“All Poor Ones and Humble”
Dear Kind and Gentle People,
Happy New Year and Happy Epiphany! The Newfield Community Church will celebrate the Epiphany or recognition God incarnate in the baby Jesus on January 1. The opening hymn for our Epiphany celebration will be the ancient Welsh carol “All Poor Ones and Humble”. Here is a choral version of it for your listening pleasure. https://youtu.be/6ZLfzkXW0GM. It is an inclusive and holy message with beautiful flowing melody and harmony.
A new year is upon us, a year full of your promise and possibilities. We have a choice to invite the healing balm of love and light to loosen our hidden prisons of un-forgiveness and transform our lives. Unlike the traditional New Years dinner of black eyed peas and the trimmings that many of us enjoy only once of year, we can choose to honor the Christ Child every day of the year.
The Magi offer the baby Jesus three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Traditionally gold because the baby is a ruler, frankincense to symbolize ascending prayer and myrrh as a recognition of the end of mortal life at the cross and beyond. They payed attention to their dreams and did not return to Herod. Joseph obeyed his dream and took his tiny family to Egypt, perhaps using the valuable gifts of the magi for incentives, otherwise known as bribes.
We are all on our own journeys carrying our unique gifts within us and seeking a place of truth to lay them down. Like the Magi and Joseph, may you have the courage to listen and follow the prompts that God is using to guide you. Lets follow the light that is bequeathed upon us each and every day. During this season of Epiphany and in this new year, may you say yes to new possibilities, embrace freedom from your past and open your heart to the New Jerusalem here on earth. Happy New Year and Happy Epiphany!
Gobs of Blessings and Heaps of Happiness,
Petah
Rev. Dr. Peter Stickney
