Below is my column in today's edition of the Grand Haven Tribune.
I was surprised to read that because the author clearly didn’t know that January 6 is already a high holy day – in the Christian religion at least. Coming after the Twelve Days of Christmas (which run from December 25 to January 5), we arrive on January 6 to celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord Jesus Christ to the Gentiles.
Though it is often neglected in contemporary Christianity, the Feast of the Epiphany is actually more ancient than the other incarnational feast, that of Christmas. There are references to Epiphany as a celebration of Christ’s baptism as early as the second century. By the fourth century, it had become a mainstream practice in Christianity. It was in the late fourth century that the celebration of Christ’s birth on Christmas Day began to be celebrated. Christmas didn’t fully overshadow Epiphany until the early middle ages.
Originally, Epiphany on January 6 was a double celebration. It was both a celebration of Christ’s birth, but also of his baptism in the Jordan river. You can see that in the way the feast is celebrated in Christianity. In western Christianity, Epiphany has developed primarily as a commemoration of the visit of the magi to the Christ Child. (This is why many nativity scenes in churches don’t have magi when you come on Christmas – but if you look around, you can often find them hidden on windowsills, making their way as the follow the star in the east). In eastern Christianity, the emphasis of the Epiphany is still the celebration of Christ’s baptism, where the heavens broke open and Christ was declared the beloved son of God.
In my own Anglican tradition of Christianity, always eager to embrace the middle way, we celebrate the magi on January 6 and the baptism on the following Sunday after January 6. Indeed, you’re welcome to join us for the Epiphany celebrations on Saturday, Jan. 6 at 6 p.m. It’s a small but solemn chanted service which includes incense (one of the gifts of the magi). And then the next day, on January 7, we will celebrate the Feast of Christ’s Baptism at our 8:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. liturgy.
Three years ago, when I was finalizing my own preparations for the evening’s Epiphany celebrations, I was sitting at my computer when news started appearing that the rally then-president Trump was holding to protest the election had transformed into an assault and invasion on the Capitol building. I led online prayers, using the great litany and supplication in our prayer book (an ancient rite intended for use especially in times of war, or of national anxiety, or of disaster)
One of the most painful parts of the experience for me, as a Christian and priest, was the numerous symbols of Christianity that were scattered throughout the invading crowd. To see people joining hands in a prayer circle while others in the same group assaulted police officers was shocking. A new Washington Post–University of Maryland poll has indicated that while most Americans have not bought into the revised narrative of the Insurrection that President Trump has sought to spin, fewer Republicans now believe those who stormed the Capitol were mostly violent or that Trump bears responsibility for the events. This is not true throughout the Republican party as polls also indicate that a majority of Republicans believe punishments for those who participated in the insurrection have either been fair (37 percent) or not harsh enough (17 percent).
And while January 6 will likely live in infamy as a stain upon our country for most Americans, I do hope that the idea of it being a day to celebrate will certainly fade away soon. This is particular true for those in our country who are followers of Jesus Christ. Would that Christians instead turned to the lessons of their own Christian holiday on January 6.
After all, on the Epiphany we celebrate that the first people outside of Israel to witness and worship Christ were not Jews from another country, but were pagan astrologers from Persia! Epiphany is about how in Christ the light and love of God has been spread abroad to all people, it is no longer the property of the few or the chosen. And after the magi visit, of course, they have to return home by another way because King Herod is worried that the Christ Child is a threat to his own political power.
And so, on Epiphany, we have the all-embracing light of God celebrated, even as the political and religious powers of this world use violence to maintain control. Perhaps that truth can be a reminder to
Christians everywhere to be wary of those who cling to political power, who will use violence and intimidation to achieve their ends. Instead, those who choose to follow the Prince of Peace know that true change comes through the power of love unleashed in a broken world. And it is the light of that love that should draw us to worship – but also to be those who work peacefully and yet with passion and conviction so that this love, peace, and justice can be a reality for every human being in this world.
The Rev. Dr. Jared C. Cramer, Tribune community columnist, serves as rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Grand Haven. Information about his parish can be found at www.sjegh.com.
