Welcome to St Mary's the Virgin
I am fond of the season of Epiphany. Culture and traditional influence would have Christmas all done and dusted after twelve days; Epiphany would have us rejoicing for longer. The twelve days were made official in 567 AD at the Council of Tours, which also instigated the season of Advent, to which the dozen-day interlude is
intended as a joyful festive contrast – designated a ‘fast-free’ period(!).
When the twelfth day is over, oftentimes everything comes down, cards, trees, lights and tinsel. Epiphany encourages us to not allow our moods to slide down along with the decorations – as you know gentle readers, the vicarage tree stays standing and lit up until Epiphany ends.
What we know of the wise men, or Magi is that they spent a great deal of time looking up – their season is designed to inspire
us to do the same. Christ has been born, but don’t leave him in the Nativity scene – day by day, as we sing it, like us, he grew…. Epiphany is about recognising this: by all accounts the child was around two by the time the gold, frankincense and myrrh
were presented, presumably walking and talking, I can’t help but wonder what he said to his visitors.
Epiphany tells us to continue raising our hearts and eyes to search for the Almighty’s presence on earth, though the great celebration of his arrival has passed. When we raise our eyes to look at the stars or our next door neighbour, we are confronted with mysteries which are beyond us, yet our faith calls us to engage with them both. More prosaically, looking up almost always means looking away from the phone screen.
Rejoice then, as the glittering things are packed away: the light of the world shines still upon you. Just like dogs, Emmanuel, God with us, is not just for Christmas.
Fr Neil.
