Epiphany remembered
“Arise, shine; for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.”—Isaiah 60:1.
Edward Seward
Epiphany, the revelation, the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles-us, you and me. Christ is manifested to me almost sensuously at Epiphany. It first happened in the mid-fifties when I attended my first Episcopal service, the Epiphany Feast of Lights. I was around eleven and went to the small Virginia church in my hometown with a boyfriend and his family. I still remember the unfamiliar liturgy, the candlelight, and the haunting mystic melodies. As we walked out of the small-town church on that bitterly cold January night, carrying our candles, we were surprised by the winter’s first snow. I knew that night that God spoke most clearly to me through this tradition. A decade later, I again encountered the beauty of the Feast of Lights at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Memphis, with their choral procession of the costumed wise men bearing their splendid gifts. Soon we were able to bring the service to Little Rock.
Here in Little Rock at St. Mark’s, we always again experience that haunting call of Epiphany at their evening service at 6:30 on January 6th. The wise men will visit us. Our bishop celebrates, and there will be a guest preacher. Tonight, it is the minister of Pulaski Heights Methodist Church, Dr. John Robbins. In the past, there was a choir and candlelight recessional out of the church into the dark night that was always breathtaking. I would watch the beautiful, often familiar faces of those walking out behind me. Their expressions seem to ask, “What will we encounter next in the night? Will this light be enough for me to see?” This service would empower us to think about carrying our small candle out into the world. As the candlelight service concluded, we would realize that we can only see our path because of the light from so many others before, beside, and behind us.
Tonight, we hope to have members of a choir from both congregations. The service should also be online through St. Mark’s Facebook.
I encourage those at home to have a candle by you during the service. The candle will remind all of us of Christ, the light of the world, still reaching out to us at both good and challenging times.
I would love to hear what new epiphanies come to you during this epiphany season that is so different. As the angel told the wise men in a dream, “we will be going home by a different road.”
May this new year be full of many epiphanies on new roads for you and those you love.
Joanna joannaseibert.com