Christmas and Epiphany

View Issue Contents

Free Subscription
Order Back Issues
Free Study Guides

"Churchly celebrations should provide a way back, a way into the richness of Christmas past and present," Donald Heinz observes. Yet, he cautions, for the Church to "get Christmas right, or better, may require retrieval of lost knowledge and unlearning modern assumptions." Our contributors probe the original trajectories of Christmastide (the twelve-day season of Christmas) and Epiphany so we can celebrate them faithfully and winsomely today.

Joseph Kelly traces how the festival of Christmas emerged in the early church-settling on the date of December 25, filling out biblical figures with details from prophecy and early Christian sources, and charting the celebration's relation to Epiphany.

To recover the theological riches of Christmas, Heidi Hornik and Mikeal Parsons review the iconography of paintings of the Nativity, and David Music recounts the history of carols. Emilie Griffin reminds us we need the full Christmastide season to absorb the good news of Christ's birth.

Amber and John Inscore Essick describe distinctive Epiphany traditions that help us celebrate the manifestation of Christ to the Magi. Steve Harmon, Michael Clingenpeel, and Bill Shiell reflect on the meaning of this and other biblical stories of the season.

Christian Reflection is an ideal resource for discipleship training in the church. Multiple copies are available for group study at $3.00 per copy.

The study guides and lesson plans integrate Bible study, prayer, and worship to explore how the seasons of Christmas and Epiphany guide our formation as disciples. The guides can be used in a series or individually. You may download and reproduce them for personal or group use.