is sinful … let the ear fast, by not listening to evil talk and gossip. Let the mouth fast from foul words and unjust criticisms. For what good is it if we abstain from fowl and fishes, but bite and devour our brothers? It is folly to abstain all day long from food, but fail to abstain from sin and selfishness. The Great Fast has no advantage to us unless it brings about our spiritual renewal. It is necessary while fasting to change our whole life and practice virtue. Turning away from all wickedness means keeping our tongue in check, restraining our anger, avoiding all gossip, lying and swearing. To abstain from these things – herein is the true value of the fast. Accept the fast as an experienced educator by whom the Church teaches piety.

Day 17

Prayer from Alan Paton:

O Lord, open my eyes that I may see the need of others, open my ears that I may hear their cries, open my heart so that they need not be without succour. Let me not be afraid to defend the weak because of the anger of the strong, nor afraid to defend the poor because of the anger of the rich. Show me where love and hope and faith are needed, and use me to bring them to these places. Open my eyes and ears that I may, this coming day, be able to do some work of peace for thee.

Day 18

Prayer from Jeremiah:

Pray that the Lord your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do. [Jer 42:3]

Day 19

Prayer of St Richard of Chichester:

Thanks be to thee, O Lord Christ, for all the benefits which thou hast given us; for all the pains and insults which thou hast borne for us. O merciful redeemer, friend  and brother, may we know thee more clearly, love thee more dearly and follow thee more nearly, for his own sake.  

Day 20

Prayer of John Wesley:

I am no longer my own but yours, put me to what you will. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed for you or laid aside for you. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things to Your pleasure and disposal. And now glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, you are mine and I am yours. So be it. And this covenant now made on earth, let it be satisfied in heaven. Amen.

Day 21

Prayer of Soren Kierkegaard:

Father in heaven! You speak to us in many ways. Even when you are silent, you still speak to us, in order to examine us, to try us, and so that the hour of our understanding may be more profound. Oh, in the time of silence, when I remain alone and abandoned because I do not hear your voice, it seems as if the separation must last forever. Father in heaven! It is only a moment of silence in the intimacy of a conversation. Bless then this silence, and let me now forget that you are through love, and that you speak through love, so that in your silence and in your word you are still the same Father, and that you guide and instruct even by your silence. 

Day 22

On this day in 2012 I wrote this:

I have been posting a prayer for each new day of the Fast. Tonight, I post a Quaker prayer – here it is:

[Silent pause]

That is to say, sitting in silence, waiting upon the Lord. I appreciate the great richness of spoken prayer, but none of them can match the power of a truly gathered meeting of faithful people gathered in silent expectation. And even as a solitary exercise, I so often find the exercise of silent prayer, where the mind is emptied of one’s own thoughts so that there is space for the Holy Spirit to speak to be the most powerful of prayers. For those who are reading these Facebook prayer posts, I suggest you try silent, expectant prayer. If you have not done it before, try it for five or ten minutes; don’t let your mind fret over any extraneous thoughts that pop up – just think each one quietly through until it goes … eventually, your mind will empty and then you will touch upon that space beyond words where you encounter the Divine.

Day 23

Prayer from St Bonaventure:

To thee, then, O Jesus, do I turn my true and last end. Thou are the river of life which alone can satisfy my thirst. Without thee all else is barren and void. Without all else thou alone art enough for me. Thou art the Redeemer of those that are lost; the sweet Consoler of the sorrowful; the crown of glory for the victors; the recompense of the blessed. One day I hope to receive thy fullness, and to sing the song of praise in my true home. Give me only on earth some few drops of consolation, and I will patiently wait thy coming that I may enter into the joy of my Lord.

Day 24:

Prayer from the poet e e cummings:

I thank you God for this most amazing day; for the leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.

[The prayers posted for Days 1 to 12 of my participation in the Great Lent of 2012 where printed last Sunday – copies are available on request]