Believe it or not, originally Christmas wasn’t one of the holy days observed by Christians ‑ during the first 300 years or so of the Church’s existence.  That didn’t start until about the fifth century AD – to Christianize the pagan celebrations of the solstice.  Romans celebrated the solstice with a most popular festival called Sol Invictus, during which a mythical demigod by the name of Saturnus went about the countryside at night placing fruits, other produce and toys on the doorsteps and lintels of the houses of poor children.  That’s where customs such as bringing a tree into the house, feasting, partying, exchanging gifts and singing songs around the fire originated. Understandably, converts to Christianity found it very hard to give up these customs and gala celebrations, and so the Church adopted them for the celebration of the birth of Jesus. 

Instead, originally, the major holy days for Christians were the Feast of the Resurrection, the Feast of Pentecost and the Feast of the Epiphany.  The Feast of the Epiphany – January 6 – celebrated the revelation of the birth of God’s Son to the Gentile world, represented by the Magi.  And so it celebrated the inclusion of all people into the scope of God’s grace as well as the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.  You can see how important, especially to those who weren’t Jewish, the celebration of Epiphany was.  Although, in our culture, Epiphany has been almost totally eclipsed by Christmas, it is a most important celebration for Christians.  It reminds us of God’s revelations and graces given to all people throughout history and especially God’s redeeming love through Christ, our Lord.

It’s fitting for us to observe the Feast of the Epiphany with special celebration.  That’s why we’re planning two events on Epiphany Sunday – January 8.  At the 10:30 am Eucharist, we’ll celebrate Holy Baptism to recall Christ’s redemption offered to all people.  And at 7 pm we’ll offer a special Epiphany Evensong in the Old Narragansett Church.  Since that building, for the past almost 300 years, has been without the benefit of electricity, it reminds us that Christ brought the light of God to dispel the darkness of this world.  We who follow Christ Jesus, our Lord, are intended by God to be people of the Light – to bear Christ’s light into the darkest recesses of the world in which we live.  We are called to speak truth whenever there is falsehood.  We are called to administer justice wherever there is injustice.  We are called to act righteously wherever there is unrighteousness.  We are called to demonstrate love whenever it is absent.  We are called to bear witness to Jesus Christ wherever He is unknown. 

Happy Epiphany!