Epiphany Wisdom from Wise Men

 “Three Wise Men.”  Epiphany Wisdom  

 “The three were hermits on an island in the Black Sea, very pious and humble and loving to all men but terribly ignorant.  A bishop goes in a steamer to see them and teach them a few prayers, but finds them too old and stupid to learn.  At last, he gets—or thinks he has got—one very short and simple prayer into their heads, and leaves the island, feeling rather contemptuous.  Then, when night falls, he sees a bright light advancing swiftly over the sea behind the steamer. The old men have come, walking on the waves, begging him to be patient with their great stupidity and to teach them the prayer again.”—Tolstoy.

food pantry car line Thanksgiving

My husband sent me this story. He tries to read it to me, but is so moved that he cannot speak. Alas, if all of us could be that way when we hear this story. I think of people I have talked with leading retreats and classes, hoping to share the word of God with them. But instead, I learn more about God by listening to them.

I learn this truth first from recovery meetings, where I hear wisdom from people I would never have previously listened to. Wisdom comes from those with no education who can barely speak intelligently. Wisdom comes from men and women who have spent most of their lives in prison. Wisdom comes from those who have lost their children because of their addiction. Wisdom comes from women who have lived on the streets. Wisdom comes from people experiencing homelessness.

I also heard this wisdom at our Food Pantry, where people come each week for just enough food to survive. They tell us how grateful they are and bless us. They tell us how blessed they are. They share what they receive with other families. They teach us how to turn our lives and our wills over to God. They teach us how to live in community.

In this season of Epiphany and into a new year, may we keep our ears and hearts open to hear wisdom in “wise men” and women at all places, in each precious moment, and especially where we once least expected it.

prayers before starting at food pantry

The Work of Christmas in Epiphany

The Work of Christmas in Epiphany

“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 flock, 

The work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost, 

To heal the broken,

To feed the hungry, 

To release the prisoner,

To rebuild the nations, 

To bring peace among brothers [and sisters], 

To make music in the heart.”—Howard Thurman, The Mood of Christmas & Other Celebrations

From InwardOutward/ Church of the Saviour Washington D.C. inwardoutward.org.

at Epiphany service

Carrying the love that came down at Christmas with us for the rest of the year is now our calling. Thurman calls it the work of Christmas. I need something to help me remember this. I have a Christmas tree pin I will keep in a dish with other jewelry that I cannot help but notice as I prepare for the day. I may even wear the pin if I have difficulty carrying Christmas love with me during the day.

 Anthony de Mello in Sadhana, A Way to God, Christian Exercises in Eastern Form, gives us other suggestions in “Exercise 18: The Joyful Mysteries of Your Life.” He tells us to keep a memory book of times we felt loved or experienced the Christ child within us. De Mello tells us to return to these times and relive the scene, as Ignatius Loyola would have us do. They both suggest we can experience the scene even more vividly in our memory. We could not enjoy it as much at the time for many reasons. Memories of Christmas love are especially meaningful for this exercise. We may have negative experiences at Christmas. We can work on these later with other de Mello exercises (“Exercise 24:Healing of Hurtful Memories”).

Reliving a loving memory can increase our capacity for love and joy. It can overcome our unconscious, instinctive resistance to happiness and love. As we go deeper into the memory, de Mello calls us to look for the presence of the love of the Christ child in the scene. This memory meditation becomes a way to recognize the love of God right beside us at all times. 

Responding to the Epiphany Storming of our Capitol

Responding to the Epiphany Storming of our Capitol

“The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach - waiting for a gift from the sea.”—Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

It is still painful to think about and respond to events at our Capitol on Epiphany, January 6th, 2021. First, it was disbelief that it was happening in the country we so love.

I go to the safest place in our house, our bedroom, and lie down. Then, the fear that lives in my body about having the COVID-19 virus before we can get the vaccine transfers to the stability and safety of our country. A group of men and women without masks carrying metal pipes, chemical irritants, and other weapons are breaking windows and doors to enter the sacred halls of our country, where our Congress is meeting to certify the presidential election.

All the tasks ahead of me for the day have lost energy. My entire energy goes to fear. Our daughter, who has been in tears, soon calls. We share the news. We are powerless. We both decide to have some soul food while we try to re-center. Popcorn.

 Will our government be overturned and taken over by people like those we see on television? They tell reporters this is only the beginning. They will be back. I see anger and fear on their faces. We both share fear. They mirror my fear.

Preparing for the Epiphany service that night slows down my fear. First, I sit quietly in St. Mark’s for over an hour before the service. Then, slowly, I become less anxious. I honestly believe the prayers of the many people who have worshiped there in the past calm my soul. I have put myself in a place where many before me have gone to meet God. Their prayers and their love begin to heal me.

Family Systems dynamics teach us that if we can maintain a state of having the least anxiety during any conflict in a relationship with others or be a non-anxious presence, we will contribute to keeping any tensions from growing and eventually solve the difficulty. Unfortunately, I know few people who can remain non-anxious, for it is not a human trait. Staying less anxious, however, is a real possibility.

With Grace, we may be the least anxious presence in a situation. In that case, we can keep the arteries in our body from tightening up, taking minutes or weeks off our lifespan, pushing us to become more fearful, maybe even violent.

Believe we can go to the place inside or outside our body, where an inner and outer presence leads us to become calmer. There we can become a vessel to become part of the relationship or situation that can solve any problems we encounter.

 This is my only offering from that day. Go literally or figuratively to a place of healing in the past, where you have met God, and perhaps where so many have done the same before. Sit, just sit, and be enveloped by a presence that goes by the name of love.

It may not be in a place of worship. It may be by the sea where the waves’ rhythm or the sea’s stillness slows down our anxious hearts. It may be a walk where the trees photosynthesize our energy back to love, back to a presence attributed to Julian of Norwich where “all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”

So, we search for our sacred space, where we may find the strength to meet the day, reach out to others, and become the less anxious presence who can hold together in love the people of our family, our community, and our country.