a sermon by Kate Fiedler, January 7, 2024
Have you taken down your Christmas tree yet? Are your stockings, string lights, candles, creches, and wreaths already back in storage, ready for next year? Or do you prefer to keep things out well into January, maybe hoping for the first snow on the ground to take down the decorations? Different households have different traditions about when the Christmas decorations come out and when they are put away. There is not one right way or designated time to put away the holiday decorations and get back to regular routines. You decide how long the to keep out the Christmas décor before you decide to decorate for another season or celebration.
This Sunday, we find ourselves in another stretch of in-between time in the church’s calendar. We celebrated the birth of Jesus with the angelic chorus and curious shepherds. We sang “Silent Night” and watched the candlelight spread in a dark sanctuary on Christmas Eve. Last Sunday, we sang more familiar hymns of the season and considered ways we make resolutions about how to be faithful to the love we find in Jesus in the new calendar year. This in-between time is centered around Epiphany, the recognition of the magi, their journey to follow the star, and their joy in finding Jesus with his parents. The season of Epiphany lasts until Transfiguration Sunday, the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, when the season of Lent begins. This story shifts the focus from the preparations and birth of Jesus to his life. Some Biblical scholars think Jesus may have been a toddler at the time that the magi arrived and visited him. As we prepare our hearts for this season of transition, I invite you to listen to the story of the magi with openness. See how the Holy Spirit calls you to pay attention to this passage from the second chapter of the gospel of Matthew.
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