 St Alban’s Episcopal Church Bolivar, Missouri Thursday, January 6, 2022  Epiphany  Western EpiphanyWestern-wise, we come to adore -Twenty minutes for worship And plans for the evening. Our gifts are weighed and measured From a substantial saving for the winter. Our heart are places of narrow corridors Loud as nightmares, Busy calculations crawl in our souls Like ants. Have mercy on our common sense, poor Child, For our hearts are bleak as comfort And inspiration wilts in us, untended flower. Give us that rare madness To chase a star like lions And fling away our stores to You Like laughter. We are the polished western-wise Who give this least obeisance because After these handsome days Are riddled with the bullets of time And death comes upon our conveniences Like a drunken reveler, We prefer salvation. Oh! Pity our pale sanity poor Child Who once saw copper faces Glow like jubilation, Saw crowns atilt with hurry, Lips on the ground. And raze our gleaming righteousness Lest the ox and ass alone be wise. Mother Mary Francis, pcc  REMEMBER Bishop Diane’s seating at the cathedral today online if you want to watch – at 6 pm Happy birthday today to Ted Yarmouth! “O God, by the leading of a star you manifested your own Son to the peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know you now by faith to your presence, where we may see your glory face to face…”  It was only one year ago that Epiphany celebrations were interrupted due to the violent attempt to stop the routine presidential electoral vote certification process in Congress. But that, too, revealed something: it revealed a rot at the heart of our democracy. Still, even as that remains deeply troubling, we know perfectly well that the United States is not unique in the world. Empires rise and fall, states succeed and sometimes fail, sometimes they split – and often they simply muddle along. We do not see our future. And while we pray for leaders to make wise choices God does not treat them -or us – as puppets. God does not choose our leaders, we do. And God does not anoint them to do anything. We are not a theocracy. But however this plays out, no matter what happens, I can guarantee you that Epiphany will still be celebrated throughout the whole world on January 6, 2023, as it has been for two thousand years, in every kind of political or social circumstance, in the midst of war, plague and natural disaster. We will celebrate the Light who came into the world and was – and is – a revelation of God and God’s intentions – which are love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, redemption, salvation – for all the whole world. We follow the star – but we also must become the Christ Light. How we – individually and as a church – faithfully proclaim and demonstrate the truth of that reality in our day will determine how well the next generation can see, and hear, and trust the goodness of God. |
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