Following a Star
The Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord is one of the oldest Christian feasts. It is celebrated on January 7th, but in most countries the celebration is moved to the Sunday between January 2nd and January 8th.
Traditions & Meanings
Epiphany is celebrated in many different ways depending on where you live. Here in Switzerland and in other parts of Europe, we find traditional Three Kings cake. In each cake a small plastic king is often found hidden inside.Whoever discovers the king is allowed to wear the crown all day.
The word epiphany comes from the ancient Greek “epiphaneia” which means appearance. Epiphany celebrates the revelation of God in the form of Jesus. For many of us, we celebrate the journey of the three wise men to a stable in Bethlehem. The wise men, or magi, traveled from the east bringing gifts. They were guided by a star as they searched for the newborn king. In the Gospel for this Feast Day (Matthew 2:1-12), the deceitful King Herod plots a way to find the location of the newborn king but is outsmarted by the magi. The three wise men searched for Jesus by following the signs they received from God and they were successful in their search.
Homework
The story of the magi is a story for us. We must search for Jesus no matter how long the journey takes even though we are often faced with challenges and are confronted by deceitful people in our life. When we lose sight of the star and our way is not quite clear we must place our trust in God. He never leaves us in the dark nor does he abandon us. As we put away the Christmas decorations and nativity scene, let us never lose sight of the shining star or the baby Jesus. We at Good Shepherd’s wish you all the best for 2018 and may the light of the Lord guide you in the coming year and throughout all your days.
Fr. Urs, Karen & Shannon