Remembering God's Crazy Math on Epiphany
Deuteronomy 7:18 (Verse 19 of 145)
But I’m telling you, Don’t be afraid. Remember, yes, remember in detail what God, your God, did to Pharaoh and all Egypt.
Dear Faithful Reader,
As I write this, it’s early on a Monday morning in January. It happens to be January 6—Epiphany, the official last day of Christmas, the day we celebrate the Wise Men following the star that led them to Bethlehem to worship the Christ child.
January has always been my hardest month, a time when the darkness and cold seem so pervasive, so never-ending that I struggle to find light in the darkness. I struggle to not be afraid.
In the Bible verse above, Moses is still giving his long, last sermon to the people of Israel. And in the verse just before it, he anticipates one of their fears about entering the Promised Land. Verse 17 in The Message translation reads, “You’re going to think to yourselves, “Oh! We’re outnumbered ten to one by these nations! We’ll never even make a dent in them!”
Outnumbered, small and insignificant—not standing a chance against more powerful forces—that’s exactly how January makes me feel.
So today I am focusing on God’s crazy math—that the ragtag nation of Israelites triumphed over the bigger, better equipped nations they sought to displace. I am focusing on the Light that shines in the darkness and the darkness does not overcome it. (For a really wonderful Christmas message, please read Nadia Boltz-Weber’s sermon here.)
If you follow the practice of adopting a Star Word on Epiphany to guide you through the year, I invite you to share your word in the comments below, if you like. I haven’t chosen mine yet, but I am working on discerning or happening upon one, and I’ll share it after I’ve landed on it. In the meantime, thank you for journeying with me—through January, in the coming year, and, especially, through fear.
Release
Behold