Tuesday, January 5
Epiphanytide, the Season after Epiphany, is technically not a “season” like Advent, Christmas or Lent. Rather, it is that part of Ordinary Time that follows Christmas and precedes Lent. Yet there are some (like me) who think that this time deserves special demarcation.
Epiphanytide goes from the Epiphany of the Lord – when the wise men come to kneel down to the infant Christ – to the Transfiguration of our Lord, when the disciples kneel down and declare that Jesus is indeed Lord. In between are other moments of revelation, where we experience how this child born to Mary is indeed no ordinary human but is someone much, much more – the Lord of all creation.
As the Rev. Dr. Brian Campbell writes,
An epiphany is a surprising encounter which attracts our attention, where something extraordinary is discovered in a seemingly ordinary situation. Jesus at his baptism, for example, appears like one repentant sinner among many. More than that, this surprising encounter not only draws our attention, but demands from us both interpretation. ‘Who IS this? WHAT is happening?’ and the response ‘What does this have to do with me?’
This Epiphanytide at All Saints, we will be diving into these questions in a couple of ways.
On Wednesday evenings we will be starting a new Zoom service called “Growing in Faith” where, through the lens of Old Testament scriptures, we will be exploring how it is that God creates, calls and challenges us on our walk of faith. Each session will end with a time for fellowship and discussion for those interested.
On Thursdays this season, we have widened our “Thought of the Day” writers to include even more lay parishioners from All Saints to share with us their stories of faith and how they have come to experience epiphanies of God, which have shaped and changed them.
We all have our own stories of faith, which include our own epiphanies and revelations that have allowed us to follow Christ more surely or awaken our desires to know Christ more fully. For the grander narrative of Christian story of faith – is not just about Jesus but is about us too. We are part of God’s great story. Perhaps that in itself is a great revelation to be celebrated!
Prayer:
Father of light,
unchanging God,
today you reveal to people of faith
the resplendent fact of the Word made flesh.
Your light is strong,
Your love is near;
draw us beyond the limits
which this world imposes,
to the life where Your Spirit
makes all life complete.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
From the New Saint Joseph Sunday Missal
