Epiphany

A journey of faith, a constant search for meaning, for purpose ...



In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage." When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
   are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
   who is to shepherd my people Israel.'"

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage." When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

  

Matthew 2:1-12

 

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The Light of the World

WESLEY, Frank

Contemporary

United States

 

 

Notes:

Wesley was born in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh into a fifth generation Christian family of Hindu and Muslim descent. He belongs to the Lucknow school of painting. His paintings reflect this influence and that of the Chughtai school of painting that flourished in India at the turn of the century. Wesley made art based on both biblical and secular themes. He used water colours, oil paintings, miniatures and wooden carvings.

Wesley's painting "Blue Madonna" was used for the first UNICEF Christmas card, while five of his paintings were exhibited at the 1950 Holy Year Exhibition in the Vatican.

He is also known for designing the funeral urn for Mahatma Gandhi's ashes.

https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/diglib-fulldisplay.pl?SID=20250103911754447&code=ACT&RC=59168&Row=8

 





“You can’t force democracy on other people. 

You have to give them an opportunity to define 

their own standards of democracy 

and their procedures for reaching a 

democratic government.” 

~ Jimmy Carter

 

 

“I am in a unique position: 

I’m a former president of the United States of America. 

If I see a problem anywhere in the world, 

I can call a prime minister, a potentate, another president, 

and at least have a chance to be heard. 

Wouldn’t it be a pity to waste that?” 

(Paraphrased by Greg Dobbs)

~ Jimmy Carter

 

 

Celebrate endings,

for they precede new beginnings.

~ Jonathan Lockwood Huie

 

 

 

What lies behind us

and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters

compared to what lives within us.

~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

 

 

 

 

 

New Year’s Eve Day

The Georgetown Loop Railroad

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Carolyn Alexander, Kei Sakamoto, Eugene Yoshioka, Robin Alexander Sakamoto

 

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Junna and Tina Yoshioka

 

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Eugene Yoshioka with Baby Abby

 

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Carolyn and Kei

 

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Eugene, Ray, Junna and Tina Yoshioka 

at Cabin Creek Brewery in Georgetown.

 

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Robin Sakamoto, Carolyn Alexander

 

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Robin went home with many clothes I have outgrown!

 

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Kei and Tina at The Butterfly Pavilion

 

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Abby Yoshioka and a friendly butterfly!

 

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Kei and I had pizza at Beau Jo’s in Evergreen on Saturday.

 

 

 

But it is better to follow even the shadow of the best 

than to remain content with the worst. 

And those who would see wonderful things must 

often be ready to travel alone.

        ~ Henry van Dyke (in The Other Wise Man) *

 

 

 

 

January 5, 2025 - Epiphany -Years ABC

Previous OPQs may be found at: 

     http://www.dotjack.com/opq.htm

 

 

* The Other Wiseman, by Henry Van Dyke:  https://www.livrosgratis.com.br/ler-livro-online-149643/the-story-of-the-other-wise-man

 

 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.]

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” ’) From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known. 

John 1:[1-9] 10-18 

Agnus Day, by James Wetzstein

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Agnus Day appears with the permission of www.agnusday.org

 

 

 

RECORDING:

We Three Kings of Orient Are - The Robert Shaw Chorale

 

Epiphany - January 6

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“WE THREE KINGS... "

CHRISTENSEN, James

2003

http://www.artcountrycanada.com/christensen.htm

 

 

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Frankincense

 

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Myrrh

 

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Gold

 

 

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LECTIONARY

Second Sunday after Christmas
Jeremiah 31:7-14 or Sirach 24:1-12
Psalm 147:12-20 or Wisdom of Solomon 10:15-21
Ephesians 1:3-14
John 1: (1-9) 10-18




Epiphany 
Isaiah 60:1-6 

Psalm 72: 1-7, 10-14
Ephesians 3:1-12
Matthew 2:1-12

 

SUMMARY

 

https://www.preachingtoday.com/lectionary/

 

THE WORD

The story of the astrologers and the star of Bethlehem is unique to Matthew’s Gospel.  Note that Matthew does not call them “kings” or does he give their names or reports where they came from – in fact, Matthew never even specifies the number of magi (because three gifts are presented to the Child, it has been a tradition since the fifth century to picture “three wise men”).  In stripping away the romantic layers that have been added to the story, Matthew’s point can be better appreciated.

A great many First Testament ideas and images are presented in this story.  The star, for example, is reminiscent of Balaam’s prophecy that “a star shall advance from Jacob” (Numbers 24: 17).  Many of the details in Matthew’s story about the child Jesus parallel the story of the child Moses and the Exodus.

Matthew’s story also provides a preview of what is to come.  First, the reactions of the various parties to the birth of Jesus parallel the effects Jesus’ teaching will have on those who hear it.  Herod reacts with anger and hostility to the Jesus of the poor who comes to overturn the powerful and rich.  The chief priests and scribes greet the news with haughty indifference toward the Jesus who comes to give new life and meaning to the rituals and laws of the scribes.  But the magi – non-believers in the eyes of Israel – possess the humility and the openness of mind and heart essential to faith that leads them to seek and welcome the Jesus who will institute the Second Covenant between God and the New Israel.

Secondly, the gifts of the astrologers indicate the principal dimensions of Jesus’ mission:

  • gold is a gift fitting for a king, a ruler, one with power and authority;
  • frankincense is a gift fitting for a priest, one who offers sacrifice (frankincense was an aromatic perfume sprinkled on the animals sacrificed in the Temple);
  • myrrh is a fitting “gift” for someone who is to die (myrrh was used in ancient times for embalming the bodies of the dead before burial).

https://connectionsmediaworks.com/sundaygospel.html#jan5

 

Jeremiah 31:7-14

For thus says the Lord:

Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
   and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say,
   ‘Save, O Lord, your people,
   the remnant of Israel.’ 
See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north,
   and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth,
among them the blind and the lame,
   those with child and those in labour, together;
   a great company, they shall return here. 
With weeping they shall come,
   and with consolations I will lead them back,
I will let them walk by brooks of water,
   in a straight path in which they shall not stumble;
for I have become a father to Israel,
   and Ephraim is my firstborn. 

Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
   and declare it in the coastlands far away;
say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him,
   and will keep him as a shepherd a flock.’ 
For the Lord has ransomed Jacob,
   and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him. 
They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
   and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord,
over the grain, the wine, and the oil,
   and over the young of the flock and the herd;
their life shall become like a watered garden,
   and they shall never languish again. 
Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
   and the young men and the old shall be merry.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
   I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow. 
I will give the priests their fill of fatness,
   and my people shall be satisfied with my bounty, 

says the Lord. 

 

Psalm 147:12-20

Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
   Praise your God, O Zion! 
For he strengthens the bars of your gates;
   he blesses your children within you. 
He grants peace within your borders;
   he fills you with the finest of wheat. 
He sends out his command to the earth;
   his word runs swiftly. 
He gives snow like wool;
   he scatters frost like ashes. 
He hurls down hail like crumbs—
   who can stand before his cold? 
He sends out his word, and melts them;
   he makes his wind blow, and the waters flow. 
He declares his word to Jacob,
   his statutes and ordinances to Israel. 
He has not dealt thus with any other nation;
   they do not know his ordinances.
Praise the Lord!

 

Ephesians 1:3-14

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance towards redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.

 

John 1:[1-9] 10-18 

 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

 

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.]

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” ’) From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.