An Epiphany Gathering
The twelve days of Christmas are not just a song, nor are they what clergy rely on for downtime following the busy Christmas season. These twelve days thread together two principal feasts of the church – Christmas and The Epiphany –to form a holy season in which we bask in God’s incarnate presence and prepare to take that gift out into the world.
Epiphany actually predates Christmas as a Christian celebration, a season of light dawning in the short days of winter, pointing us towards times of fruitfulness and growth. Epiphany is the season when we take the gift of God’s presence into a world that we know hungers for it, and it begins on Monday, January 6th. This year we will offer an Epiphany eucharist that evening at 6pm, since that date falls so close to our monthly Sunday evening Solemn Eucharist. (We’ll do this instead of offering a Sunday evening service this week).
In our household, Christmas is not an event or a day so much as an unfolding season of festive joy and deep rest. Now, given that we are a two-clergy household, we naturally gravitate towards the celebration-after-the-celebration when we as a family can finally spend some time together. This short season continues with family dinners, movies together, guests from out of town, the Boar’s Head Festival, and parties with friends. And what better way to conclude it than with a service of eucharist at the Cathedral, in which we give thanks for Jesus and begin our walk with him into the new year? And of course, we’ll also have some Epiphany Cake to celebrate the day.
I look forward to beginning this season of sharing the gift of Christ’s presence with you all. I hope you are having a blessed Christmas season!
The Very Rev. Bernard J. Owens