By Beth DeMeritt
Epiphany is a Christian festival observed on January 6th commemorating the manifestation of Christ to the gentiles in the persons of the magi. It also can be like a light bulb going off in our head, an aha moment! Yes! We finally get it. A surprise!
I’m sure this will come as a great shock to you; Epiphany is my favorite holiday! The gifts have been unwrapped; the wrapping paper is in the garbage. Some people have even put their trees in the garbage. For me, it is a time I can quietly sit and think of the baby Jesus as I look at my tree. I can have a quiet moment to reflect on the celebrations we just had and the amazing gift I received in this King Jesus. It is a time as a gentile that I celebrate Christ coming to me and into my life.
We had to work hard to have our first two daughters. At that time, they said if you had more than one child you over populated and had to pay more taxes. So to have a third was a big deal. And yet we felt called to having more children. We had looked into adopting a baby boy, probably Chinese, when we were surprised to find out we were expecting our third child, without even trying. I discovered nothing was like being 9 months pregnant at Christmas and Epiphany in 1973-74.
As I heard Silent Night that Christmas it had a new meaning; “Round yon virgin mother and child! Holy infant so tender and mild, Sleep in heavenly peace.” I sang it on a Monday, and my Spanish friend gave me the new thought, “We just sang the baby Jesus to sleep.”
On New Year’s Eve of 1973, we saw the movie Jesus Christ Superstar, and the baby I was to have was jumping like crazy to the music. On January 8th, I was at a sorority meeting far from home when my water broke. My college roommate, who had just learned to drive, took me to the hospital in a snow storm. It was quite an experience. Carla was born soon after on January 9th only a few days after epiphany. She was a special epiphany baby, a real surprise!
Please join in our 2nd Epiphany Brunch on Saturday, January 11th at 10 a.m. Keep the door open. Come and share with friends about the baby’s mother Mary and bring a gift for the homeless.
