From the Desk of Deacon Judy

Epiphany

Grace and peace to you all as we begin a new calendar year, 2024.

Saturday, January 6, is the twelfth day of Christmas, the Epiphany of our Lord, known in our Anglican tradition as “The Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles”, the three Wise Men from the East.

The Epiphany is the main celebration for our brothers and sisters in the Eastern Orthodox traditions, Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, and for my friends in the Armenian Orthodox, Georgian Orthodox, and Ethiopian Orthodox faiths. They have all told me that January 6 not December 25 is their Christmas. They remember the Wise Men as the manifestation of the incarnation to the Gentiles.

But they also celebrate the Baptism of Jesus (which we will honor this Sunday, the first Sunday after the Epiphany), plus they see Jesus’ first miracle at Cana, changing the water into wine, as another manifestation of his incarnation.

Our traditions are slightly different, but all of us Christians believe that Jesus is “God in man made manifest”, as we sing in our hymn Songs of Thankfulness and Praise (The Hymnal 1982, p. 135). We believe that God shows up in the manger, in the Jordan, in Cana, but also in everyday miracles of healing and restoration in our lives.

Where is God showing up for you these days? How is Jesus manifesting in your life? How is the appearance of the Holy Spirit surprising you?

O God, by the leading of a star you manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know you now by faith, to your presence, where we may see your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

Epiphany Blessings,

Judy Q+