The season of Christmas presents challenges for worship planners. Even though Christmas is one of the shortest seasons in the church calendar at only 12 days, there seems to be a rush to get beyond Christmas. In the wider culture outside of the church, Christmas seems to get over on December 26. Decorations are taken down and stored for next year. Store displays turn from Christmas to Valentine’s Day as soon as the day of Christmas has passed, and sometimes even before. We are aware of this in part because we have a family tradition of keeping our Christmas tree up in our home until Epiphany on January 6.

The challenge for worship planners is that many people who participate in church activities do so only on Sundays, so the question becomes one of which Sunday to recognize the Epiphany. Today is only January 2, the ninth day of Christmas. However, next Sunday, January 9, will be the day t recognize the Baptism of Jesus. The liturgical plan does not call for an official “Epiphany Sunday” unless January 6 lands on a Sunday. The visit of the magi, however, is a part of the Christmas story that is treasured and would be missed if not recognized on a Sunday.

Our congregation is recognizing today as Epiphany Sunday and we will be celebrating the arrival of the new season with a retelling of the story of the visit of the Magi. The congregation has traditions of celebrating Epiphany that include an offering of gifts of non-perishable foods for a local food bank and the distribution of “Star Words,” as a focus for personal devotion in the year to come. The worship will be rich and meaningful and will be recognized by those who have participated in the church for many years as a “when we always” event. Many look forward to the first Sunday of each new calendar year as the day to focus on fresh beginnings and renewed hope.

There is a part of me, having come from a slightly different set of practices, that misses the full span of Christmas. In a liturgical congregation today is the second Sunday of Christmas and the Gospel is not Matthew’s telling of the arrival of the magi, reserved for Epiphany day. It is, rather the prologue to the Gospel of John. Although the reading from the beginning of John is usually included in Christmas Eve services, it receives special recognition on the second Sunday of Christmas in congregations that observe that tradition. In the past couple of decades, I have experienced an increasing appreciation for poetry and the beautiful poetry of the opening of John is a text that is close to me. I have it memorized and it is a text that I say from memory on many occasions throughout the year.

When I was the senior pastor in a congregation, I would occasionally be asked to speak through the microphones in the sanctuary so that technicians could adjust levels and work on getting the best sound for the congregation. I found the traditional “testing, testing, testing” or counting to be rather boring and I adopted the practice of instead speaking scripture from memory. Sometimes I would recite a Psalm. Other times I would recite the beginning of the book of Genesis. Most often, however, I would recite the prologue to the Gospel of John.

Texts that are familiar to me, that I have often read or recited, become friends. I miss them when they are not read. Of course, I can always read whatever text I choose to myself. I have already read the prologue to the Gospel of John to myself this morning as part of my personal devotion. However, having the scriptures read in worship is an important part of my faith practices as well. And today, because of the snowy weather we’ve been experiencing I may be the liturgist for our church’s worship. The person who has been enlisted for this week called yesterday and asked me if I would be a backup in case she wasn’t able to get out of her driveway, something that was the case yesterday. Although temperatures have risen above freezing, her driveway may still be blocked this morning. If that is the case I will be the backup liturgist today, and I will be the one to read the scripture, which in our congregation will be the story of the visit of the magi from Matthew’s Gospel.

I suspect that this distinction between various readings is not something that the majority of faithful church members notice. It is just that I enjoy Christmas and I want it to linger. I am in no rush to get on with the season of Epiphany. It will come. Epiphany day is Thursday and we will launch into the season of light and joy that lasts until the second of March which is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. My personal preference of lingering in Christmas and waiting until January 6 to celebrate Epiphany is really just a personal quirk. It doesn’t mean that I celebrate Christmas more than those who have taken down their decorations and are focusing their attention on the new year and the changing of the calendar. It just means that I have some different personal traditions. There is plenty of room in the church for differences between people and differences in ways of celebrating holidays.

For those who make it to in-person worship and those who participate in the chat function of online worship, the standard greeting today is likely to be “Happy New Year!” It is an appropriate greeting, filled with cheer and good intentions. I, however, plan to greet folks with “Merry Christmas” today. It is just a subtle reminder that Christmas is a season and not just a day. I’m well aware that the calendar has changed. Like others I focus my attention on the year that has passed and on my wishes and dreams for the year to come. I do wish a happy new year for the people I meet. Still, I enjoy hanging on to Christmas just a bit longer just for the fun of it.