Epiphany

Tomorrow we celebrate Epiphany. Another Christmas season draws to a close. The rhythm of the seasons and special days repeat each church year so we don't forget and we can continue to learn from the story. I love Epiphany's message of the Good News being for everyone. The feast of Epiphany originated in the Eastern Church. It was celebrated as early as the third century, even before Christmas was part of the liturgical calendar. For early Christians the celebration was a feast. Here are a few additional suggestions for celebration:

• party as you un-decorate in the church or at home. My family keeps a package wrapped for "baby Jesus" under our tree. Each year we add a note describing something specific we've given in Jesus' honor. We run the gammet from charitable donations to trying to treat our bodies more like temples with a better attitude toward exercise. This year I've saved the present to open after we take the ornaments off the Christmas tree. It's great to open the box and see how we've grown in our giving as our faith has deepened and our years have increased.
• share a meal with your family and discuss what was meaningful and what was not over last twelve days. I always find these conversations revealing...this year my teenage children did not want to travel over the holidays but when we reflected on highlights one that we all agreed on was a moment we shared with a mentally challenged cousin that we saw on our travels. She exhibited a moment of sheer joy when she greeted us.
• decorate and devour a "kings cake". This is traditionally a cake with a trinket baked inside it. Whoever gets the piece with the trinket reigns as king or queen of the feast and gets to order everyone else around. The kids love this tradition. How about making it safer and replace the trinket with something that can be digested--like a large strawberry?
• as we feast we can also think and discuss the gifts we might focus on in the year ahead that will help us to bring the Good News to everyone. I'm all for making sure our light shines!