The Magi, Rosary Basilica, Lourdes (CC BY Lawrence OP-NC-ND 2.0) This children’s sermon on Matthew 2:1-12 comes outside my usual sequence. It’s the story of the coming of the Magi, and in all three years of the lectionary it’s assigned for Epiphany, January 6. I’ve been writing children’s sermons for the regular Sunday Gospel readings, […]
Monday Meditation: RCL Year C, Baptism of the Lord, Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
In the West, the first Sunday after Epiphany celebrates “The Baptism of the Lord.” In Year C the text is Luke 3:15-17, 21-22. This is the event which Eastern Orthodoxy celebrated on Epiphany itself, or as they often call it, the Theophany. By way of definitions: “Epiphany” means “appearance” or “manifestation.” In the West we […]
Monday Meditation: RCL Years ABC, Epiphany of the Lord, Matthew 2:1-12
Epiphany? January 6 is “Epiphany” wherever you may be, but the celebration has a different emphasis in the West than the East. The word itself means “appearance” or “manifestation.” In the Western Church year it is about the appearance, or manifestation of Christ to the non-Jewish nations of the world. That’s you and me, Bub. […]
What’s an Epiphany?
In school when I was a kid we spent a month or so studying some novel. It it, my teacher said, the main character had an “epiphany.” Everyone but me knew the answer to a crucial question: “What’s an epiphany?” What’s an Epiphany? Now I can tell you: it is a moment of revelation. The character in […]