The Drama of Epiphany: Unpacking "Hark the Herald Angels Sing"

 

On this 6th day of Christmas, I find myself thinking about both the final season of the Netflix series Stranger Things and Charles Wesley’s timeless carol, "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing." Good stories, whether secular dramas or the biblical narrative, have a certain logic: plot, character, and conflict to express their meaning. In Stranger Things, the juice in the storytelling arises from wanting answers to big questions: Who is Vecna? What is his ultimate goal? And who are our heroes at their core? The same is true of our faith journey.

 

From Incarnation to Manifestation

 

Wesley’s hymn starts with us joining the angels in singing "Glory to the newborn King". It proclaims that, in the babe born in Bethlehem, God has reconciled the world to himself. But how? And by what means? These are the questions that lead us f rom the Incarnation at Christmas into the season of Epiphany, which officially begins every year on January 6 and goes until Ash Wednesday.Epiphany comes f rom the Greek root epiphaneia, meaning "manifestation or appearance". It’s a season about revelation: when the invisible God makes himself visible in the world, who do we see? What do we learn about God when the baby in the manger grows up, gathers disciples, and begins his public ministry? 

 

Wesley’s Creedal Kinship

 

Ole' Chuck Wesley certainly thought about that. In the second verse of the hymn he penned, we can feel a kinship to the Creeds we recite in worship most Sundays:

Christ, by highest heaven adored,

Christ, the everlasting Lord,

Late in time behold him come,

Offspring of the Virgin's womb:

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;

Hail th'incarnate Deity,

Pleased with us in flesh to dwell,

Jesus, our Immanuel.

 

This powerful language grounds the mystery of Christmas in the core of our shared belief, setting the stage for a season of discovery. What's Next? May we all enter this Epiphany season with curiosity, eager to witness the continued manifestation of God's love in the world. Stranger Things be upon us!

​

- Pastor Josh