Today’s author is Prince of Peace’s Director of Visitation and Congregational Care.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. (John 1:1-5)
As I write this devotion on Sunday afternoon, the sun is still shining on what has been a beautiful, albeit cold, January day. It’s the 12th day of Christmas, which means that tomorrow our tree will come down and the ornaments packed away for another year. I’ll miss the warm glow of the lights on our little tree – especially in the morning as I sit in front of it, leisurely enjoying my first cup of coffee. I always feel a little melancholy when the Christmas season is over because I love it so. But then I remember what’s coming, and I feel my spirits lift once again.
By the time this devotion is published, it will be the Day of Epiphany. In your mind’s eye you might catch the image of three kings riding across the desert on their camels, following a blazing star that will lead them to the Christ child to whom they will give gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
The word, “epiphany,” comes from the Greek word, “epiphaneia,” meaning “appearance” or “manifestation.” The Epiphany season (which will last until Ash Wednesday) is a time for us to remember and give thanks for God’s love made known in the person of Jesus Christ, the Light of the world.
Epiphany also provides an opportunity for each of us to reflect on the ways Christ’s Light has shone in the dark times of our lives and how, in turn, we have been able to hold the Christ Light for others.
Who has provided Light for you when you couldn’t see the path ahead? When has God used you to bring Light to someone who found themselves enveloped in darkness?
May this poem by Jan Richardson be a blessing to you on this Day of Epiphany.
BLESSED ARE YOU WHO BEAR THE LIGHT
Blessed are you
who bear the light
in unbearable times,
who testify
to its endurance
amid the unendurable,
who bear witness
to its persistence
when everything seems
in shadow
and grief.
Blessed are you
in whom the light lives,
in whom the brightness blazes –
your heart a chapel,
an altar where
in the deepest night
can be seen
the fire that
shines forth in you
in unaccountable faith,
in stubborn hope,
in love that illumines
every broken thing
it finds.
©Jan Richardson from Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons.