Three Kings Day in the time of COVID-19

We were supposed to hold our used-to-be-annual Three Kings Day Open House this coming Sunday, January 9th.  We usually celebrate it on the Sunday closest to the 6th of January, however, since this year that would have fallen on January 2nd, we felt it was too close to New Year's, and people might need a few days to recover.  Well, it became a moot point anyway since the Omicron variant is currently running rampant in our country.  COVID cases are on the rise once again, and it's just too risky to entertain a large gathering under the circumstances.

Today also marks the one-year anniversary of the assault on our Capitol, and in the ensuing year, we have learned a great deal more about the insurrection, with sadly more revelations to come.  We came very close to losing our democracy that day.

And yet, when I begin to despair, I'm reminded of the light of God, and the goodness that still exists in the world, and the ability of some people to simply cheer us up.  My friend, Patti, gave me these beautiful ornaments for our tree.  She knows how I've always celebrated Epiphany, and how much I love the Kings.

We may not be able to celebrate together this year the arrival of the Magi, but we feel their spirit and their message of love.  There's always enlightenment.

Three Kings Day Infamy

Three Kings Day, this year, and for the rest of my life, will be marred by what happened in our nation's capital.  The storming of the Capitol by a right-wing mob, with the intent of overturning the certification of our duly elected president will be recorded for posterity in the most ignominious ways.

Hopefully, like the Epiphany that revealed the light of God to the Magi, perhaps the character of the outgoing president has finally been revealed to those that follow him.  We hope and pray, anyway.

I'd like to believe that the Three Kings saved us, and, even though we are still sheltering in our homes, and avoiding large gatherings because of this awful pandemic, I needed to celebrate and give thanks, so I baked a cake and buried a “bean” in the batter, so that the finder could be declared “King for the Day.”

Let's all pray a little extra hard tonight.