From Christmastide to Epiphany

On the one hand I’m still pretty new to the church calendar, as the Christian traditions of my past didn’t find much use for it. On the other, now after a long stretch of working on the CC newsletter Sunday’s Coming, I basically dream in three-year cycles. (If you like Bible reflections and aren’t yet signed up for this free resource, you can sign up here.)

One of my favorite seasons is Epiphany. I’ve always enjoyed the story of the Magi, and I love the way this focus flows so naturally out of Christmas. This transition—from Christmastide to Epiphanytide—is the perfect moment for much of our newest content, focused on this beautiful cycle.

Michael Woolf considers the value of interfaith readings, particularly of Christians engaging with the Qur’an this time of year. Rachel Mann, moved by a Baroque-era sermon about the Magi, ponders the role of imagination in the journey of faith. Brandon Ambrosino helps us push back against fundamentalist Christmas preaching—and simplistic readings of Bible stories. Plus an essay about a child preaching a subversive sermon about Job, a hauntingly poignant poem about symbolism and loss, and even more below.

Jon Mathieu
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Reading the Qur’an at Christmastide

“My advice to read the Qur’an is usually met with a mix of skepticism and surprise, as Christians are not used to looking outside of their tradition for meaningful reflections on their most sacred figures. Yet, I have found as a pastor and a theologian that it is precisely by looking at other faiths and learning from them that we can come to better appreciate our own stories.”

by Michael Woolf

Imagining the Magi

“To follow Christ is to be part of a community that negotiates the sheer wonder and mystery of life and, more than that, the challenge of living in and through the Word made flesh.”

by Rachel Mann

Franklin Graham preaches a God of hate

“Graham told his audience that while these stories might sound harsh, they depict God as he really is. ‘You’d better believe in him.’ Why? I’m not sure God believes in that God.”

by Brandon Ambrosino

In the Lectionary for January 6 (Epiphany)

Herod is frightened—or disturbed, or troubled, or all of the above.

by Mindy Misener

In the Lectionary for January 11 (Baptism A)

Sometimes it’s hard for us to remember who we are.

by Christine Chakoian

A preacher at play

“While I preach like an adult, Hannah came to the scriptures as play. In the expanse of her imagination—unbridled by a sense of which questions are the right ones, unaware that there are places we shouldn’t push the congregation or that certain thoughts are off limits—Hannah called the text as she saw it.”

by Melissa Florer-Bixler

Everything Around Here Is Ephemeral

“Today a cardinal poured out of the woods, redder / than arterial blood. When my husband died, I got cards / saying this slash of scarlet is a loved one returning …”

poem by Barbara Crooker