Season of Epiphany January 2022

“Last night as I was sleeping,
I dreamt—marvelous error!—
that a spring was breaking
out in my heart.
I said: Along which secret aqueduct,
Oh water, are you coming to me,
water of a new life
that I have never drunk?

Last night as I was sleeping,
I dreamt—marvelous error!—
that I had a beehive
here inside my heart.
And the golden bees
were making white combs
and sweet honey
from my old failures.

Last night as I was sleeping,
I dreamt—marvelous error!—
that a fiery sun was giving
light inside my heart.
It was fiery because I felt
warmth as from a hearth,
and sun because it gave light
and brought tears to my eyes.

Last night as I slept,
I dreamt—marvelous error!—
that it was God I had
here inside my heart. ” (Anthony Machado)

Epiphany /əˈpifənē/ /əˈpɪfəni/ 

Middle English from Greek epiphainein ‘reveal’. A moment of sudden revelation or insight.

Also the Christian festival of the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi (Matthew 2:1–12).

Welcome to the New Year, friends. The season of Epiphany, which began on January 6, invites us to watch for such flashes of insight, unexpected revelations or synchronicities in our personal and communal lives—to know that we are being guided and provision will be made as we open our hearts to the Divine Love. I’m feeling that we will need more than ever, mass epiphanies and attuned communities seeing more clearly together as we face the challenges of this year (and decade) as a planet and as humankind.

I think of how epiphanies often come without warning. Or they may be there all along, waiting for the human spirit to wake up and see with new eyes…act in new ways. Go home by another road, if needed.

Where the Map Begins: A Blessing for Epiphany

This is not any map you know.

Forget longitude.Forget latitude.

Do not think

of distances 

or of plotting the most direct route.

Astrolabe, sextant, compass:

 these will not help you here.

This is the map that begins with a star.

This is the chart that starts with fire,

with blazing, with an ancient light

that has outlasted generations, empires, cultures, wars.

Look starward once,

then look away.

Close your eyes 

and see how the map begins to blossom

behind your lids, 

how it constellates,

its lines stretching out

 from where you stand.

You cannot see it all,

cannot divine the way it will turn and spiral,

cannot perceive how the road you walk will lead you finally inside, 

through the labyrinth 

of your own heart and belly and lungs.

But step out 

and you will know 

what the wise who traveled this path before you knew:

the treasure in this map is buried not at journey’s end

but at its beginning.

—Jan Richardson from Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Season