{"id":1638,"date":"2021-01-21T18:33:48","date_gmt":"2021-01-21T23:33:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/standrewsharlem.org\/blog\/?p=1638"},"modified":"2021-01-21T18:37:12","modified_gmt":"2021-01-21T23:37:12","slug":"1-10-21-the-first-sunday-after-the-epiphany","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/standrewsharlem.org\/blog\/?p=1638","title":{"rendered":"1\/10\/21 The First Sunday after the Epiphany: Let there be Light"},"content":{"rendered":"

The reading from the opening of the book of Genesis today tells us that the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep when God created the heavens and earth:\u00a0 God said \u201cLet there be Light\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0 And the chaos of the void was transformed by God into his beloved creation. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Mark\u2019s gospel for today tells us of John the Baptist appearing in the wilderness \u2013 the raw, rough countryside filled with people whose lives were disordered and disfigured by sin, coming to be made new.\u00a0 And as God\u2019s sign in the chaos John washes them and points to the one who will bring the Spirit \u2013 Jesus.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Bringing order out of chaos is the eternal work of God in Christ Jesus. From \u201cthe Beginning\u201d, \u00a0to the moments in every person\u2019s life and in the life of the peoples of the world, when chaos and disorder find a hold, God is active and making a way to be make all things new and restored.\u00a0 The disorder we see in our country and in the world today is rooted in the same primordial void over which the Spirit of God moved, as His Word \u2013 began to call into being a divine order.\u00a0 Bringing order from chaos is the eternal work of the Church as well \u2013 We have all been re-ordered in baptism, as Jesus gave the sign offering himself to John for our sake \u2013 for our sins.\u00a0 And like Jesus our identity is stamped as Beloved by God. As we celebrate this feast of His baptism today, may we recall the eternal possibility of renewal and restoration in our world and in our lives, made possible by our own baptisms, and open our lives again to the work God has done for us and the work God entrusts to us.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Creator God, we praise and worship you for your infinite power and love. We thank you that you have washed us clean and that you continue to inspire and refresh us with your presence. Remind us daily of our baptism in Christ and the ever present possibility of a fresh start and new beginning in Him day by day. Lord, in Your mercy, Hear Our Prayer.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The reading from the opening of the book of Genesis today tells us that the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep when God created the heavens and earth:\u00a0 God said \u201cLet there be Light\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0 And the chaos of the void was transformed by God into his beloved creation. … Continue reading 1\/10\/21 The First Sunday after the Epiphany: Let there be Light<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/standrewsharlem.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1638"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/standrewsharlem.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/standrewsharlem.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/standrewsharlem.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/standrewsharlem.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1638"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/standrewsharlem.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1638\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1642,"href":"https:\/\/standrewsharlem.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1638\/revisions\/1642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/standrewsharlem.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/standrewsharlem.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/standrewsharlem.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}