When Epiphany was still simply Epiphany and not so easily confused with January 6th, I met my friend Sarah at the neighboring church she pastored. Near the start of 2021, we sat in her minister’s study and nibbled on star-shaped vanilla sugar cookies that she and her daughter had baked for the Christian holiday. We took off our masks to snack and spoke some about how we understood the journey of the three Wise Ones and the gifts they each presented to Jesus in Bethlehem. Then I told Sarah about a recent Taylor Swift song titled “Epiphany”, a haunting tribute to the mass trauma the pandemic ushered into U.S. hospitals. In it, Taylor croons: “But you dream of some epiphany/ Just one single glimpse of relief/ To make some sense of what you’ve seen.” Thanks to my Catholic upbringing, I have long been devoted to Epiphany.
The Reverend Dr. 