We are deep amidst the church season known as Epiphany. It may seem like a season to pass lightly over, or to limit to the story of the wise men finding the Christ Child.

But oh, the gifts and challenges latent in this season, which this year runs all the way to an Ash Wednesday deep in March.

In the Greek, "Epiphany" means "in the light," or, "to appear" or "to manifest." The wise men were asked to ponder what the Christ child might mean. As Dr. Brown's recent blog points out, in these post-Christmas days, we are asked to do the same.

For me, Epiphany goes wide and deep. It is a sacred time that dares us to look at new ways God's light is manifesting in our lives ... and at ways we ourselves are asked to reflect that light.

Things appearing, things coming to light and becoming clear... Bring Epiphany home: Ask yourself what needs to come to light in your life? What needs to be said? Done? Hoped for? Offered?

Has something been revealed to you lately that is both gift and challenge?

Have you had a sudden new insight or revelation? Welcome to Epiphany. Is God calling you to "manifest" in some new way this year? To literally show up in some ways that surprise you?

In Matthew 2:11-12, we read of the dream of the wise men, who are warned not to return via the murderous Herod, but to "go home by another way."

I love those words... to go "home by another way." The paradox of getting to what is most essential and longed for by new and vital means. Home to what really matters to us. Home to the true self God is calling us to be. Some of these calls will be challenging; some will be familiar... reminders of what we need to retrieve about ourselves that has gotten lost along the way.

Are you hearing "another way" for you to follow in your life that will get you where you most need to be? Are you also aware of the Herod parts we all have... the parts that are threatened by any new order or way of being?

These are but some of the questions of Epiphany. They are also the questions of a lifetime. May these days of growing light bless you on the way.