THEOLOGICAL CLUE

The Epiphany theme of the manifestation of God in Jesus is expanded in another direction on this Second Sunday after the Epiphany (once more, the Sundays ought to be thought of, if not actually named, as the Sundays of Epiphany), as Jesus' ministry is about to begin. The Gospel for the Day used to be the Gospel for the First Sunday after the Epiphany (Luke 2:41-52) in the classic, one-year lectionary; that, in itself separated Jesus' response in his ministry from God's action in his birth and baptism. (It will be remembered that the Epiphany, originally, was a unitive festival, consisting of the "Star Story" about his birth, the story of his baptism, and the miracle Christ performed at the wedding in Cana in Galilee.) The three-year lectionary limits its use of John's gos…