January 3, 2026

Art of Epiphany

On the second occasion when Alexi joined us in worship to create a work, she painted this amazing view of the journey of the magi.

What I find intriguing about this painting is the several places where one’s eyes can focus, from the brilliant sun, to the striking red steaked across the sky, to the deep, rich brown in the foreground.  There is of course also the focus on the three figures riding on camels, but they may not be the first thing that one sees.  And that is part of the beauty of the painting, and of the story being told through the painting. 

This was a journey for the magi.  They no doubt went through many different types of terrain, and experienced many sunrises and sunsets.  They were firmly committed to their trek westward.  Yet, as the painting implies, they were a part of the bigger picture.  When they arrived in Bethlehem, it was not so that others could be amazed at them, but so that they could offer their gifts to the holy family and look with amazement themselves at the child before them.  Isn’t that where we hope we are led too? 

While you can’t observe it from this view of the painting, the acrylics are also painted on the four sides of the canvas.  Immediately after Alexi finished the painting, I suggested that I loved it and wanted to frame it for the church.  She said that actually it was meant to be hung without framing, so that the painting is seen to continue beyond just the one surface.  So, as I have thus never placed it into a frame, I have spent time reflecting upon the small ways in which it depicts where the magi have come from, and where they are headed.  It then can also become a way of viewing what has come before in our own lives, and where we are headed as we begin the season of Epiphany.