{"id":69031,"date":"2026-01-02T10:52:57","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T16:52:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/?p=69031"},"modified":"2026-01-05T10:39:37","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T16:39:37","slug":"star-watchers-re-outed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/02\/star-watchers-re-outed\/","title":{"rendered":"Star-Watchers, Re-Routed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Epiphany tells the story of star-watchers whose encounter with holy light leaves them changed\u2014and sent home by another way. This poem follows that re-routing, holding together wonder and danger, revelation and displacement, as ancient borders echo in our own time. Epiphany, here, opens our eyes not only to divine presence, but to the costly work of hope born in daylight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Home by Another Way<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Star-watchers.
Eyes wide opened by what they see\u2014

in a backyard night sky,
\u201cthey traverse afar\u201d
to investigate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then\u2014eyes wide opened
by what they see\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

re-routed, home by
another way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ah, the prophetic peculiarity
of epiphanies:
shepherds
cows and sheep and donkeys
an angel-touched teenager and a
dream-visited carpenter
sky-gazing Zorastrians
on camel\u2019s backs
tracing a celestial light-beam 
to a distant place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what of the rest of the story?

Menacing messages
from palatial halls
innocents slaughtered
by hush-hushed orders,
a mama, a daddy,
baby hugged tight
fleeing across
borderlands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

holy visits
visions
vistas detours and dancing stars
midnight border crossings
into unfamiliar backyards
kindnesses of strangers
children\u2019s cries
wailing lullabies
\u201cHush, little baby! Don\u2019t say a word\u201d
somehow?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heralded 
by a brown-feathered barn-bird
whose morning trill
continues the song
of distant stars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So galactic light-spheres align
yet again.
Sacred sun arises
burns away 
the fog of unknowing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and eyes wide-opened
by what we see,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

hope leaps in daylight wombs
and we labor once more
to birth
love
and hope.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

JILL CRAINSHAW — Epiphany opens our eyes not only to divine presence, but to the costly work of hope born in daylight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":69047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3119],"tags":[1308,859,590,4256],"class_list":["post-69031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-plaza-new-ws","tag-epiphany","tag-magi","tag-poetry","tag-star-watchers"],"yoast_head":"\nStar-Watchers, Re-Routed - Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/02\/star-watchers-re-outed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Star-Watchers, Re-Routed - Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"JILL CRAINSHAW -- Epiphany opens our eyes not only to divine presence, but to the costly work of hope born in daylight.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/02\/star-watchers-re-outed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-02T16:52:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-05T16:39:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/pexels-pixabay-433155.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"3400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2067\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jill Crainshaw\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jill Crainshaw\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/02\\\/star-watchers-re-outed\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/02\\\/star-watchers-re-outed\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jill Crainshaw\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cb76e7f3aae392467ccbff63942076c6\"},\"headline\":\"Star-Watchers, Re-Routed\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-02T16:52:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-05T16:39:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/02\\\/star-watchers-re-outed\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":224,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/02\\\/star-watchers-re-outed\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/pexels-pixabay-433155.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Epiphany\",\"magi\",\"poetry\",\"star-watchers\"],\"articleSection\":[\"4_THE PLAZA\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/02\\\/star-watchers-re-outed\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/02\\\/star-watchers-re-outed\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/02\\\/star-watchers-re-outed\\\/\",\"name\":\"Star-Watchers, Re-Routed - Home\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/02\\\/star-watchers-re-outed\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/02\\\/star-watchers-re-outed\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/pexels-pixabay-433155.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-02T16:52:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-05T16:39:37+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/02\\\/star-watchers-re-outed\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/02\\\/star-watchers-re-outed\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/02\\\/star-watchers-re-outed\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/pexels-pixabay-433155.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/pexels-pixabay-433155.jpg\",\"width\":3400,\"height\":2067},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/02\\\/star-watchers-re-outed\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Star-Watchers, Re-Routed\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Home\",\"description\":\"Worship, Wit & Wisdom\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Home\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/09\\\/cropped-BlogHeaderFinal2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/09\\\/cropped-BlogHeaderFinal2.jpg\",\"width\":1340,\"height\":209,\"caption\":\"Home\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cb76e7f3aae392467ccbff63942076c6\",\"name\":\"Jill Crainshaw\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/JillCrainshaw-1-2048x2048-1-96x96.jpeg?crop=1\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/JillCrainshaw-1-2048x2048-1-96x96.jpeg?crop=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/JillCrainshaw-1-2048x2048-1-96x96.jpeg?crop=1\",\"caption\":\"Jill Crainshaw\"},\"description\":\"Jill Y. Crainshaw is a poetic theologian, liturgical scholar, and institutional leader whose work explores the intersections of silence, justice, embodiment, and theological formation. Crainshaw is the author of seven books on liturgy, leadership, and theological education. In recent years, her scholarship has shifted toward what she calls poetic theology\u2014a creative, embodied, and justice-rooted form of liturgical theological reflection that centers silence, metaphor, and spiritual accompaniment. Her poetry collections, including When the Sun Was a Poet: A Lyrical Almanac of Life\u2019s Seasons and Seasonings (Kelsay Books, 2025), Cedars in Snowy Places (WFU Library Partners Press, 2019) and Hip-Gnosis: A Skeletal Tale of Healing (Kelsay books, forthcoming), engage the textures of grief, hope, and memory from an intersectional, contemplative perspective.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/jcrainshaw\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Star-Watchers, Re-Routed - Home","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/02\/star-watchers-re-outed\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Star-Watchers, Re-Routed - Home","og_description":"JILL CRAINSHAW -- Epiphany opens our eyes not only to divine presence, but to the costly work of hope born in daylight.","og_url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/02\/star-watchers-re-outed\/","og_site_name":"Home","article_published_time":"2026-01-02T16:52:57+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-05T16:39:37+00:00","og_image":[{"width":3400,"height":2067,"url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/pexels-pixabay-433155.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jill Crainshaw","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jill Crainshaw","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/02\/star-watchers-re-outed\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/02\/star-watchers-re-outed\/"},"author":{"name":"Jill Crainshaw","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#\/schema\/person\/cb76e7f3aae392467ccbff63942076c6"},"headline":"Star-Watchers, Re-Routed","datePublished":"2026-01-02T16:52:57+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-05T16:39:37+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/02\/star-watchers-re-outed\/"},"wordCount":224,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/02\/star-watchers-re-outed\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/pexels-pixabay-433155.jpg","keywords":["Epiphany","magi","poetry","star-watchers"],"articleSection":["4_THE PLAZA"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/02\/star-watchers-re-outed\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/02\/star-watchers-re-outed\/","url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/02\/star-watchers-re-outed\/","name":"Star-Watchers, Re-Routed - Home","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/02\/star-watchers-re-outed\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/02\/star-watchers-re-outed\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/pexels-pixabay-433155.jpg","datePublished":"2026-01-02T16:52:57+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-05T16:39:37+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/02\/star-watchers-re-outed\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/02\/star-watchers-re-outed\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/02\/star-watchers-re-outed\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/pexels-pixabay-433155.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/pexels-pixabay-433155.jpg","width":3400,"height":2067},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/02\/star-watchers-re-outed\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Star-Watchers, Re-Routed"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/","name":"Home","description":"Worship, Wit & Wisdom","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#organization","name":"Home","url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/cropped-BlogHeaderFinal2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/cropped-BlogHeaderFinal2.jpg","width":1340,"height":209,"caption":"Home"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#\/schema\/person\/cb76e7f3aae392467ccbff63942076c6","name":"Jill Crainshaw","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/JillCrainshaw-1-2048x2048-1-96x96.jpeg?crop=1","url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/JillCrainshaw-1-2048x2048-1-96x96.jpeg?crop=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/JillCrainshaw-1-2048x2048-1-96x96.jpeg?crop=1","caption":"Jill Crainshaw"},"description":"Jill Y. Crainshaw is a poetic theologian, liturgical scholar, and institutional leader whose work explores the intersections of silence, justice, embodiment, and theological formation. Crainshaw is the author of seven books on liturgy, leadership, and theological education. In recent years, her scholarship has shifted toward what she calls poetic theology\u2014a creative, embodied, and justice-rooted form of liturgical theological reflection that centers silence, metaphor, and spiritual accompaniment. Her poetry collections, including When the Sun Was a Poet: A Lyrical Almanac of Life\u2019s Seasons and Seasonings (Kelsay Books, 2025), Cedars in Snowy Places (WFU Library Partners Press, 2019) and Hip-Gnosis: A Skeletal Tale of Healing (Kelsay books, forthcoming), engage the textures of grief, hope, and memory from an intersectional, contemplative perspective.","url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/author\/jcrainshaw\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/pexels-pixabay-433155.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69031"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69031\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69044,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69031\/revisions\/69044"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}