Epiphany

As we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany today and move into the weeks following Epiphany, we talk about Christ’s revelation to the world and about Jesus’ ministry of healing and reconciliation. In particular today, we remember the journey and visit of the wise men. Matthew’s Gospel tells us that they followed the light of a special star, a natural object that they understood to be a sign of the birth of a king. We don’t know the exact location of “the East” that was home for the wise men; we can only guess at what their native religion or belief system might have been. Still, even though the star didn't point to the birth of new king in their own country, they noticed the star in the sky and knew it signified something of great importance. More importantly, it touched their hearts; Matthew says that when they saw that the star had stopped, they were “overwhelmed with joy”. The star and the distant event to which it pointed had a deep effect on them.

Our hearts, too, are sometimes touched deeply by things that cause us to wonder. Such things can strengthen our faith; seeing things that produce feelings of wonder and awe help us feel closer to God and more certain of God’s goodness. Getting outdoors and seeing what there is to see can help us taste enough of God’s love for creation that we commit ourselves to helping to care for our environment in significant ways; the same experiences can give us the strength to carry out that commitment.

May we go into the Epiphany season eager to carry the light of Christ into the world, ready to shine the light of Christ’s love into the places where environmental degradation and climate change are casting shadows on people’s lives. May we have the wisdom, courage, and love to care deeply about our planet and all living things, and to heal and make whole the earth that sustains us all.

Joy to the World: Twelfth Day

Joy to the world! The Lord is come: let earth receive her king;

Let every heart prepare him room, and heaven and nature sing.

With “Joy to the world” in my heart and mind, I’m looking each of these twelve days of Christmas for the beauty and wonder in God’s world, for instances of the joy that runs through all of creation.

When Thoreau describes the ice melting in Walden Pond in the spring, he says, “Every incident connected with the breaking up of the rivers and ponds and the settling of the weather is particularly interesting to us who live in a climate of so great extremes.” Thoreau's enthusiasm for observing the spring melting of Walden Pond came to mind today as a stop to walk around and stretch our legs at Holmes Lake Park in Lincoln turned into something more.

The temperature was in the upper 60’s, the sun was shining, and in the brief time we were there we could hear and see the fairly thin layer of ice that had covered the lake breaking up and melting. A park full of people enjoying the warmth, the sounds of the ice, the brightness of the sun, and the honks of geese were appropriately joyful for the last day of Christmas!

A few minutes later, the ice gives way!

Joy to the World: Eleventh Day

Joy to the world! The Lord is come: let earth receive her king;

Let every heart prepare him room, and heaven and nature sing.

With “Joy to the world” in my heart and mind, I’m looking each of these twelve days of Christmas for the beauty and wonder in God’s world, for instances of the joy that runs through all of creation.

This is the Green Team at St. Stephen’s in Grand Island. The work we are doing is joyful and exciting, and spending an evening meeting with this group gives me great joy.

We are about to begin our second year of the GreenFaithCertification Program for houses of worship, learning and acting in the areas of environmental stewardship, environmental justice, and spirituality. We are building on a strong conservation tradition in rural Nebraska, but we are doing many new things on that foundation.

Some people look at our great environmental challenges and our overall failure to do enough to ensure a sustainable environment and despair; some simply avoid looking at any of it, denying that the challenges exist. We are doing something rather than nothing, doing what we can to lead in another direction, finding joy in one another’s support and in caring for the world we love in the name of the God we love.

Joy to the World: Tenth Day

Joy to the world! The Lord is come: let earth receive her king;

Let every heart prepare him room, and heaven and nature sing.

With “Joy to the world” in my heart and mind, I’m looking each of these twelve days of Christmas for the beauty and wonder in God’s world, for instances of the joy that runs through all of creation.

There was no time for a walk outside today, but as I ran out to go an afternoon meeting, the squirrel who lives in our hackberry tree greeted me. This is the squirrel who eats from our bird feeders and will nibble some of my flowers this spring – a rascal indeed – but it’s also the wild creature who hangs around without being terribly concerned about our presence, and who entertains us with great contortions as it goes after the food in the bird feeders. Rascal though it is, this squirrel brings me joy, and surely it’s one of God’s beloved creatures.

Here it is a few days ago. It often sits on this bent branch to eat a nut and chatter.

And here it is late this fall, dining at the bird feeder.

Joy to the World: Ninth Day

Joy to the world! The Lord is come: let earth receive her king;

Let every heart prepare him room, and heaven and nature sing.

With “Joy to the world” in my heart and mind, I’m looking each of these twelve days of Christmas for the beauty and wonder in God’s world, for instances of the joy that runs through all of creation.

Afternoon moon!

This reminder that the moon, other planets, other solar systems and galaxies, are all ordered so that each part of the universe – including our little corner of the world -- has a place enhanced the joy to be experienced under a bright blue sky.

“O ye sun and moon, bless ye the Lord.” (Canticle 1, The Book of Common Prayer)

Joy to the World: Eighth Day

Joy to the world! The Lord is come: let earth receive her king;

Let every heart prepare him room, and heaven and nature sing.

With “Joy to the world” in my heart and mind, I’m looking each of these twelve days of Christmas for the beauty and wonder in God’s world, for instances of the joy that runs through all of creation.

With sunshine throughout the day and a couple of hours driving in the country, many things served as signs of joy for me today. Here are two of the most basic things in our world in Nebraska, things that we sometimes don’t notice, that stood out today: the sky and the land.

The clouds in the late morning sky made beautiful patterns.

Fields of corn stubble, some with cattle grazing, lie fallow until spring. The expanse of the land, the evidence of its fertility, the promise of sustenance for the year ahead, or maybe just the way the light hit the fields today, radiated well-being. The earth itself can be a sign of joy and the cause of joy in our hearts.