“God is light and in him is no darkness at all.” - 1 John 1:5

I have a confession to make. It is January 24th, and my Christmas tree is still up. Most years, I’m a firm believer in keeping the tree up through Epiphany, which is January 6th. This year, I don’t even know what happened. I’ve had some good excuses - evening meetings, busy weekends. Shoveling so much snow at my house and my mom’s house that I was a little gimpy and didn’t feel like attempting any more physical labor. It could be laziness. But I think it’s more than that. I really like having those Christmas lights around. The past week has been full of winter weather. We have seen ice, and sleet, freezing rain, and snow. There have been high winds and temperatures below zero. And in the evening, I really like plugging the tree in, and having that warm glow fill the room.

Even though we often think of Epiphany as a single day - the day that the magi visited Jesus, it is actually a whole season - stretching from January 6th through Transfiguration Sunday. The Sunday after Transfiguration is the first Sunday of Lent.  The season of Epiphany has the visit of the wise men at one end, and Jesus’ transfiguration at the other. The light of the star begins the season and the light that shines from Jesus on Transfiguration Day closes it. Epiphany is a season of light. A reminder to all of us that “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” With this in mind, I think it’s okay to hold onto those Christmas lights a little while longer.

I keep telling myself that this weekend is it - the tree has to come down. But until then, I’m going to enjoy it. For those of you who took your Christmas decorations down in a timely fashion, may you find other ways to hold on to the light of this season.

- Pastor Elizabeth