That Epiphany Star

(Ella was sitting with me a few days after Christmas. She was quietly looking at this nativity scene. She then said, "Wait a minute! It's not Epiphany yet! The magi aren't supposed to be at the manger!" Then she promptly got up and moved the magi off to a nearby end table, to continue their journey to the manger.)

Hello friends! Here we all are, back to work or regular activities after the holidays. Maybe you worked through Christmas, perhaps you were off until after New Year’s Day, perhaps you didn’t go back to work until the kids went back to school, like me. Perhaps you aren’t working, but still took time to rest and reflect, and to participate in the holiday season. Whatever the case, we are all back here together, now. Happy New Year!
 
We are now in the season of Epiphany in the Christian calendar. Epiphany, which occurs on January 6 (12 days after Christmas!), is noted as the time when the magi, or the Wise Ones, followed the star and visited Jesus. Although the popular Christmas story has them gathered around the infant Jesus, in reality the journey would have taken approximately 3 years, and so Jesus would have been a walking, talking toddler by the time they met him.
 
Although January 6 is only 12 days after Christmas, I appreciate the slowing of time in this more accurate telling of the story: When we celebrate Epiphany, we acknowledge that the birth of Jesus into the world wasn’t just about God coming into the world through a baby, but is about the manifestation, the epiphany, of something entirely new and unpredicted into our world, forever changing the world for people of faith.
 
We don’t have to be at the manger of the newborn for this to be true. We can follow the star that shows the way, lights the path, and brings us to Jesus, to God incarnate, in whatever time it takes. For the magi, it took 3 years. This does not bely the truth of the Christmas story; instead, it makes it all the more powerful, moving us past the saccharine version of a sweet innocent baby, and into the more compelling, dangerous, status-quo-upheaving truth of the incarnation. Remember: the magi had to strategize to avoid leading Herod to Jesus, who wanted to kill him. They went back a different way to their homes than they had come, in order to keep Herod away.
 
Epiphany was celebrated on January 6, but is recognized as a season that we live in until Lent. What does it mean that we are in the season of Epiphany? What does it mean for us to recognize the birth of the light into the world through Jesus, the manifestation of God in our world? What does it mean to recognize the manifestation of God within the Earth community?
 
To me, as an ecotheologian and minister, this is the question that I am sitting with. I am struck, this year, by the fact that it was a star, a star in the sky, that led the magi to Jesus. It was a star, born into existence through the dynamics of the universe, that led them to Jesus. It was a star, from so far away that it defies comprehension, that the magi saw and followed.
 
It was a star, one star among many billions, that led them to the Incarnate One. A star, borne out of the same elements as the planets and the sun, and all of life on Earth. The same elements as you and me; the same elements as Jesus himself.
 
What does this mean? What dimension and wisdom can it bring to our understanding of Epiphany, to our understanding of the journey of the magi, to our understanding of the manifestation of God into the world? What does it mean that it was a star, moving forward through billions of miles and billions of years to be seen by the magi, that led them to the Incarnate One? What does it mean that this star was made up of the very same elements that exist in you and me, and existed in Jesus? (And, whether you believe this story is literally true or not, the fact is that this is the way that the story has been told, all through the generations of our ancestors in faith. So, these questions of the story itself, still hold.)
 
Friends, I invite you to sit with these questions, and reflect upon them. If you feel so inspired, I would love to hear from you, about what comes up! This is the season of Epiphany; as the magi return back to their homelands, forever changed by what they saw and experienced in meeting Jesus, let us reflect, and pray, and think, about what the Epiphany means for us in our time, in our world, within Earth community.

Announcements 

I have some exciting news. I have been appointed by the United Church of Canada as the North American delegate to the Climate Justice Core Group of the World Communion of Reformed Churches! The next decade has been declared the Decade for Climate Justice by the WCRC, so there will be much to do. I am excited to join a diverse group of members from around the world. We’ll be meeting virtually soon, and I look forward to learning more and keeping you up to date.

Planning for 2023

Now that January is here, I am planning out the year for preaching, speaking and teaching. If you are interested in inviting me to speak or preach to your community, please let me know. Dates to consider are: April 22-23 for Earth Day; Sundays in Lent or the Sunday after Easter; June 3-5 for World Environment Day; and during the month of September for the Season of Creation. You can email me at: jessica@jessicahetherington.ca.

BLOG POST: Finding Joy in Discipleship (and the Kitchen)

Find it here: https://jessicahetherington.ca/blog/

Reading for Transformation 

Our Ecological Footprint: Reducing Human Impact on the Earth by William Rees and Mathis Wackernagel (Gabriola Isalnd, BC: New Society Publishers, 1996).
 
Ecological footprint is the idea and calculation of how much of the Earth’s resources we use in our daily consumption habits. It is calculated in the number of ‘Earths’ we would need if every person on the planet were to consume at the rate that each one of us does. This idea, and its formulation as a scientific tool of calculation, is the brainchild of William Rees and his then-student Mathis Wackernagel at Royal Rhoads University in British Columbia. This book spells out the idea and its calculation, and invites us to consider the impact of our way of life on the planet.

While the notion of the ecological footprint has been co-opted by big industry, especially the oil industry, in order to shift blame for the ecological crisis disproportionately onto individuals, I found the idea helpful for grounding my theology and ideas within my own practices as a consumer, citizen, and Christian. Written nearly 30 years ago, the ideas in this book continue to be relevant. You can also find the ecological footprint calculator at: https://www.footprintcalculator.org/home/en.
 
Are you familiar with the idea of the ecological footprint? Have you measured your footprint before?

Sacred Nature: Restoring Our Ancient Bond with the Natural World by Karen Armstrong (New York: Knopf, 2022).
 
This newly published book was a Christmas gift to me (thank you, Brian!). Karen Armstrong is a well-known religion scholar, reflecting on the three Abrahamic religions in her work. She is neither an ecotheologian nor a writer of ecology, and I will admit that this book seems a bit late out of the gate in terms of reflecting on faith, nature, and the ecological crisis. That said, I am looking forward to reading it to see what particular insights she has to offer from the impressive cadre of insight she already has into humans as religious creatures and how we make sense of the world. If you have read it, please let me know your impressions and what it sparks for you!

 

Earth Community in Pictures  

I would love to share pictures here from the Earth community where we each reside, in all seasons of the year. If you have some that you would like to share, either from where you live or where you have visited, please do so, and I will post them in the next newsletter. Send them to: jessica@jessicahetherington.ca.

Upcoming Events 

Guest Preaching: February 26, 2023 – Wall Street United Church, Brockville ON. More details to come.

Contact
 

Any questions or comments? Things you'd like to see in this newsletter? I'd love to hear from you. Please go to jessicahetherington.ca, or email me at: jessica@jessicahetherington.ca.