epiphany...getting started!

epiphany is this friday. january 6th.
it has become one of my favorite days in the church year.

epiphany is traditionally the day we celebrate the visit of the wisemen to baby jesus. it also is the celebration of LIGHT coming to the gentiles...since the wisemen were not jewish.  epiphany is the season of light...the season of following the star and leaving the palace to seek the newborn king.  it is also the season that reminds us of mission of the church, and for many churches the season of epiphany goes from jan. 6th through ash wednesday.

once upon a time it was when folks gave gifts in honor of the wisemen's gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh and today in places like mexico, it is called "three kings day".

epiphany is a great way to re-kindle the story of christmas. in the hustle of the season, the shopping frenzy, the party going that sometimes takes over, the power of god actually moving into the neighborhood sometimes gets lost. and  too often we get quickly on with our lives as soon as jan.1st roles around and the tree starts to shed. 

in the last few years, i have used epiphany as an opportunity to bring my students back from "the holidays" and remind them of the true meaning of the season...beyond the mall and the movie theater, beyond the sleeping late and the returning of gifts, beyond the exams and worries about the new semester.

maybe you need to be reminded yourself.  maybe you need to light a candle or find a star in the sky to remind you of those who left the comforts of their homes to go worship a baby in a manger in a distant land. maybe you need to contemplate why folks don't leave the comforts of the palace and go to the stable. maybe you need to really celebrate the god who came to all people...a LIGHT for the gentiles... a LIGHT to illumine our darkness and set us all free.

for some more info check out the link below, and i'll have some more ideas for celebrating experientially tomorrow.

Download epiphany.html

Comments

[Kari]

I can't wait to see your ideas for experiencing epiphany. We had an "Epiphany Party" last night at our Alt Worship. We un-decorated the children's tree. And then did a station worship that I borrowed from Host - www.altworship.org.uk.

As someone said last night - "now it's time to do the work of Christmas."

Happy Epiphany!