Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
Isaiah 55:6
With the season after the Epiphany upon us, I’d like to share a little cultural tidbit I learned from a former Italian boss. In Italy, legend describes a figure named the “Befana;” an old woman who rides a broom. The night of the Epiphany she visits all the Italian children with sweets or presents for the good children, or coal for the naughty children, leaving her gifts in socks. She also sweeps the floor to represent the sweeping away of the problems of the year before. Families can leave a glass of wine or some local foods for the Befana.
According to the legend, the Befana was a housewife, and the Wise Men visited her to ask where the son of God was. The Befana did not know where Jesus was, but she opened her home to the men. The night after, she tried to find the Wise men and the young Christ, but she failed. For this reason she continues to search for them until this day, and visits children everywhere.
While the Befana of legend never found Jesus, we know that it’s actually easy. In Isaiah 55 we read, “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”
The Befana swept away problems annually. But our Lord and Savior sweeps problems, worries, and sins away… permanently. As we celebrate the deity of Jesus, let us allow him to sweep away all that hinders us from being faithful, loving disciples.
God bless you!
Phil
