"Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word." --Psalm 119:67
The movie "Breakfast At Tiffany's" was released in 1961. You might remember it was a RomCom (before that term was even coined, I think) and it starred Aubrey Hepburn. Recently I saw the cartoon shown above that parody's the movie, as it is titled "Breakfast At Epiphany's". In it, a man is shown at a diner, staring into his plate. He says, "Oh my goodness! These doughnuts are making me fat!"
One of the great epiphanies in Scripture is found in the story of the Prodigal Son. You probably remember the story from Luke chapter 15, starting in verse 11. A father had two sons, and one of the sons chafed under the father's house rules. The son wanted to go out on his own, away from his father's wisdom and protection. For awhile, the son was living it up, relying on the riches that his father had provided for him before he left home. Soon, though, when those provisions dried up, the son found himself in a dead-end job, hungry and alone.
Out of the pigpen of desperation, the son started thinking of how he missed his father's house--the provision, the protection, the promise of a better life. Humbled, the son returned to the father, hoping to be allowed back as a household servant. Much to his surprise, the father welcomed him home with open arms. He was clothed in his father's robe, ate from the father's table, and was given the authority to act in his father's name (this was the significance of the ring mentioned in verse 22--it was probably a signet ring, adorned with the family crest.)
You might say, well, all of this could have been his all along. If he had not turned his back on the father, if he had not lived in sin on his own, the father would have continued to love him and provide for him and bless him in ways that his sinful eyes could not see until he found himself hungry and alone, treated worse than the pigs he was hired to feed. And you'd be half-right. The older brother, the one who did stay with the father, was not a paragon of virtue in this parable.
Jesus used this story to answer the Pharisees who had accused Him of hanging out with sinners and tax collectors. They implied that since Jesus was eating with sinful people, He must have approved of their sins, and maybe even participated in their sinful lifestyles Himself. One of the great things about the parables of Jesus is that they turn the tables on His accusers. This particular parable is highly nuanced: not only does it speak to their present state of mind (and give hope to generations who came after), but it also speaks to the history of the Jewish people.
Epiphanies come at just the right time
Theodore Roosevelt is credited with saying, "If you could kick the person in the pants most responsible for your trouble, you wouldn't sit for a month." The entire Torah--the first five books of the Bible, and the only Scripture that the Pharisees recognized--is all about grace. We think it is the Law, the books of "thou shalt" and "thou shalt not." It's really the story of God calling His people, His people falling away (e.g. running after false gods), and God restoring them by His grace. Israel's sons turned their backs on God, and found themselves enslaved in Egypt. God called Moses to lead them out, but they rebelled and persuaded Aaron to build them an idol in the form of a golden calf, even while Moses was on the mountain getting the Law from God Himself. God led them up to the border of the promised land, and the people cringed in fear because they thought it was too hard.
In Deuteronomy 30, Moses is about to die, and the nation of Israel is about to cross over into the promised land after having wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. Under the inspiration of God, Moses predicts that, even though they are following God right now with all their heart, soul, mind and strength, the time will come when they will rebel against God again. Thankfully when that time did come, when they did fall out of God's presence and turn their backs on His mercy, God would give them an epiphany. By His grace He would hear their cries when they repent, and restore them to their land when they submitted themselves to His law.
And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey His voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and He will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you. If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will take you. (Deuteronomy 30:1-4)
I think maybe this is one of the Old Testament passages that Jesus had in mind (along with many others) when He told the parable of the prodigal son (remember that it is a layered story, and speaks to many people on many different levels). He points out that it is God who gives the epiphany. In Luke, Jesus said the boy remembered how things were in his father's house. In Deuteronomy Moses said they would "call to mind" the blessings of God before they had been exiled into an foreign land with an alien culture. When the prodigal son repented, he was welcomed back into the father's house. When Israel decided to "return to the Lord your God," and "obey His voice...with all your heart and soul," then He would "gather you again from all the peoples" where they had been scattered. When the prodigal son found himself in hell, he had a heart change. Ironically, Moses said "if your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven" and have heart change, God would restore them. I don't think he was talking about heaven as in God's dwelling place; I think he was referring to the heavens as in the night sky, where they had been scattered like the stars, throughout the known universe.
The first rule of holes: when you are in one, stop digging
There are some things we should know about God. First, He is holy and righteous. We, unfortunately, are not. Second, we see that He is merciful and gracious. Again, unlike us in our sinful nature. Third, we know that God is faithful.
A lot of people overlook the first and foremost attribute of God, His holiness. God cannot abide sin. He casts out the sinner; He allows us to suffer the consequences of our sin. If we miss this, we miss the point of the gospel. We like to think of God as merciful and gracious, because we like to be treated with mercy and grace. There are people who say, "How could God allow people (whom He loves) to be cast into hell?" They do not recognize the great price that God paid to bring us into grace and mercy.
Lamentations 3:23 describes God as faithful. "Great is thy faithfulness," it says. How do we know that God is faithful? Because of what was said in Lamentations 3:22---"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning." He has provided a way out. He paid the ultimate price for our sin, if we could only see it and accept it. Moses alludes to this later in this same sermon in Deuteronomy 30.
For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, "Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?" Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, "Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?" But the word is very near to you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so you can do it. (Deuteronomy 30: 11-14)
If the man in the cartoon, the one who said "This doughnut is making me fat"--if he had shrugged his shoulders and taken another bite, would it have been a true epiphany? No! Only if he put the fattening food down and pushed away from the table--only then would it have been a true epiphany.
Epiphanies should always precede repentance.
This, my friends, is the message of the Gospel. God is separated from man because of His holiness and our sin. We cannot become sinless. It is impossible. Therefore God has made provision for us, by His great sacrifice, so that we can come to Him as we are and be clothed in His righteousness. Only then can we sit at His table. It is His provision that we rely on, not ourselves. "For by grace are you saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves--it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast." We don't have to make a pilgrimage to some foreign land to encounter this sacrifice. We don't have to crawl on our hands and knees through broken glass up the steps of some cathedral to know God's grace. God has brought it to our doorstep. It is called the blood of Jesus. Romans 10:6-10 says this:
But the righteousness based on faith says, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) "or 'Who will descend into the abyss?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved."
You may not feel close to God at all at this point in your life. You may have gone your own way for years, only to find yourself at the end of your rope. I pray that God will open your eyes, that the light will come on in your mind. When you have that moment, that epiphany, God's light will shine on you. At this point you will have an epiphany of eternal proportions. Moses finishes his sermon with these words from Deuteronomy 30:19. "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live."
John 2:12-13 says, " 'Yet even now,' declares the Lord, 'return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.' Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and He relents over disaster." Like the father in the prodigal son story, God is waiting for you to turn to him. He will meet you where you are, not to leave you there, but to redeem you, to change your heart.
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