Epiphany is the story of a corrupt king, people jockeying for power, competing narratives, signs in the heavens, gifts that foreshadow who Jesus will be, foreign dignitaries, and angelic dreams. Wednesday, as I watched the assault on our nation, I was first sad that on this holy day of starlight and mystery such chaos was unfolding. Then I realized how fitting it was that in a moment where violence and fear were ruling the day we could turn to this story of Herod. Herod was afraid of losing power, so much so that he ended up killing toddlers. Violence and fear have always plagued humanity. We cannot sanitize our favorite stories of the bible, they occur in the midst of tragedy and intrigue. This is actually wonderful because our lives are occurring in the midst of tragedy and intrigue.
The story of the star reminds us that God is moving in and through the chaos. There are holy moments and redemption every where we look. There is another way of life that we can choose even as we are captivated by the culture of violence and fear.
God calls us into these moments of pain and suffering, to go another way, to seek out the holy, to proclaim the good news that power and control are not ours to fight over. In these difficult days may the stories of the bible remind us all to be people of justice, peace, and starlight.
-Eilidh
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