There is a term that has caught my attention in the past year as we have gone through some difficult times as a nation dealing with racial issues, political divisiveness, and world pandemic . . . “woke”. This term has been used to refer to a reckoning or realization of reality or some fact . . . a kind of awakening. When I looked the word up to find its meaning, the basic meaning is to “wake up” . . . or at least that is what it meant in the past. Now, the definition is “awareness of and actively attentive to important facts and issues, especially issues of racial and social justice.” The Apostle Paul is calling the people of the Ephesus congregation to “wake up” . . . to enter the state of “woke”.
How appropriate Paul’s call to wakefulness . . . to being “woke” . . . as we have entered the season of Epiphany. Epiphany is the season of the church year that commemorates the coming of the Magi as the first manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles. It means a sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something . . . a grasp of reality through something usually simple and striking . . . an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure. Many have said that an epiphany is an “aha moment”. It is waking up . . . being “woke”.
It should come as no surprise then that as we gather to worship on this first Sunday of Epiphany, we are hearing the Apostle Paul call for the people to “wake up” . . . to wake up to the fact that God has come for all people, that God is with everyone . . . to wake up to the fact that the people as individuals and as a congregation of the faithful are carriers of this “good news” . . . that they are the “key” to God’s Kingdom on earth and heaven too. That they have all that it takes to succeed in building that kingdom . . . they have the power, wealth, and strength. It is within them all thanks to Jesus.
As it was for those early Christians, so it is for us today.
Have you gotten the “wake up call” yet?
This past Wednesday we all witnessed something that we have never seen in our nation’s history before. A scary scene broken out at our nation’s capital as those who had gathered to support the president moved from being protesters to insurrectionists as congress worked to confirm the results of the election. From a peaceful demonstration to a storming of the capital we witnessed a scary scene. Representatives and senators were rushed out of the chambers where they were conducting the business to places of safety. Confrontations and law enforcement clashed. Chaos ensued. It was six hours before the mess was cleaned up, the mob dispersed, and order was restore allowing congress to get back to business.
There is no doubt that what was taking place swirled around a building divisiveness on a contentious issue that has been stoked by many for several months. It was a fire waiting to happen . . . for the spark to light the flame. Then it happened and we all watched as the craziness unfolded. In the end five people died . . . one from being shot, one being hit with a fire extinguisher, three others from medical conditions compounded by what was happening around them.
As I watched the day unfold on the news, I noticed that there was a shift in attitudes and behavior within the members of congress. There was an “awakening” . . . members were “woke”. Several admitted that as representatives of their constituents and the nation that their behavior and words contributed to the mess. There was a realization that they needed to step back and quit being a part of the problem and start being a part of the solution. For many, on both sides of the aisle, enough was enough as the president-elect stated in his call for civility. It was an epiphany.
Watching the televised images of the chaos at the nation’s capital, I was shocked to see throughout the crowd storming the building flags declaring “Jesus Saves”. My heart was broken at what I was witnessing because my savior . . . my Lord . . . would never willingly endorse or participate is such madness and violence. No, the Jesus in my life is centered on love . . . centered on relationship . . . of people working together for the common good of one another. Yet, there in the crowd were people carrying these flags contradicting everything that Jesus stands for in word and action. I was saddened that this would be a witness to millions around the world of Jesus.
At that moment I realized that our faith . . . our love for God . . . our willingness to follow Jesus encompasses all the aspects of our lives. We cannot separate our faith into nice little boxes to be used only in specific situations. No, our faith guides all the aspects of our lives as followers of Jesus . . . not just the religious ones, but all of them . . .including politics. I got the “wake up call” . . . I was “woke”. I was “woke” to the fact that if we do not step up and live the love of Jesus in the face of all of this craziness, who will?
Epiphany is the season of “waking up”. During this season we are called upon to “wake up” to the presence of God in our world and lives. We are called upon to “wake up” to the desire of God . . . a desire demonstrated and lived through words and action by Jesus. And, we are called upon to “wake up” and begin living our lives in the reality of a God in the world in which we exist . . . to be the “body” of Christ. The Apostle Paul asks those who receive his letter, “Surely you have heard . . .” A more direct way of saying this would be, “Wake up!” Wake up to the wealth, power, and strength that comes from God’s presence, grace, and love in your lives.
Through the events of the past year . . . a world-wide pandemic . . . the racial injustice we have witnessed . . . the political divisiveness . . . the oppression around the world . . . and, most importantly, the immoral and distasteful ways that humanity has chosen to treat those who think differently . . . we have been given a “wake up call” by the events of this past Wednesday in our nation’s capital. The Apostle Paul wants us “woke” . . . God wants us “woke” . . . and, Jesus shows us the way it is to be done. As we have heard, enough is enough is enough!
The apostle tells us: “His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.” It is up to us! It is up to us through the grace and love of God to be the living witnesses of this “mystery”, as Paul calls it, to change the world. Jesus showed us the way. All of us . . . every child of God created in God’s own image . . . all of us can do better.
Are you listening? Did you hear the “wake up call”? I do not always agree with the theology or methods of Joel Osteen or his ministry, but I did appreciate something that he said. Osteen said: “We think when God speaks to us, there’s going to be a boom out of heaven or we’re going to get some chill bumps, but I really believe that God is talking to us all the time. He’s talking to us right in here. I call it our heart, our conscience, but it is the Holy Spirit talking to us.”
We are in the season of Epiphany . . . the season of ‘waking up” . . . the aha. We are called to “wake up” . . . to enter into a state of “woke”. Are you listening? Amen.
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