High noon on Christmas day, as we were piling plates with our feast, the suggestion came: Let’s reflect on the year. High, low, buffalo. Everyone say what was good, unwelcome and surprising.
While I value the practice of reflection, I hate to be put on the spot in this way. Sometimes the things that are stirred up as I take stock are difficult. At times, the truth that springs to mind is too tender to share in a group. Not easily captured by a three point list.
The new year always catches me off guard. With all the preparation and anticipation that goes into the holiday season, I am never quite ready to switch gears after Christmas Day. I want more time to savor, to rest, to be in the delightful and disorienting week between. Yet, New Year’s Eve arrives with its questions: So what resolutions are you making? Do you have a word for the coming year?
The reality is that we have many chances at a fresh start; resolutions, habit formation or transformation can begin at any time. New Year or Lent, spring or fall, morning or evening, a Sunday, Monday or Friday, perhaps on your birthday.
You are not too late. You have not missed anything. In fact, the rituals and seasons of the Church year give us runway for this hard and holy work. These weeks between Christmas and Lent celebrate light, revealing, unveiling, and awakening-- all sorts of epiphanies.
In December (advent) we lit candles in anticipation of Jesus’ birth. Now in January (epiphany) we celebrate the star directing seekers to Christ. While we always bear the light of Christ in the world, as the stretches of daylight lengthen, we now celebrate that we are part of the growing light in the world. Consider:
Where have you experienced a brightening or darkness receding?
How have you brought the light in the past months?
In what circumstance are you longing for light or an epiphany/revealing/awakening?
If you would like to process your epiphany (or desire for one!), spiritual direction is a place for this kind of sacred work. I am currently accepting new clients and you can schedule a virtual session here.
A Blessing for the Season of Epiphany
In the depth of winter
an awakening
epiphany
A prophecy and call
An invitation and promise
light and sight
epiphany
What you await arrives
From the formless
an unveiling
epiphany
Vision and clarity as it all comes together
A glow of deep joy
blessed abundance
epiphany