SONGWRITING
RESOLUTIONS & EPIPHANIES FOR A NEW YEAR | Kevin MacDougall
Greetings to you in the new year , fellow songwriters !
I want to begin with a prompt . ( We love our prompts , don ’ t we ?)
There have been plenty of Christians who believed that Jesus was like God , but there have been significantly fewer who believed that God is like Jesus . Can you write a song which explores how Jesus shows us the nature and character of God ? Can you write a song which develops the theme that Jesus shows us what God is like ?
If the above questions already have your creative wheels turning , go forth and write !
Christmas . And , with this being a new article for a new year , it seems like the right moment to explore it .
AN EPIPHANY Epiphany is celebrated twelve days after Christmas on January 6th . ( If you ’ re hearing this for the first time , and doing the math on why there ’ s a song called “ The 12 Days of Christmas ,” you ’ re not alone .) This holy day marks the end of the span of time between the birth of Christ and the visitation of the Magi . The arrival of the Magi signifies God ’ s gathering and full inclusion of the Gentiles . “ Epiphany ” — from the Greek epipháneia , meaning “ manifestation ” or “ appearance ” — celebrates the revelation of God incarnate as Jesus Christ ( theophany ).
Already , we can see the scandal of what “ God With Us ” looks like .
It looks like a baby , born on the margins , showing us the radical inclusion of God . And Jesus would continue making this clear throughout his earthly ministry — recognizing the great faith of women , Samaritans , gentiles , centurions , etc … Even when doing so frustrated the dogmatic and religious .
So the observance of Epiphany draws us to an epiphany : If this is what God With Us looks like , then it is also what God is like . Jesus isn ’ t operating in a contrary way to the Divine — he ’ s simply making known what has always been true of God , and doing so vividly .
For everyone else , let ’ s step back , unwrap , and develop the ideas which led to this specific prompt for this specific time .
Though I come from a pretty standard nondenominational background , there are aspects of the high church calendar that I have always appreciated . And while celebrations such as Christmas and Easter are recognized by all Christians , there are other seasons and holy days that many of our churches never recognize at all . As a result , we can miss the focus and intentionality these observances provide for a faith community .
A good example of this phenomenon is the first major observance that comes along after
The high church calendar goes from twelve days of focus on the birth of Jesus , to its next special observance being dedicated to the seers and sages who traveled a great distance to worship him . Essentially , we move from Emmanuel , God With Us … to recognizing those who challenged our understanding of what we mean when we refer to “ Us .”
You see , the celebration of Jesus ’ birth belongs to shepherds who were unclean ( and thus barred from temple worship ) along with these gentile astrologers from the East . None of the respected religious hierarchy of Israel is present or involved . Instead , Jesus subverts the expectations of many , and is celebrated by the outcasts and the excluded .
A RESOLUTION Epiphany provides the Christmas story with something really good stories tend to have .
… A resolution .
Of course , it ’ s ironic since this is the time of year that many of us use to make New Year ’ s resolutions ( and most of them are hard to keep , if we ’ re honest ). But resolution is important . It draws out the implications of a story for us . It gives us space to sit with them . Dwell on them . Allow them to inform our perspectives .
Though depicted in endless nativity scenes — which can have the effect of robbing the scandal of it all , taming and sanitizing the story