In case you were not aware, Epiphany, the 12th day of Christmas, was on January 6th. For some reason, Epiphany gets little attention. Why is this?

Perhaps Epiphany gets overlooked because, in every manager scene, we see baby Jesus surrounded by his parents, the stable animals, the shepherds, and the three kings, with an angel overhead, even though we know from scripture that they were never all together at the same time in the same place. The three kings arrived much later and certainly not at the stable. We conveniently put them all together for Christmas and then put them away when Christmas is over. We spend months preparing for Christmas; our store shelves are full of Christmas items, long before Christmas, in anticipation of the big day, but when we see those same store shelves on the day after Christmas, the Christmas items are gone, replaced by Valentine’s Day candy and decorations. The Christmas items are now on sale in carts at discount prices. The radio stations that played continuous Christmas music since before Thanksgiving have reverted to their standard format. Just like that, Christmas is abruptly over. 

I have always wondered why Epiphany is overlooked by most of the world. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Epiphany is significant; it’s their day for exchanging gifts, not Christmas Day. Epiphany is the traditional day when the magi visited the house of Jesus’ parents, bearing their three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The magi journeyed from a great distance, enduring many hardships, to see the baby Jesus. Isn’t their story important too? In church, we hear their story on Epiphany Sunday, but do we really listen? We have moved on from Christmas, intent on the new year. We are busy going back to work or school, putting away our Christmas decorations, cleaning up the house, and then grumbling as we pay for our Christmas expenses, but what have we really learned from our last Christmas? The spirit of Christmas, of giving and goodwill toward all humanity, should last throughout the new year, not just Twelve Days in December.   

Remember in the last refrain of the Christmas hymn, “In the Bleak Midwinter: “What can I give Him, Poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb. If I were a wise man, I would do my part, yet what I can I give Him, give Him my heart.” Giving your heart to Jesus is the first step; then we need to begin our work together as a church to reach out to those around us, for there is a dying world out there that needs our help; they need to hear our message of hope, of salvation. Remember our church motto, “Therefore let me strive to be the presence of Christ by sharing the love of God one person at a time.” Are we doing that? Are we encouraging one another to do this?  

Hebrews 10:24-25 says, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,  not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Let us celebrate Epiphany by doing this and then keep on doing it for the rest of the year.

So let’s get stirred up!

Bill R