The Rt. Rev. David M. Reed's Epiphany Letter to the Diocese
“After they had heard the king, they set out; and ahead of them went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was…They were overwhelmed with joy.” (Matthew 2:9-10)
“Look up to the sky. There is a light, a beauty up there, that no shadow can touch.” (Tolkien)
Dear Clergy and People of West Texas,
Grace to you and peace in Jesus Christ as we ring in a new year and celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany! This is my final communication to you as your bishop, and I can think of nothing better to start with than words St. Paul often started his epistles with: “I give thanks to God always for you…” As I write this, I have begun Day One of retirement, but since New Year’s Day is a holiday, it feels like, well, a holiday and not the beginning of a brand-new thing.
I hope I have done my best, and I’ve tried to keep showing up till the end. I’m aware of things I’ve “done and left undone” and can only entrust my failings and bad ideas to God’s never-failing mercy, confident that he can transform our little offerings into something beautiful.
As is God’s habit, he is doing a new thing in my life, your life, and in the life of the Diocese. On December 1, we celebrated the Investiture of my colleague and successor, Bishop David G. Read, and I am grateful for all he has already brought to the episcopacy in West Texas, and I am glad to call him my bishop now. As much as the last few months for me have been filled with reminiscing about 17+ years as a bishop and 40+ years of ordained ministry, a new year brings a strong pull to look toward what is to come. And the Light who has come into the world leads us to do that looking with hope and courage, with tenacity and gentleness, and with gratitude and joy. The season of Epiphany—the time of the manifestation and revealing of Jesus our Messiah—recalls us to the truth proclaimed in John’s Gospel that “the true light, which enlightens everyone, has come into the world,” and “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Epiphany offers us a pattern for daily living with Jesus: don’t just look attentively for the light that dazzles and awes but look expectantly for the light that illuminates every moment, every corner, every person we encounter. We seek Jesus less in radiant robes and more in the ordinary people, places, and events he lights up with his mercy and love. In the light of his holiness, our eyes are open to the holiness of others.
As we move into retirement with all its possibilities and uncertainties, Patti and I carry and hold close so much that we have received from you, the people of West Texas—the blessings of shared life and friendship and ministry; the adventures of following Jesus; the lightheartedness and the heartbreak; the wins and losses; the encouragement, forgiveness, and love; the prayers. Surely, we have known dry seasons and dark times together. But the light shines on, leading us this way, toward the Kingdom of heaven.
In her book, Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith, Barbara Brown Taylor remembers, “The parts of the Christian story that had drawn me to the Church were not the believing parts, but the beholding parts.
“Behold, I bring you good news of great joy…
“Behold, the Lamb of God…
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock…
“Behold, I make all things new…
“While I understood why and how the early Church decided to wrap those mysteries in protective layers of orthodox belief, the beliefs never seized my heart the way the mysteries did.”
I’m unapologetically creedal, but I get what she’s saying. In my life as priest and bishop what has taken hold of my heart time and again—what has filled me with hope, renewed my faith and given me reason to get out of bed in the morning—has been beholding, seeing in the light of countless epiphany moments, the truth and love of God revealed in your life, and in our life together, scattered as we are across our 60 counties. I’ve said often, and I’ll say it once more, “I wish you could see what I see as I travel this Diocese to be with our 87 churches.”
Behold, indeed!
At the heart of the mission our Lord entrusts to us, maybe, is the work of beholding: watching faithfully and expectantly for the Light that has come into the world, pointing to it with all the excitement of children at the zoo, and sharing the Light with others. Jesus who is the light of the world, tells his followers (us), “You are the light of the world.” And in I John we read, “Whoever loves a brother or sister, lives in the light.”
All that’s to say, you (and your church) have it in you to be the light of the world, for love of Christ. By water and the Holy Spirit, by your baptism into the Christ’s death and resurrection, you (and your church) have received everything you need to bring light and to be light to those wandering in gloom. You have received grace upon grace to be a people and place of epiphany, where the mystery of God’s love is revealed, and hearts are captured.
I have been blessed beyond measure, humbled, pressed down, lifted up, and delighted to serve as your bishop. I’m never good at goodbyes (and we know how “retired” clergy keep showing up). But now, in God’s good time, it’s time for me to go. God bless you, and God bless this beautiful and sacred Diocese of West Texas. And let’s keep on walking in the Light, as children of the Light.
Love in Christ,
David M. Reed
Tenth Bishop of West Texas
