When Christmas Passes
Is your home experiencing the great clean or clutter?
Do you work to stay in touch with family?
Do you plan to have people over more?
Does generosity continue into the new year?
Do you have reasons to celebrate as you look into the months ahead?
Can the songs you sing about Christ coming be your continued worship all year long?
Or does Jesus and the sentiments get packed up with your ornaments?
Not intentionally, of course.
When Christmas passes, how do you keep the Spirit?
May I propose Epiphany?
Did you know such a day even existed? I’m almost done asking questions! I’m new to the idea though I’ve heard the Wise Men’s story for years!
Epiphany, also known as Three Kings Day, is a Christian holiday celebrated annually on January 6, 12 days after we celebrate Christ’s birth. When Christmas is over and people head home, to a vacation destination, or back to work, observers of Epiphany will look intently and warmly at the next 12 days from December 26-January 6.
Epiphany means the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi in the Gospel of Matthew 2:1-12. A manifestation of a divine or supernatural being - God came to earth to be with us and dwell among us and He chose to do this through a virgin birth. Epiphany also means a moment of sudden revelation or insight. An a-ha moment!
How incredible! God revealed Himself to not just the Jews, but the Gentiles in his birth story! The wise men were not local Jews - they traveled from another country! He used a light in the darkness as their guide and while they expected a king, He surprised them! Epiphany is a surprise to us all!
Could you use some surprise? Something to rescue from the mundane? An a-ha moment?
I’ve been on a journey with the Wise Men through the Gospel of Matthew 2:1-12 and I want to awaken us to a year of epiphanies as we read Scripture, pray, and obey.
This 12 day guide will:
Show you how to observe this overlooked holiday.
Lead you through 12 days of prayer, presence, and preparation.
Help you usher in a new year with clarity, purpose, and vision.
This proposal for when Christmas passes is to continue to show up for our neighbors. To love where we live all year long. No Christmas edition needed. Observers of Epiphany are the wise men and women who live sent. Who seek Jesus and pay attention for ah-ha moments!
Already have the guide? Send it to a friend and do this 12 day guide together. Stretch out the 12 day guide into a month long observation! Let’s not be a hurry as we enter 2022!
But what happens when Christmas and Epiphany pass, what then? Generally, the liturgical seasons in western Christianity are Advent, Christmas, Ordinary Time (Time after Epiphany), Lent, Easter, and Ordinary Time (Time after Pentecost). I’d love to keep you in the flow with encouragement throughout the year. Consider subscribing to my newsletter for updates and to know when the next blogpost is out.
Blessings and peace upon you, my friend.
Shauna