An Epiphany Message From Bishop Susan Bell

A Message from the Bishop of Niagara
The Right Reverend Dr. Susan J.A. Bell

 

Dear Friends,
I came across this poem on which to meditate for this feast of Epiphany. It’s by someone we might call a contemporary Anglican poet—his name is Malcolm Guite.

What this poet captures so beautifully I think, is the good news of the birth of God’s Son who comes to make things right in this world – to undo all the wrong that we do; to restore justice; to remake us into the image of God’s love.

The poem speaks of the power of God threatening the powers and principalities of this world. It speaks of the power of love over fear, and of right over might.

And it does this, not by mentioning the picturesque bits of the Christmas story: kings and three gifts, but by centering on the difficult bits—the parts we often pass over: refugees on the run from a murderous and manipulative ruler.

And it shows where God is in this story: with the vulnerable, with the threatened, with the hungry, the poor, and the innocent. And this revealing of God’s presence— this Epiphany—shows us very clearly where we as followers of Jesus should also be. As, over the course of our lives, we learn to become more and more like Christ, it is clear that the mission of God is all about loving and protecting these little ones.

May you embrace God’s mission too—this Epiphany and always.

 Faithfully,

The Right Reverend Dr. Susan J.A. Bell
Bishop of Niagara