If I had to choose my favourite Christian festival, it would probably be Epiphany.
“Eppy what?” you ask.
Epiphany. It comes from an ancient Greek word that means, loosely, to show forth, to reveal.
Unlike Christmas, Easter, and All Hallows’ Eve, Epiphany hasn’t been taken over by commercial interests yet. Perhaps because there’s no agreement on the proper date to celebrate it.
The western churches generally celebrate Epiphany on January 6, commemorating the day on which the infant Messiah was supposedly revealed to the Gentile world, in the persons of the legendary three wise men.
The eastern churches, on the other hand, celebrate Epiphany January 19 – yesterday -- and they identify it with Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River, which revealed him (at least to himself) as God’s special agent.
A century ago, Epiphany was a big deal. In the English-speaking world, it was commonly known as Twelfth Night – the culmination of the Christmas season. My family kept decorations up until Twelfth Night. The number is also commemorated in “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”
When I read of early Twelfth Night festivities, it sounds like a re-enactment of the Roman Saturnalia. Servants assumed the roles of their masters, and vice versa. Revellers chose their own kings and queens.

Renowned epiphanies
But it’s not the history that I celebrate. Rather, it’s the concept. Insight bursts suddenly like the star that guided the Magi. Comic books used to show a light bulb above a character’s head. Suddenly you can see clearly what had been murky and unclear.
Isaac Newton had an epiphany when he realized that the same force that caused an apple to fall earthwards could also hold the moon in orbit.
Albert Einstein developed his Theory of Relativity when he realized that a rider in a falling elevator would be weightless.
Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz discerned the ring structure of carbon atoms in benzene when he dreamed of a snake eating its own tail.
Typically, these epiphanies come after a long period of struggling with an intractable problem. You’re blocked. Nothing works. You can’t see any way out. And then, out of the blue, comes the solution.
And you know, instantly, that it works. All the pieces of the puzzle click into place at once. Even if you still have to work out all the details – it took Einstein years to work out the formula that confirmed his intuitive insight. But you know those details will fit.
Little wonder that a naked Archimedes leaped out of his bath and ran down the street shouting “Eureka! I have found it!”

Their own reward
The solution comes intuitively, but not easily. First you do your homework. Epiphanies do not reward slackers and couch potatoes.
Epiphanies also cannot be predicted. So when they do come, they’re an unexpected delight.
I live for epiphanies. I look for epiphanies in worship services, in study groups, in moments of meditation.
Epiphanies are the magic wand that transforms a humble pumpkin into a royal chariot, a kitchen maid into a princess. Nothing has changed, but everything has changed, because I see it in a different way.
I cannot imagine anything duller than going through life never looking for, and therefore never experiencing, epiphanies.
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Copyright © 2016 by Jim Taylor. Non-profit use in congregations and study groups, and links from other blogs, welcomed; all other rights reserved.
        To comment on this column, write jimt@quixotic.ca
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YOUR TURN

Thoughts continue to accumulate (play on words there) on the column about snowflakes, two weeks ago. 
Jill Weckesser wrote, “Your thoughts (and others') on snow reminds me of a simple statement that made a big impression on me years ago: ‘A snowflake never feels responsible for an avalanche.’”
Similarly, Eduard Hiebert connected the dots in several of my columns, and tied them to an interview he heard on the CBC during South Africa’s apartheid years: “to deplore and do no more is not enough.”

On last week’s column, in which I quoted some of Ron Rolheiser’s thoughts on God’s feelings, Chandra Schaefel suggested, “You may want to do a little more fact-checking for your column. Fr. Ron has never been a bishop. In fact, I don't think he has ever even served as a priest in the Saskatoon diocese, although he has given many workshops and lectures here. I would have to check with my mom on that, as she knows him and has a much better memory than I. He has a great sense of humour, though, and I'm sure he will love to hear that he has been thought to be a bishop!!
Wayne Holst, who puts out a weekly blog he calls “Colleague’s List,” <http://colleagueslist.blogspot.com/> also questioned Ron Rolheiser’s status. 
They’re both right, and I’m wrong. I trusted my memory, and I need to learn not to do that. I thought I remembered Bede Hubbard, when he was editor of the Prairie Messanger, published out of Muenster, in Saskatchewan, refer admiringly to Fr. Rolheiser as his boss. Tain’t so.
His biography online (http://ronrolheiser.com/about-ron/) does say that he was born in Saskatchewan, and taught at Newman College in Edmonton (on the prairies but not in Saskatchewan). It also says that he served as Provincial Superior for the Oblates, in Saskatchewan, for a short period.

Dale Perkins also responded to Ron Rolheiser’s theology, and connected it to the inquiry into the fitness of Greta Vosper to continue as a United Church of Canada minister, although she no longer accepts the doctrinal statements she had to be “in essential agreement with” for her ordination. 
Dale wrote, “In attempting to assimilate concepts, we hit the huge roadblock of language and vocabulary. As Rolheiser reveals in your piece, most people retain a 'stand alone' deity, (whether benign and gentle like his analogy presents or not) who will reveal him/herself, separate from all other stand-alone persons/objects (whom we/you can talk to, "walk with, and tell him we are his own ..." (as the old chestnut goes). That is comforting for some, but quite unnecessary. 
“By retaining that language/vocabulary of orthodoxy, we immediately separate or differentiate ourselves from others who can't use those words/language. This then becomes a dichotomy which alienates and sets us apart. 
“For centuries the institutional church felt that necessary (mostly as a way to distinguish the church from other organizations/agencies out there). However, that never requires the institutional church to confront its own language/vocabulary barriers, required for admission into its ranks. So the false dichotomy persists, and the 'beat goes on'. Why do we continue to fight these bogus ideologies as though they were absolutely necessary? What are we afraid of?”


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PSALM PARAPHRASES

Ah yes, Psalm 19, one of the great psalms. According to my records, I’ve used this paraphrase more than any other psalm except Psalm 23. So here it is again.

1   Quarks and electrons, crystals and cells; 
stems and trunks and limbs and bodies--
2   on the land, in the water, in the air--
the elements of the universe wait to expand our understanding.
3   Rocks have no words, nor do cells have syllables,
4   yet their message can be read anywhere. 
Even the fiery stars,
5   racing at unimaginable speeds through space,
6   yield their secrets to those willing to probe the limits of God's universe.
7   And what do they find? 
An underlying harmony, a delicate equilibrium 
built on the value of every thing, 
living or inanimate, past, present, and future.
8   There are no exceptions. 
No one is above the law of interdependence.
9   Life dies and becomes new life; 
spirit and flesh are one. 
My fate is inextricably linked to yours, 
and our fate to the trees and insects.
10   This is the beginning of wisdom. 
It is better than wealth, more valuable than possessions.
11   Awareness of it will change us forever.

12   But we are too often blind; 
we close our ears to the voices of the winds and the waves,
 to the insights of the rocks and the plants.

13   God, keep us from thinking we know it all; 
human minds cannot encompass eternity; 
an assembly of facts does not equal truth.
14   Keep us always open to wonder, to beauty, to mystery, 
O greatest of mysteries.

For paraphrases of most of the psalms used by the Revised Common Lectionary, you can order my book Everyday Psalms from Wood Lake Publishing, info@woodlake.com.

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YOU SCRATCH MY BACK…
Ralph Milton has a new project, called Sing Hallelujah – the world’s first video hymnal. It consists of 100 popular hymns, both new and old, on five DVDs that can be played using a standard DVD player and TV screen, for use in congregations who lack skilled musicians to play piano or organ. More details at www.singhallelujah.ca
Isabel Gibson's thoughtful and well-written blog, www.traditionaliconoclast.com
Alan Reynold's weekly musings, punningly titled “Reynolds Rap,” write reynoldsrap@shaw.ca
Wayne Irwin's "Churchweb Canada," an inexpensive service for any congregation wanting to develop a web presence, with free consultation. <http://www.churchwebcanada.ca>
Alva Wood's satiric stories about incompetent bureaucrats and prejudiced attitudes in a small town are not particularly religious, but they are fun; write alvawood@gmail.com to get onto her mailing list.
Tom Watson writes a weekly blog called “The View from Grandpa Tom’s Balcony” – ruminations on various subjects, and feedback from Tom’s readers. Write him at twatson@sentex.net

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TECHNICAL STUFF

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