Epiphany feels like it gets the short end of the stick in the liturgical calendar. We’re all worn out by Advent and Christmas activities and celebrations, and we just want to catch our breath a bit before Lent and Easter, so we tend to “skip over” the season of Epiphany. But Epiphany has such rich wisdom to offer, especially as we begin a new year together, if we would take the time to follow the signs that it offers.
The word “Epiphany” comes from the Greek, "epiphaneia," meaning "appearing" or "revealing." Each Sunday of Epiphany, I believe we are offered an opportunity to see or encounter the Holy One with us in a new way.
In her blog, Journey with Jesus, Debie Thomas writes, “During this brief liturgical season between Christmas and Lent, we’re invited to leave miraculous births and angel choirs behind, and seek the love, majesty, and power of God in seemingly mundane things. Rivers. Voices. Doves. Clouds. Holy hands covering ours, lowering us into the water of repentance and new life. In the gospel stories we read during this season, God parts the curtain for brief, shimmering moments, allowing us to look beneath the ordinary surfaces of our lives, and catch glimpses of the extraordinary.”
On Wednesday evening at 6:15 PM, we will discover more about the season of Epiphany and invite you to participate in the tradition of receiving Star Words to guide us in the new year. Just as the magi followed the star to find the Christ child, we also begin the new year seeking Christ and trusting in the many ways God brings stars and signs to draw us closer to the Holy One.
~ Mary Alice Birdwhistell