Matthew’s gospel narrative tells of wise men from the East who went to Jerusalem seeking the the infant Jesus whom they had come to pay homage. In the Christian tradition, this event, the visit of the Magi to Bethlehem to pay homage to the Christ child and bestow gifts upon him, is seen as the confirmation that Gentiles as well as Jews were called to worship Jesus as savior. After finding Jesus in Bethlehem the wise men were warned in a dream not to return to Herod in order to prevent him from finding the infant Jesus. This set in motion the slaughter of the innocents and Jesus’ family going into hiding in Egypt.

For Christians in liturgical traditions within Western Christianity, the above story is the reason for the Feast of Epiphany which takes place on the sixth of January. It also marks the end of Christmas. In other Christian traditions, both Christmas and Epiphany are celebrated on different days. I grew up in Protestant traditions that did not follow the liturgical calendar and didn’t even know there was a Christian feast day on January 6 and that it has existed since the 4th century. My understanding of the faith that I followed when I was younger was extremely limited by a lack of knowledge of Christian history and different faith practices. Many Americans are in the same boat as I was all those years ago — ignorant of history and Christianity in general.

In the U.S. since 2021, January 6th has taken on a completely different connotation. There was a national epiphany that day as Trump’s MAGA supporters, many of them Christian nationalists, staged an attempted coup. In those horrible hours, the entire nation had an epiphany and was disabused of the notion that fascism could not possibly happen here. So many Americans believed that our system of checks and balances would always keep our imperfect democracy intact and ensure that authoritarians remained on the margins politically thus posing no real threat. How wrong that proved to be as the violent mob, incited by Trump and his allies, attacked the U.S. capitol in order to stop Joe Biden from taking office. I watched, horror stricken and in shock, as the events unfolded with violence, chaos, while MAGA supporters bayed for blood shouting “Hang Mike Pence!” With all of the weapons, makeshift and otherwise, it is a minor miracle that more people were not killed or seriously injured.

The January 6th Committee made a clear and compelling case that Donald Trump, and those close to him, planned the insurrection, and then carried it out with lethal effect. The evidence was unambiguous to me as I watched Representatives Bennie Thompson, Adam Kinzinger, and Liz Cheney lay it out for the nation to see during each committee hearing. Despite the overwhelming evidence, far too many Americans simply did not see January 6th as a bridge too far. Far too many did not see those events, and the subsequent Orwellian level denials from Trump and his minions, as disqualifying despite what the 14th Amendment to the Constitution says. Lessons from our own history, especially the era of Reconstruction in the post Civil War period, and from events abroad like Hitler’s beer hall putsch, have been unheeded and now we are faced with a second Trump term as president. Despite it being two months past election day, I still find the results hard to fathom.

My prayer on this January 6 Feast of the Epiphany is that those who, for whatever reason, voted for Trump this time will now have their own epiphanies. I pray that Christians who inexplicably support him will have the scales fall from their eyes so that they can see that Trump and his entire movement are antichrist — including the Christian nationalist parts of the MAGA agenda. I pray that they would see how after the Magi left, a tyrant who feared losing power, committed heinous acts of violence as infants under the age of two were mercilessly murdered at Herod’s command according to Matthew’s narrative. Trump did something similar in inciting the MAGA mob to violence on January 6th in order to stay in power. I pray that as Trump’s plans are further laid bare his supporters will see him for what he is, a malignant narcissist who embraces fascism, and then turn against him nonviolently and thwart his plans.

I also pray that any vestiges of check and balances that we have in place will hold strong and that Trump will be held responsible for all of the damage he has done to America, our democracy, and the world at large. I am not a lawyer so I don’t understand why he was even allowed to be on the ballot for President, or why Merrick Garland and Robert Mueller did not take real action when it seems they could have. It’s maddening and infuriating that a fascist sexual predator is about to be President. Again. So my prayer is that Trump and key players in the MAGA movement who have broken laws, subverted democracy, and caused harm to so many will be held accountable. I also pray that they come to a place of true repentance. That would of course be a miracle… May America have its much needed epiphany in the days to come thereby quashing fascism and religious extremism once and for all. Amen.

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