Archdeacon Rachel Mann shares a Pause for Thought on the Epiphany, featured by BBC Radio 2 on Sunday, 5th January 2025.
After the excesses of Christmas and that weird, prolonged week in the run-up to New Year, it feels like it’s time to get my house in order: to think about going to the gym or having a health kick. As the new year begins, I want to tear off and throw off the past year. Surely that would be a good start to what lies ahead.
And then I remember that today is the day most churches will celebrate the Epiphany, the visit of the wise men to the infant Jesus. They gave him gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Epiphany is just a fancy word for a moment of sudden realisation. The wise men’s epiphany was having their minds blown when they met this new king who was just a baby. And before they went on their way to make a new and good start on their lives they just stood there watching in wonder.
So, I think if we’re going to make a great start to this New Year ourselves, we too could take a moment in wonder. I know how I will do that: by remembering all the precious occasions from last year and giving thanks for them.
Like how this Christmas I laughed uproariously with my mum and sister as we watched my recent performance on University Challenge, or that evening months ago, when I sat out in the garden with my little brother and his wife listening to cheesy tunes in the fading sun. Perfect.
They’re not grand things. They won’t be added to my honours board of big wins when I look back on my life. But they are treasures, and I find that the simple treasures are the richest ones.
We all need goals in life and starting the New Year well can feel as if it is time for that new broom which cleans out everything; that *then* I shall be a new person and achieve marvellous things. However, I believe it is worth being more like the wise men. Like them, I want to take a deep breath of wonder before I face up to the new challenges awaiting me out there in the big wide world.