Collect for the Epiphany
Eternal Father, who at the baptism of Jesus revealed him to be your Son,
anointing him with the Holy Spirit: Grant to us, who are born of water and the Spirit, that we may be faithful to our calling as your adopted children; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Genesis 1: 1-5
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
Luke 1: 68-79
John 8: 1-12
Darkness isn’t actually something in itself. It is the absence of something – the absence of light. Which is why, as God’s first act of creation, He commands light to be. Without a light source, nothing can be seen. God’s light shines so that the beauty of creation can be seen. Without light, there is nothing.
However our eyes aren’t equipped to look at light directly, it’s just too bright. What we actually see is reflected light, light that shines from a source – in daylight, the sun – reflected by the people or place we are looking at.
That principle allows us to take photographs. In daylight, the sunlight hits a subject and its image is reflected back into the camera. If there’s no sun (like County Kerry since October!) the light comes from a flashbulb. Imagine, then, that people are like cameras. When they look at us, what they see is God’s light reflected in us. Through us, His light shines into the world, destroying the darkness. If we let it. For we do have a choice not to. God gives us the freedom to reflect it or smother it.
So the question we ask of ourselves is this. When the world looks at us, sees our actions, our life, do we reflect the light of Christ, and further His Kingdom? Or do we deepen the darkness?
Previous Posts
Praying Together 30th March 2025
As Julian of Norwich wrote, ‘the example of a mother’s service is closest, most willing, and most sure because it is most true’, and thus we use that example as part of our Lenten journey.
Praying Together 23rd March 2025
God gives us the freedom to make that choice, and will always offer us another chance when we fail, as He did to the barren fig tree.
Praying Together 16 March 2025
Unlike the other tragic heroes, Jesus has no flaw or blemish other than those inflicted by others: the scars on His back, the thorn-blood on His forehead, the betrayal by His friend.
Praying Together March 9th 2025
God’s demand for perfection need not discourage you in the least in your present attempts to be good, or even in your present failures.
Praying Together 2nd March 2025
God of the nations, whose sovereign rule brings justice and peace, have mercy on our broken and divided world.
Praying Together 23 February 2025
Meditation for the Second Sunday before Lent CollectAlmighty God,you have created the heavens and the earthand made us in your own image:Teach us to discern your hand in all your worksand your likeness in all your children;through Jesus Christ our Lord,who with you...
Praying Together 16th February 2025
And if you accept Him as Lord, allow Him to lead you as you walk into the future without looking back, and do what He has equipped you to do as His body on earth
Praying Together 9th February 2025
We are all asked to have the faith to put out into deep water, but we must remember that we will never be on our own. Peter’s ministry was made possible by the power of the Holy Spirit, as will ours.
Praying Together 2nd February 2025
We are all called to be the Body of Christ in His entirety – and we are to take the example of all ‘Saints’ who have gone before, both male and female, as models of our required behaviour.
Praying Together 26th January 2025
Most importantly, in the face of what appears to be a society built upon prejudice and hatred, we are sustained and strengthened by the knowledge that in the end, love will triumph, leaving the wordly values of the tyrant to be forgotten.
Praying Together 19th January 2025
Jesus has demonstrated His authority and power. He takes something ordinary, and it becomes extraordinary. He turns water to wine. He heals the past and offers a new future. He changes his followers from sinner to saint.
Meditations 5th January 2025
With the same eyes as the Magi, we look into the manger, see the light of the world – be it for the first time, after a dark time, or in our daily devotions – and every time we see something new.