After singing about “a partridge in a pear tree” for so many years, I’ve now embraced the notion that there really are twelve days of Christmas and I’ve been more mindful of the significance of Epiphany this time around.  As it was for the shepherds (Luke 2:8-20) and the Magi (Matthew 2:1-12), having a revelation of God in Jesus Christ continues to be a gift.  

Today was the last day of a week-long course that I attended and one of my classmates opened the session with a time of reflection.  She invited us to mention any “God-sightings” which pointed to our recent awareness of the presence of God in our lives.  After we testified of the gift of God in our lives, our classmate then reminded us that the gifting must continue.  She presented the following poem (written by Howard Thurman) as a call to extend the grace that we have received:

The Work of Christmas
By Howard Thurman

When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flocks,
The work of Christmas begins:
           To find the lost,
           To heal the broken,
           To feed the hungry,
           To release the prisoners,
           To rebuild the nations,
           To bring peace among the people,
           To make music in the heart.

Your Call:  Think about how Epiphany applies to your life. What “God-sightings” do you recall from this week?   Take some time to meditate upon Thurman’s poem.  How do you think God is calling you to continue the “work of Christmas”?