Epiphany Approaches

Here we are, the Eve of the Feast Day of Epiphany, the day that celebrates the arrival of the Wise Men.

I suspect that we think of them in fairly traditional terms, like the picture above.  Wisdom comes in many shapes.

Those of us who have been living for awhile know that wisdom comes in many forms.

Today might be a good day to visit a library--we wouldn't be the first people to find an epiphany in a book!

Or maybe we need something that keeps us firmly planted--why not plant some bulbs for spring? 

If not dirt, why not bread dough?

Many cultures celebrate Three Kings Day with a special bread.  Many families have charms that are baked into the bread that signify what will come in the new year.  Even if you don't have special charms, you could use things you do have:  a nut, a foil wrapped coin, a dried cranberry, a piece of frozen fruit.

This blog post gives you a recipe, with photos, for a simple, no-knead 3 Kings Bread.  Why not bake it for tomorrow?

But as we celebrate the happier aspects of this day, let us not forget the ultimate impact of those Wise Men--the Holy Family fleeing to Egypt.

We like to think we’d have reacted differently to Jesus, had we been alive back in the time of Herod. We like to think that we would understand the Epiphany in the ways that Herod and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did not. Would we?

 Yes, wise men and women still seek him, but daily life often grinds our capacity for wonder out of us. We miss the miraculous as it twinkles at us, daring us to see, inviting us on a marvelous journey.

Let this be the year that we see the portents and the signs, the year that we say yes to God.