Second Tuesday after Christmas
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He asked them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” Mark 6:38
On this eve of Epiphany, it is hard not to think about the wise men, the final night of their journey ahead of them. Perhaps they knew they were getting near to their destination, perhaps they did not. It is appealing to think of them knowing this was the last night, their excitement palpable as they started to pack at twilight. Just one more night following the star, they whisper in the camel’s ear.
Too often, we under-estimate anticipation in our discipleship. Yet it is so present in the stories of discipleship, including the amazing feeding of the 5,000 in the gospel of Mark. But this is no ordinary feast story on this eve of Epiphany, this miracle is a miracle of anticipation. Like the wise men, the disciples are called to “go and see.” Go and see how many loaves. Go and see the child who has been born. Anticipation calls us to go and see. Anticipation is not a single emotion, in our discipleship, anticipation is layered with movement and perception.
What did it take for the wise men to see something different in that star? What did it take for the disciples to see something different in those loaves? It took anticipation that something new was at hand, that something different was about to be revealed. Like the loaves and the star, God gives us wonders all the time to remind us that our faith is about anticipation. Whether we are skeptics like the disciples appear to be at first in the story from Mark (how are we to go and buy two hundred denarii of bread?) or passionate followers like the ones traveling from afar after a star, we are disciples of anticipation. The anticipation in our discipleship does not end with the end of the Advent or Christmas season, we might turn from star-gazing to bread counting, or something else entirely. What do you anticipate for this next part of your journey? Go and see.
The Rev. Dr. Barbara E. DavisExecutive Minister, The First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York
Rev. Davis,
ReplyDeleteThanks for this reflection…
In this New Year, this message reminds me to have faith in looking forward with anticipation to the wonders or epiphanies that God has in store for me, for us, on this journey.
Have a blessed and terrific Tuesday and year.
Dr. Gale Gayle