Epiphany as the Paradigm for Discipleship

On this twelfth day of Christmas, I offer you an Epiphany model for discipleship.

Epiphany is a season of growth represented by the color green, which is a fitting way to train the Christian to see this season as a paradigm for discipleship. There is—I believe—a case to be made that different phases of Church life offer us different ways of growing in the faith. But Epiphany undoubtedly establishes a pattern for discipleship. When we consider the gifts of the magi in light of the overwhelming biblical data, we can develop a biblical and practical discipleship model.

Training our Bodies

Our evangelical churches stress the importance of discipleship in manuals and curriculums. It is good and necessary. But discipleship in broader evangelicalism is often discussed in the context of intellectual learning, a fact-finding mission. I propose there is more to discipleship than facts. Discipleship in the Bible is also the cultivation of bodily postures and biblical manners.

The Bible trains us to move, live, and have our being in God. Any model of discipleship that does not include learning to kneel, raise hands, eat, sing, bless, receive, give, sit, and stand is dishonoring biblical discipleship. When we formulate a discipleship curriculum without incorporating everyday biblical rituals, we secularize biblical formation and turn it into an encyclopedic course fit for the Bible trivia team.