We had an Epiphany!

I'll make the transition to Lent very soon, but mentally, I'm still stuck in Epiphany, and that is wonderful for now.

I think my favorite story to arise (and shine) from this Epiphany happened when my church choir took our annual trip to Huysburg Monastery in eastern Germany back in January. Annie wrote all about her experience on our weekend trip in her January 2025 newsletter. Each year, a few weeks after Christmas, my church choir journeys out to the monastery to stay for the weekend, enjoy fellowship in the countryside, and sing at two services with the monks.

By mid-January, the brothers and monastery staff have removed the Christmas decorations and hung beautiful stars in various corners of the buildings, as is German tradition after the official 12 days of Christmas have ended. The nativity set in the church remains, although a few things have noticeably changed about the scene. Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus are missing, having fled to Egypt after Herod declared the male infants should be killed. The shepherds are departing to return to their fields. And the figurines of the three Magi have been turned away from the manger, having already visited Jesus and presented him with their gifts. They are now on their way back home, taking a different road after the Angel warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.

Well the story is that one woman in our choir figured that someone had in fact messed up the “real” nativity scene! It didn’t look at all how it was “supposed” to look! When a service had finished and everyone had left the church, she decided to rearrange the nativity scene in this historic monastery so that all of the shepherds and Magi were facing the Manger again! When she told us what she did, she did so believing that she had corrected an error and fully thinking someone had played a "cruel trick”, and that she had saved the nativity! We exploded into laughter. She had done it with good intentions of course, but without a thought that perhaps the changing of the scene was intentional.

Our choirmaster clarified that this is what should normally happen to a nativity scene. The scene changes as the season changes! The story of Christmas has concluded, and we now get a new story, which is related to to previous one but indicates the arrival of new events in Jesus’s life. He lived for many more years, so we have to keep the ball rolling if we are ever going to get to Easter!

Huysburg Monastery is not a well-known destination, but it has developed a sort of cult following of German residents seeking the silence, nature, fellowship, and spiritual growth that the destination offers. We must plan the trip a year in advance, and the booking for next year is typically made before we depart from our present stay. When our trip organizer informed us that almost all of the weekends in January 2027 were fully booked, we considered switching our plans to October. That idea was quickly discarded. The choir all agreed that Huysburg has now become an Epiphany tradition. In the post-Christmas slump, most adults are looking for new things to anticipate, as the official anticipation season (AKA Advent) is over.

This year, I did not just need a fun church trip to occupy my post-Christmas days. Annie and I dedicated ourselves to discovering the season of Epiphany in all of its light and divinity, and I am happy to report that we have been *transformed*. We would also like to issue an official apology to the liturgical season of Epiphany for sleeping on it for much of our young adult lives. There were so many new things we discovered in our journey through Epiphany 2026, and it honestly left us reeling in a new sense of appreciation for the weeks that follow Christmas. We were so engaged in the lessons of this season that we are now kind of struggling to prepare our hearts and minds for Lent, which has begun right under our noses. I would like to take the opportunity to share some Epiphany reflections before too many of these 40 days go by.

Points of Epiphany Transformation and Discovery

1. Continuing to look forward. I did not know that we can keep our nativity sets out during Epiphany, but rearrange the figurines to show that we have entered a new chapter of the story. The promise of Christmas lingers, but everything is moving forward. Christmas has not simply disappeared, never to be revisited until next year.

2. Following the light of the star. Jesus’s divine presence is with us in the thick of the night, and we can follow it as the Magi did. Any time things get particularly dark, I try to think of the spectacular, glorious light that Jesus’s arrival on earth has brought into a dark world. The state of the world seemed especially rough and dark at the start of this year, and the light of the star remained a powerful image and reminder that God’s love prevails in the darkness.

3. Trusting in the transformation. The transformation of Epiphany has shown up and will continue to show up in little ways. I am seeking different things, and by growing in my acknowledgement of the divinity of Jesus, I hope I will continue to hear his call to action in my daily life.

4. Miracle after miracle. I always knew that Jesus had performed miracles, but I feel like I strengthened my understanding of the meaning of his miracles this year. His miracles are showing who he is by having some human element to them. He has come to meet human needs while being fully divine, and he will continue to do this during Lent. When I think about it a lot, it makes me emotional about how much God in all of his divine glory loves our little world.

In sum, Annie and I have been forever changed by our more observant approach to Epiphany in 2026. We are now entering the season of Lent, which indicates yet another chapter in the story of Jesus coming to Earth. These weeks have been peppered with evidence of who Jesus is and the manifestation of his divinity. We know what he is like, and in these coming weeks, we will be reminded of what he did. We have witnessed transformation during Epiphany, and now we can apply this transformation to self-examine in Lent. We can take our revelations of the Epiphany season and channel them to mirror Jesus’s actions as best we can.

Just another year of growing in our appreciation for the liturgical calendar; it’s same each year, but how beautiful that it continues to surprise us with new discoveries!

The Best Icebreaker Questions

Whether you are undertaking very formal team building activities or trying to socialize at a party full of new people, these unconventional icebreaker questions will not fail you. I know this, because they have not failed me. You are very welcome to use them for your next group gathering.

Here is my list of the best icebreaker questions to ask people that they have never heard before. (And here are my answers!)

1. Which singer or band did you discover that kickstarted you having your own distinct taste in music?

2. If you had to cancel one holiday, what would it be?

3. If you had to watch one movie forever, what would it be?

4. One US state must go. Which one are you getting rid of?

5. Which type of breakfast cereal do you most like to eat dry?

6. If you could only shop at one grocery store for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?

7. What was the worst hair decision you ever made?

8. Rank the “High School Musical” movies, and defend your ranking.

Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
and not to hide yourself from your own kin?

Isaiah 58: 6-7

I promised I would transition into Lent! This lesson from the Ash Wednesday service stuck with me as I walked out into the snowy night and boarded the train home with ashes on my forehead. I enjoyed having Epiphany to look for signs of Christ’s divinity, and now I am looking forward to discovering more of Christ’s mercy and his prophetic mission in Lent - which was foretold in this excerpt from Isaiah.

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