2025 has come, and in the transition to this new year, many of us have embraced the ritual of the many familiar occurrences and cultural expectations. Faithful have gathered, welcoming in the observance of the Incarnation. Presents have been given and received, wrappings and decorations have served their purpose. Meals and memories have been shared between friends, loved ones, strangers, and neighbours. Annual revues have been offered, reflecting on the ‘best’ and ‘worst’ of the past year, as society seeks to move forward in hope and optimism. Our collective prayer and desire for the future echoes with words like peace, economic stability, purpose, health, forgiveness, and justice.
As each year unfolds, I feel the desire of the community to share hopes for the future; yet also I hear the frustration of those who show that with the changing of calendar years, not much changes. Poverty and inequality abound; greed and ignorance seem to take centre stage almost as soon as the decorations are removed from peoples’ lives.
Now in the church we are shifting to the feast of the Epiphany, recalling how Jesus is revealed to the wider world, specifically through the gifts of the Magi, and the sharing of the Good News beyond the confines of Nazareth, Jesus’ hometown. It can be easy to get consumed by the frustration that is felt in society and lose the gift that Epiphany brings: negativity and frustration can lead to fear, isolation and exclusion, which is further magnified by the shortened days, winter storms, and harsh weather.
Perhaps in the Kootenays we need to hear the prophet Isaiah’s oracle once again which is echoed in Luke’s Gospel:
‘Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” (Isaiah 40:9)
So often we cease to unwrap and unfold the essence of love that we’ve been given in Jesus to any beyond our closest kin. To so many, our dialogue and conversation can turn to reminiscing of the ‘good old days,’ or of the seeming hopelessness in our present situation.
As many look for higher climbs in the Kootenays this time of year, to catch the sun, to ski the slopes, I hope and pray that we may be reminded that we are called to keep our conversation hopeful, life and love centred, as we daily partner with the Holy One to bring peace and justice, love and forgiveness to all whom we encounter.
‘We are an Easter people, Hallelujah is our song,’ as Augustine and others have said.
Our song must unfold the hope which we hold in the gift of the Holy One to the world. How are our lives transformed by this revelation? How do we act with justice and compassion, with dignity and service to bring this message beyond our ken?
This new year I have the opportunity once again to share the love song of the Holy One to the world where I roam. Liturgy and Scripture, homiletics and Sacrament serve as strengthening agents to help me unfold the gift of Incarnation and share it in new and transforming ways. How will you share the Epiphany in your context? How might the world be changed by your presence in it?
