St. John the Baptist of New Brighton

Connections&
January 5, 2003 - Epiphany of the Lord

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage... "

The star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. Matthew 2:1-12

A twisting walk of peace on canvas
On the stone floor of the famed Chartres Cathedral in France is a large star with a pattern of torques and curves around it. The design is called a labyrinth. The pattern around the star is a walkway, a single path leading inside to the center of the star and then back out again. Back in the 13th and 14th centuries, visitors to Chartres and other soaring cathedrals like Rheim and Amiens would walk these labyrinth designs as the culmination of their pilgrimage.
The labyrinth walks of the middle ages have been rediscovered today as a path to prayer, introspection and emotional healing. San Francisco's Grace Cathedral has installed a canvas replica of the Chartres labyrinth in the nave of the church and is building a permanent labyrinth in the cathedral garden. While walking a labyrinth can be no more magical than a walk in the woods, those who walk them often say it focuses the mind, slows the breathing, and calms the spirit, enabling walkers to pray and confront problems in their lives. Walking a labyrinth can take anywhere from a few minutes to an hour, depending on the pace of the walker and the size of the design. In the past few years, permanent and temporary labyrinths of all shapes and sizes have been created in churches, hospitals, gardens and fields. In San Francisco, visitors walk the labyrinth barefoot, some crawl on their knees, some hobble along with their canes; some walkers keep up a steady pace, some stop every few steps.
The Rev. Lauren Artress, who brought the labyrinth to Grace Cathedral, explains:
"When you walk into the labyrinth, the mind quiets, and then you begin to see through what's happening inside. You become transparent to yourself. You can see that you're scared, or frightened, or that you lack courage. People can see for the first time that their anger is in the way. You can see your judgments against people and against yourself."
[The New York Times, May 10, 1998.]

CONNECTION: Our lives are a continual labyrinth walk in which we try to make sense of the complexities of life and cope with the doubts and confusions we encounter - all while making our way, step by step, to God the center. The magi's journey - a long, difficult trek to find the newborn "king of the Jews" - images what our life's journey should be. The Epiphany story, as does the walking prayer of the labyrinth, challenges us to slow down and check our bearings, to focus on the "star" we should follow to make our lives all that God has created them to be, to fix our lives on the constant, eternal values of peace, compassion, mercy, justice and forgiveness--the treasures that are of God.¦

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