For all intents and purposes, the Son of God in the human flesh of the man Jesus would have looked just like anybody else (confer Isaiah 53:2). People could have come to know Who Jesus really was as the Son of God only when One of the Blessed Persons of the Holy Trinity in one way or another revealed Jesus’s identity to people, as when Jesus opened His mouth to teach or worked miracles by His Divine power through His human flesh. Jesus’s miracle or “sign” of turning water into wine was one such miracle, the first that the Divinely-inspired St. John records (John 2:1-11; confer 4:46). And, St. John’s account explicitly states that by that miracle Jesus “manifested” His glory and His disciples believed in Him. That “manifesting” is making visible or known, whether by word or deed, what has been hidden or unknown. And, the Greek word for “manifesting” is related to our English word “epiphany”, which we title this season that can be said to focus on such manifestations of Jesus’s glory for the purpose of people trusting in Him for the forgiveness of their sins, and so also for eternal life and salvation from the death and eternal torment that our sins deserve. Whether through the reading or preaching of His Word to groups, or through the application of His Gospel to individuals in Holy Baptism, Holy Absolution, or the Holy Supper, Jesus manifests His glory still today, and His disciples believe in Him. (As indicated below, we will hear more about Jesus’s miracle at Cana during the season of Epiphany in 2025.)

The season of Epiphany begins with the day of Epiphany, focused on the Gentile magi whom God guided to the Child Jesus with His Word and a star. The First Sunday after the Epiphany marks the Baptism of our Lord, wherein, amid a revelation of the Holy Trinity, He took on our sins and set apart Baptism as our way of receiving in faith the benefits of His death and resurrection for us. And, six other Sundays after the Epiphany follow, each with their own appearance of the Lord, until the last Sunday after the Epiphany, the observance of the Transfiguration of the Lord, perhaps the most glorious appearance of the God-man Jesus Christ until He appears the final time (2 Thessalonians 2:8; 1 Timothy 6:14; 2 Timothy 4:1; Titus 2:13).

The Epiphany Season’s themes of joy, celebration, gladness, light, purity, and innocence are accented by the use of white paraments (cloths on the pastor and chancel furnishings) for the day of Epiphany, the Baptism of Our Lord, and the Transfiguration. And, the Season’s theme of the resulting spiritual growth is reflected in the season’s green paraments, used for five “middle” Sundays of the season.

During Epiphany 2025, one Sunday that would be “green” is superseded by a principal feast of Christ, The Purification of Mary  and the Presentation of Our Lord. A listing of all the Sundays during this year’s Epiphany Season (with their dates and Gospel Readings according to Year C of Lutheran Service Book‘s 3-year series of readings, mostly using the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke) follows:

  • Epiphany (01/06): God guides Gentile “wise men” to the Child Jesus (Matthew 2:1-12)
  • Baptism of Our Lord (01/12): Jesus is baptized for us (Luke 3:15-22)
  • Second Sunday after the Epiphany (01/19): Jesus miraculously blesses newlyweds (John 2:1-11)
  • Third Sunday (01/26): Jesus preaches about His fulfilling prophecies (Luke 4:16-30)
  • Purification and Presentation (02/02): The Child Jesus is revealed as salvation (Luke 2:22-40)
  • Fifth Sunday (02/09): Jesus calls disciples who catch us “fish” (Luke 5:1-11)
  • Sixth Sunday (02/16): Jesus proclaims blessings and woes to the multitudes (Luke 6:17-26)
  • Seventh Sunday (02/23): Jesus teaches us to love our enemies as He loved us (Luke 6:27-38)
  • Transfiguration of Our Lord (03/02): Jesus gives a glimpse of His true glory (Luke 9:28-36)

You are invited and welcome to attend Pilgrim in person on those dates and at all times, but, if you cannot, you can usually at least read and listen to the sermons here. (Live Skype and recorded audio and video of the whole service in order to stream or download later are linked for a time near the top right of this page.)

The banner graphic on the top of this page and the corresponding slider graphic on the main page were composed by Katy Myers, whom we hereby thank, using an image of the “Wedding at Cana” stained glass window at St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church in Columbus, Ohio, that is in the public domain and was found here.