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Good Morning.
We’ve just finished with Christmas, and Lent hasn’t begun, so it’s probably rather premature to start thinking about Easter and Pentecost. But in this series of short meditations on epiphanies, I want to consider perhaps the greatest epiphany of all. This was the time when the penny (or possibly denarius) dropped for the apostles.

After the death of Jesus, the disciples were afraid. They feared persecution as followers of Jesus, the man who had been crucified for claiming to be the son of God. They had seen the empty tomb, but did not yet realise its significance. It was not until Jesus appeared to them, wishing them peace, that they finally understood. Jesus had died but had risen from the dead. As a scientist I find that impossible to explain. But as a person of faith, it is an act of magnificent love that leaves me in awe.

The apostles were afraid, but when they were blessed by the holy spirit they were re-born with confidence in their gifts of speech and healing.
We are often afraid. We fear illness or unemployment. Parents fear for their children, and children fear when their parents show signs of ageing.

Let us pray: that with faith and trust in God’s love for us, we are able to overcome our fears.
Help us to draw on the gifts given to us, and show by our words and actions that we recognize God in our neighbour – whoever that neighbour might be.

We pray that we treat everyone with respect and dignity. We do this out of love for God, and in thanks for the sacrifice that his son Jesus made for us.
Amen.