You can click below to watch my video thoughts on this Epiphany day, or keep reading to read my thoughts:

Today in our readings, I was drawn to our New Testament lesson, Revelation 21: 22-27.  Today is Epiphany, the day when we celebrate the arrival of the Wise Men to Bethlehem.  I was expecting the readings to point to that, but they didn’t.  Instead, they pointed to the expansion of the Kingdom, how Jesus came to save all the world. And from Revelation this is what really stuck out to me: 

Verse 22 says this – I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 

So often now, we associate worship with a place.  That is important, that is a biblical concept.  Think of how holy Jerusalem is to the people.  Think of the conversation Jesus has with the Samaritan women, much of it dealing with where the people should worship.  Jesus tells her (and us) that there will come a time when true followers will not worship at a place but in Spirit and Truth.  

Today we see that in heaven, there is no Temple (or place) because the Lord is our Temple.  We know this to be true, even now, the bible tells us that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. What this means is that even now, every time we feel the Spirit, we are having a foretaste of heaven.  Heaven is not just a future thing, but heaven can be experienced now. 

When you are reading the bible and feel the Spirit, that is a foretaste of heaven.  

When you are in worship and feel the Spirit, that is a foretaste of heaven.  

When you are serving your neighbor and feel the Spirit, that is a foretaste of heaven.

Heaven, and experiencing God in that way, is not just a future thing. It is a today thing.  One day we will fully eat at the wedding feast of the Lamb.  Today, through the Holy Spirit, we can get a taste. May our eyes, ears, and entire life be open to the movement of the Spirit.  And may we rejoice in that foretaste of what is to come.    

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