May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you now and forever! Whether you are a member, a regular attendee, or a first-time visitor, we are blessed to have you with us.
Today, we bring the “12 Days of Christmas” to a close with the celebration of the Epiphany. We recall the Magi (sometimes commonly referred to as “kings”) visiting the newborn Jesus and bringing him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The gifts of the Magi (who are not numbered in the gospel narrative, but who tradition names Gaspar of India, Melchior of Persia, and Balthasar of Arabia) symbolize Jesus’ royal character (gold), divine nature (frankincense), and human nature (myrrh). In celebrating Epiphany, we might ask ourselves, “what gifts do I have to offer Christ?” and “am I offering my gifts generously to God?”
To mark this day, here’s one of my favorite litanies, its titled “The Work of Christmas” and was composed by Howard Thurman, an African-American theologian, educator, and civil rights leader: “When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with their flock, the work of Christmas begins: to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among the people, to make music in the heart.”
In Christ, our Life,
Fr. Paul+