I am reluctant to go home today. I have been in my office for all of the day and I am certainly ready for a change of scene but I loathe going home. You see today is Epiphany, the end of the Christmas season. The 12 Days are over and it is time to face the undecorating. Our stalwart balsam fir tree that has stood regally in the corner of the living room for three weeks must be unceremoniously stripped of its baubles and beads and carted out to the back door to await the trip to its final resting place. The garlands need to be packed away for another year. No more twinkling lights and Christmas carols.
In my sermon last Sunday I acknowledged that I do like to hang on to the season for as long as possible. Here at the church, for a few reasons we have delayed celebrating Epiphany until next Sunday. I am still playing Christmas CD’s and I have yet to write my thank you notes but even I must admit to myself it is time. Time to celebrate Epiphany.
The Season of Epiphany, the time that stretches from today to Ash Wednesday, is a season symbolized by light and insight and wisdom. It is a time to be like the ‘Wise Ones’ who followed the star searching for God. That is what Epiphany is – a time of light and discovery.
So dear readers -what will be your insightful wise epiphany this year? Where will the light of God lead you? How will wisdom reveal itself?
One of the songs we sing at Epiphany, written by Jim Strathdee, has as its first verse:
When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the Kings and the shepherds have found their way home,
The work of Christmas is begun.
So what is the work of Christmas that you will pursue? I am pretty sure that in the pursuing of it you will likely gain wisdom.
