“Their sturdy backs bent down, by labor and fatigue, their eyes intent upon the earth, sift through stubble discarded by the reapers.”

—Sister Michaela O’Connor

Sunday Scripture Reflection for January 5, 2025
Epiphany of the Lord

This Sunday we celebrate Epiphany, when the child Jesus is revealed to the wise men from the East as the Son of God. I was born on January 6, which used to be Epiphany and has recently become the Day of the Insurrection. Still, I cling to my birthday on the day of the Star, and almost every year Epiphany brings me a new meaning for myself in my relationship with God. We are fortunate to still have stars in our sky. We are not so fortunate to still have international intrigue and political plotting and refugees fleeing for their lives into a foreign land. But the message for me, especially for this year, is that earth is not necessarily the center of the Universe, and that God is God of the whole works. As creation reflects its Creator from the smallest particle to the largest galaxy (or even something larger!), we know that God has great plans for the Universe, even as our Creator attends to our own personal needs. We trust God for both, the smallest and the greatest.