Well, so that is that.  Now we must dismantle the tree,
Putting the decorations back into their cardboard boxes --
Some have got broken -- and carrying them up to the attic.
The holly and the mistletoe must be taken down and burnt,
And the children got ready for school.  
There are enough Left-overs to do, warmed-up, for the rest of the week
(W H Auden, from The Time Being: A Christmas Oratorio)

We can all, perhaps, identify with Auden’s words, Christmas rushes in and then no sooner have we entered the stable then it seems it is time to leave. And here we are in the season of Epiphany. A short season this year as Ash Wednesday will fall on February 6th. So during this magical season of light what should we do?

Our job is to keep the vision, the hope and the joy of the incarnation alive in our hearts and in our lives through the weeks ahead. Each Christmas, each Epiphany something in us changes even if it was as quick and as passing as the flicker of a candle flame. But the change has happened and now what?

Auden further wrote, "He is the Way, follow him through the land of unlikeness. You will see rare beasts, and have unique adventures. He is the Truth, seek him in the Kingdom of anxiety. You will come to a great city that has expected your return for years. He is the Life--Love him in the world of the Flesh, and at your marriage all its occasions shall dance for joy."

A January ritual in our house is to take the new wall calendar for the year and fill in all the birthdays, all the anniversaries, holidays booked, dentist, doctor and orthodontist appointments, basically all the ‘known’ or planned things that will happen this year. This year as I started this task, I looked at all the white blocks on the calendar and thought of all the unknowns, the new possibilities for this year, there are so many more of them than the knowns. And I wondered as perhaps you might wonder just how all those other days will be filled. To think outside the box, to imagine something big – a change of heart, a change of direction, an increase in faith, only you know what your dream might be.

We all have dreams that we live into. We all have dreams that call us to get up in the morning and lead our lives. We are all called to be light. So let us travel together this year, may we see wonderful things together and even perhaps find occasions to dance for joy. And may this season of Epiphany reveal to us all the true face and love of God.

Jane+