Saint Timothy Lutheran Church

    We had to shut down our Friday Foodbank. Non-perishable goods are always available. If you are in need of food, please stop by the church or call 503-761-8202. 

     An epiphany is…”a realization; an opening; a portal to the Divine; growing up; a magic moment that impacts you and changes you forever and you can remember it as vividly as you experienced it; a moment that changes the lens through which you view your life; our soul scratching around our head and giving us a signal to guide our lives with; a moment of descending light, open knowledge, and choice; a drastic shift in energy and change of perspective that happens in the form of a moment of clarity; something that gives you the strength to take a different direction or move forward and opens up everything; a sense of wonderment; a clarifying direction; and, that moment where you know your life is never going to be the same.” (Ballard, Elise. 2011, January 25. How Do You, We, I Define Epiphany, Exactly? PsychologyToday.com). These were the definitions of epiphany given to psychologist Elise Ballard by people that she interviewed on the subject. I appreciate all these answers but I especially like the last one: that moment where you know your life is never going to be the same. I think that gets at the heart of what Epiphany truly is. Epiphany was the moment when those who witnessed Jesus’ birth realized their lives would never again be the same. Epiphany is the moment in which we realize that because of Jesus our lives will never be the same again. Epiphany is the day in the church year that we celebrate the wise men traveling from the east to honor the newborn king. Imagine how their lives were forever changed as they traveled a great distance to honor a small baby, the savior of the world. Did they come with great expectations? Did they leave in awe of the humble origins of this newborn king? Did they have an inkling of what Jesus meant for them and the world? Imagine how the lives of the shepherds were forever changed when angels came to them in the fields heralding good news of a savior born into the world. Did they doubt what they had seen and heard? Did they rush to see the newborn king, leaving behind their flocks? Did they stand in wonder of the promised messiah? Did they leave pondering the revelation that God had not forgotten them? Epiphany means manifestation and on Epiphany we celebrate the physical manifestation of Jesus to the gentiles. It is a celebration of God coming into the world to be with us in tangible ways. It is the end of Christmas and the beginning of our realization that our lives will never be the same again because of a baby born into the world. The season of Epiphany begins with Epiphany Sunday on January 6th as we remember the journey the wise men made to see the newborn king. The season of Epiphany ends on Ash Wednesday, March 6th. Throughout the season of Epiphany we wonder at the multitude of ways Jesus is made manifest in our lives and the truth that because of Jesus our lives will never be the same again.

Pastor Jennifer Beil

     The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Luke 2:20

     In the Lord my heart trusts; so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.

Psalm 28:7

     To you born this day in the city of David, a Savior , who is the Messiah, the Lord.

Luke 2:11

     To you, O Lord, I call; my rock, do not refuse to hear me.

Psalm 28:1

     At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”

Luke 1:39-45

     Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:

“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, ‘Here I am — it is written about me in the scroll — I have come to do your will O God. ‘ “

First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings  you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”(although the law required them to be made). Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the savrifice of the body of Jesus Christ for all.

Hebrews 10:5-10

     And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed for the Mighty One has done great things for me — holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.”

Luke 1:46-55

     “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor gives birth and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be their peace.

Micah 5:2-5