Sermon Preached on Epiphany at St. John's in the Village in the City of New York.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit . When I was growing up in Italy, Epiphany was never a small or secondary feast. It was not a polite epilogue to Christmas, nor a convenient moment to tidy away the decorations and move on. Epiphany was the Twelfth Day, the crown of Christmas itself, anticipated, cherished, and celebrated with seriousness and joy. Christmas, we knew instinctively, was not finished until Epiphany had come. In fact, there was a saying repeated almost like doctrine: Christmas is not over until Epiphany arrives. The mystery needed time to unfold. The child born in Bethlehem had still to be revealed for who he truly was. And indeed, school would not start until the following day. My grandmother used to tell me that when she was a little girl, Epiphany, not Christmas Day, was when children received their presents. Gifts were given on the feast of the Epiphany, because it was the daywhen gifts were brought to Christ himself. What mattered was n...
