Between Sundays: Following the Star
This week, we stand in the light of Epiphany, the moment in the Christmas story when the light of Christ is revealed to the wider world. Today, January 6, we remember the magi, guided by a star, who set out not knowing exactly where the journey would lead, only trusting that God was calling them forward.
Epiphany reminds us that faith often begins that way. Not with certainty or a detailed map, but with attentiveness, a willingness to notice the light we are given and take the next step.
In worship this Sunday, we talked about that quiet but powerful line at the end of the story: the magi went home by another road. Encountering Christ changed them. Their destination may have been the same, but their direction was different. That is the heart of Epiphany, revelation that leads to response.
As part of our Epiphany practice, in worship we were encouraged to ponder on a Star Word for the year ahead. A Star Word isn’t a resolution or a checklist. It’s a companion, a word to pray with, notice, wrestle with, and return to when the path feels unclear. Sometimes it comforts us. Sometimes it stretches us. Often, it does a little of both.
For the next few weeks, we’ll be leaving the stars up in the hallway surrounding the chapel as a visible reminder that we are a community on the journey together. You’re invited to place your Star Word on the chapel doors alongside the children’s stars, or to take it home and put it somewhere you’ll see it every day, the bathroom mirror, the cabinet where your coffee cups live… maybe not the treadmill that won’t be used after January. 🙂
Let your word meet you in ordinary moments. There’s no pressure to “do it right.” The invitation is simply to pay attention and trust that God is still guiding, still shaping, still walking with us.
As we move deeper into this season, may we keep following the light we’ve been given, and may we have the courage, like the magi, to take another road when love calls us there.
Until Sunday, and all the days between,
Dr. Hutton