Blessings to you in Epiphany! This is a season of the church between Christmas and Lent that starts on January 6th, after the 12th day of Christmas. Epiphany traditionally marks the arrival of the wise travelers to the child Jesus, when they present their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Epiphany themes include light in the darkness, worldwide appeal of Jesus, and gaining wisdom.

This year as in previous ones, Epiphany finds me in Carefree, Arizona, taking classes with other young pastors as part of the UCC’s Next Generation Leadership Initiative. I’ll have more to share in future weeks about what I’m learning here, but for now consider an Epiphany poem by the African American mystic Howard Thurman:

When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and the princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flocks,
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 people,
To make music in the heart.

How are you called to make real “the work of Christmas” in this season?