Much has already been written or said about yesterday’s violent assault on the US Capitol building. Some have noted the date, January 6, celebrated by Catholics, Orthodox, and several Protestant traditions as the Feast of the Epiphany. The word, “epiphany,” comes from the Greek meaning “to make manifest or reveal.” The feast is meant to commemorate the revelation of Christ to all nations, the latter embodied symbolically in the magi as recounted in Matthew 2:1-12. Yesterday’s attack did nothing to change that, though it served as a secondary, perhaps unintentional revelation – namely, the sickness at the heart of a politics of fear and resentment.

Much more will be said and written about the causes and consequences of yesterday’s deadly and destructive events. Some of it will be true. For those who care about words, however, especially people of faith, careful thought must precede utterance. Certain words and phrases should be used, if at all, with a measure of suspicion.