The Feast of the Epiphany

Text:  Matthew 2:1-12 (see below)

Today is the Feast of the Epiphany – the Light of God being made manifest to the World.

In Mooresville, North Carolina, the community of Saint Patrick’s Mission had an annual tradition on the Epiphany. One of the community’s members, Ginny Huggins, would open her home for all to gather for dinner, fellowship and the retelling of the Epiphany story. Those are cherished and dear memories for me.

Once dinner was finished, the members of the cast would go upstairs and quickly change into costumes loving prepared by the hostess. There was a star, three Wiseman, a rowdy King Herod, Mary, Joseph, the infant Jesus, and a bunch of other characters that I have now forgotten. The story was retold in the crowded living room where you could reach out and touch the action. At the close of the pageant, the following poem by Howard Thurman was read by all present as a reminder of what the true mission of the Christ child was all about and our part, as disciples, in that important task.

The Work of Christmas - Howard Thurman

When the song of the angels is stilled,

When the star in the sky is gone,

When the kings and princes are home,

When the shepherds are back with their flock,

The work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost,

To heal the broken,

To feed the hungry,

To release the prisoner,

To rebuild the nations,

To bring peace among people,

To make music in the heart.

Thank you, Ginny Huggins, for your magnificent gift of hospitality, grace and the opportunity to “make music in the heart”. Thank you, members of Saint Patrick’s Mission, for your yearly gathering to retell the old, old story. Thank you, God, for bearing Light into this world. May each one of us who call ourselves Christians shine with the Christ Light today and always.

Love One Another – Brian

A People Who Walked in Darkness

Jurgen Moltmann

A people in darkness: today I see before me the millions of the imprisoned, the exiled, the deported, the tortured and the silenced everywhere in the world where people are pushed into this darkness. The important point is not the nations, which can be accused of these things. What is important is the worldwide brotherhood of men and women who are living in darkness. For it is on them that this divine light now shines.

Source: The Power of the Powerless

Matthew 2:1-12

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’ When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:  “And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.” ’ Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.’ When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.