Christmas decorations (including outdoor lights) remain up at our house for the “12 Days of Christmas” culminating with Epiphany on January 6th.  The candles will be left in the windows through Candlemas on February 2nd, but that’s for another post. 

Through the years I’ve looked for ways, old and new, to celebrate the rhythm of the liturgical year (the Christian/Church calendar).  Our "Christmas Card Prayer Path" is a favorite. 
 
Throughout December as Christmas cards come in, we often take a quick glance before putting them in a card holder on the wall. When Epiphany, also called “Three Kings Day,” arrives on the 6th, we gather the stack of cards and lay them end to end, attaching them with tape. 

After all are attached, the kids form whatever path shape they want leading to the nativity with its Christmas star overhead.  Some years it has been a swirl, others a zig-zag of jagged turns, and once it looked almost straight!  Isn't that the journey of life?!
 
They choose which Magi to accompany, then for the next 30-40 minutes, we join these learned “Wise Men” from the East on their journey to meet Jesus, Love Incarnate.  Their journey (and ours) begins with the first card they are set on.  As the Magi move toward the manger, the name(s) on each card are read and a blessing is said for each person, family, or group.  

It’s usually something simple like, “Thank you for being part of our journey…
…may you be blessed with peace & joy this year.”
…may the love of God be with you.” 
…may you continue to give and receive love.”
 
Throughout the prayer path, we pause when we hear, “Who’s that?” or “Do I know them?”  We get the opportunity to introduce names and faces to each other. There are memories shared and stories told.  We discover new friends on the journey.  And we get to enjoy the humor and beauty of the cards themselves (deciding that some need to be added to our crafting and collaging materials!). 
 
When we reach the last card, we say a prayer for all of those beyond the cards who are part of our journey and we theirs.  Our prayer ends with acknowledging that although we’ve made it to Jesus with the Magi, it’s just the beginning of this year's journey of incarnating Love. 


*Magi from Build Your Own Bethlehem by Gertrud Mueller Nelson and The Christmas Star from Afar Wooden Nativity Set and Book  

It's still Christmastide (the Christmas season also known as the Twelve Days of Christmas).  And I'm curious how the celebration of the New Year and that of Epiphany (the culmination of Christmastide which happens on the 6th) go together. What conversation is provoked as I consider both?   

It's popular with the former to make "New Year's Resolutions" or in more recent years to choose a word (or allow a word to choose you!) for the year.  With the latter, the Greek meaning of Epiphany has to do with "manifestation or appearance."  Historically, liturgical churches (those whose communal worship is structured by the Christian/Church calendar year) celebrate two biblical stories of God and God's work made manifest through Jesus.  

The first story accounts for Epiphany also being called Three Kings' Day.  These learned wise men (aka Magi), who studied the sky and nature's revelations, journey from their own country after a star appears indicating the birth of the King of the Jews. Noting the importance of such an incarnation, they follow the bright light which leads them to Jesus, whom they bow down and worship, offering gifts of gold, frankincense and myrhh, before returning to their own country (Matthew 2:1-12).

The second story is Jesus' baptism in the Jordan River by John (Matthew 3:13-16, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-23).  During this event, the triune God manifests--the Spirit descends like a dove and the Father's voice from heaven declares that this is His beloved Son.  The baptism affirms Jesus' identity as well as initiates His work of making manifest the Kingdom of God in the world.

Good news...it's not just Jesus' story, it's ours too!  We're not only invited, we are a part of the conversation.  Each of us is a "word made flesh" (invoking the description of Jesus in John 1:14).  Poet and philosopher David Whyte says, "It's really quite remarkable that each of us is a conversation which will never ever appear again."  Indeed, our appearance on the planet is miraculous. Every one of us offers a unique "face of God" incarnated to do good works which God has prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).  
 
The first week of the New Year is one of those times in our calendar year naturally provoking conversation.  We get to consider the conversation we are and the one we're having with the world.  It's a time when we're more apt to ponder life and its bigger questions, "Who am I?" "What have I been created to do?"  "What word is God wanting to manifest through me?" "What do I really desire?" "What am I offering the world?" "What will I add or let go of this year?" "What conversations do I need to stop/start having?"  "What journey am I to embark on or to courageously continue?"  

Do one of the questions grab your attention or is there another you'd like to add to the conversation?  
 
Perhaps you have been like me, sometimes trying to manifest someone else's word or way of being in the world.  I have been prone to especially do this in the spiritual life, feeling pressure to be or believe a certain way or do a certain practice.  But Jesus' own subversive conversation with the world and his message of freedom continuously beckons me to my God-created truer self, both in being and doing.  

So I want to help us shed some spiritual expectations in the New Year.  Over the next few weeks I'll share what I have traded or am in the midst of letting go of in order to be a more authentic conversation in and with the world.  ​Happy New Year and Epiphany blessings, friends.  

First up next Tuesday: Trading Daily Quiet-time Guilt for Pots & Pans