Why and How We're Celebrating Epiphany Today

ABOUT EPIPHANY:
I'm not an expert on the liturgical calendar, but in studying it, I've found it a helpful tool in creating intentional times throughout the year that we remember and celebrate the life and ministry of Christ. Many Protestant churches don't celebrate the various seasons of the church calendar beyond Christmas and Easter, but there is a long history of using it in the Christian faith. "When most of the people in the church were poor and had no access to education, the church festivals and the cycle of the church year provided a vehicle for teaching the story of God and his actions in human history. Even in the Old Testament, the concept of sacred time became a vehicle for teaching the faith (for example, Exodus 12-13)." (Season of Epiphany - Bratcher) Since reading Noel Piper's book "Treasuring God in Your Traditions" I've become even more intentional in creating traditions and celebrations that tell a story as a way of teaching our kids the truths of God.
Before moving into the meaning of Epiphany, let me back up because you can't talk about Epiphany without talking first about Christmas. In the church we begin the Christmas season with Advent which is marked by expectation. We are anticipating the coming of Jesus. The traditional Christmas celebration begins on Dec 25 and according to the church calendar last for 12 Days of Christmas (ever wonder about the song!). It ends with Epiphany on January 6, today! Epiphany is the climax to the Advent/ Christmas season. The term epiphany means "to show" or "to make known" or even "to reveal." It's a time of focusing on the mission of the church in reaching others by "showing" Jesus as the Savior of all people. "As with most aspects of the Christian liturgical calendar, Epiphany has theological significance as a teaching tool in the church. The Wise Men or Magi who brought gifts to the child Jesus were the first Gentiles to acknowledge Jesus as "King" and so were the first to "show" or "reveal" Jesus to a wider world as the incarnate Christ. This act of worship by the Magi, which corresponded to Simeon’s blessing that this child Jesus would be "a light for revelation to the Gentiles" (Luke 2:32), was one of the first indications that Jesus came for all people, of all nations, of all races, and that the work of God in the world would not be limited to only a few." (Bratcher)

EPIPHANY DEVOTIONAL: (beautifully sums up the heart of celebrating Epiphany.)

And suddenly - You appeared among us! You could have stood afar off, but You came in vulnerable love, revealing the nature of the Father. You proved once and for all that God's love "reaches to the heavens" by reaching from heaven to us. What an extraordinary act of abounding grace! 
     Your birth seemed insignificant, even trivial, to most of the world. Yet Simeon prophesied You would be "a light to the Gentiles"... and the Magi were the first to fulfill that word. Overwhelmed by Your royal yet modest love, they tenderly laid gifts at Your feet. They knelt down and worshipped You, "revealing" You to the world as Lord and King. 
     I will observe these days by asking for a personal epiphany, a sudden revelation of who You really are. By bowing down, laying my gifts at Your feet, and worshiping You, let me "reveal" You as the Savior of all people. - The Book of Worship (John Randall Dennis)

ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS:

1. Read Matthew 2:1-12. Sing 'We Three Kings'

2. Make and decorate cardboard crowns and then act out the visit of the Magi

3. Let them pick out a special gift to give to someone that would honor that person as the Magi's brought gifts to honor Jesus

4. Pray for missionaries that are "revealing"to the nations Christ as King and Savior 

5. Make a King Cake (a Mardi Gra tradition as well)

6. Make star shaped cookies to remember the star that the Magi followed to find Jesus

These are just a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing!