Shine
This weekend was a real East-meets-West liturgical experience. I went to a Byzantine Catholic monastery on Saturday afternoon for the Theophany Vespers and Blessing of Water, and today I went to church at my own parish, St James in Painesville, for the feast of the Epiphany. While these feasts celebrate different Biblical events, they are tied together by the idea of God's revelation of Godself to the world.
Arise, shine, for your light has come, *
and the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you.
For behold, darkness covers the land; *
deep gloom enshrouds the peoples.
But over you the Lord will rise, *
and his glory will appear upon you.
Nations will stream to your light, *
and kings to the brightness of your dawning. ("The Third Song of Isaiah" - Is. 60:1-3 BCP)
"And now your light shines upon those who live in darkness, O Lord, glory to you" (Vespers for the Eve of Theophany)
In the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches, the feast of the Theophany signifies the day that Christ was baptized in the river Jordan. This, according to the hymn I sang many times over yesterday, was the day that "worship of the Trinity was revealed". The Son was baptized, the Father spoke, and the Spirit in the form of a dove descended. This was the day when the son of a carpenter from a small town in Palestine was revealed to be the anointed one of God.
In the Western churches, we celebrated the feast of the Epiphany. This feast commemorates the visit of the magi to the child Jesus and the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The above passage from Isaiah is read today because it signifies the revelation of God's light to His people, both in the time of the Israelites returning from exile and in the time of Jesus' incarnation on Earth.
The words "theophany" and "epiphany" can both mean "a manifestation of a deity." But when you look up "epiphany" in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it also says this:
(1) : a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something
(2) : an intuitive grasp of reality through something (such as an event) usually simple and striking
(3) : an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure
When one has an "epiphany" in everyday life, it's thought of as one of those "Eureeka!" moments, where you have a sudden realization of something that blows your mind. I particularly love the second part of that definition - "through something usually simple and striking." I firmly believe God speaks to me in those simple but striking moments. The more I've learned to pay attention to them, the more I feel a sense of divine communication. One of those simple, striking moments happened to me last night.
At the Vespers at the monastery, the sisters celebrated the blessing of water. The priest lights a triple candle and dips each flame into the water - Father, Son, Holy Spirit. The water is then used to bless all the people present and the buildings of the monastery. We processed from one poustinia (retreat cabin) to another, in line behind Mother Theodora holding a candle. The sky was brilliant with stars, made all the more lovely by the complete lack of street lights. The monastery is located in the middle of Amish country where the nights get quite dark. I was mesmerized by the lights of the sky and the lone flame ahead of me. It felt like being part of an early Christian worship service - intimate, lit by natural light, accompanied by the music of our own voices chanting.
I believe God continues to shine a light on us no matter how much we get bogged down in our own darkness. All the scriptures I've referenced in relation to these two feasts are about God's manifestation of light into the world. And the amazing thing is that the darker things get, the brighter that light appears. The thick darkness of a countryside with no man-made lights made the stars and the light of a single candle brighter than ever before. The darkness of sin in our world makes the light of God's love all the more intense when we experience it.
The above piece of art was done by me a couple years ago. It was based on a stained glass window I'd seen of the Sacred Heart, but in my interpretation, I chose to depict Christ shielding the flame (my flame) that burns within. We all have that divine flame within us, and through my faith I feel it strengthened and shielded from the strong outer winds that threaten to blow it out. In Mother Vanessa's sermon at St. James today, she said, "It is glorious to be loved by God." Knowing I am loved unconditionally by God has ignited a flame within me, a flame which I believe I am meant to show to the world and not hide under a "bushel basket". We are all meant to "arise, shine" and bring forth the light of God's love into the world. Think of what this world would be like if we all actually did this. As St Augustine once said: "Without God, we cannot; without us, He will not." Think of each human being as the wick that is meant to carry the flame of God's light. How can the world be lit without us?
Arise, shine, for your light has come, *
and the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you.
For behold, darkness covers the land; *
deep gloom enshrouds the peoples.
But over you the Lord will rise, *
and his glory will appear upon you.
Nations will stream to your light, *
and kings to the brightness of your dawning. ("The Third Song of Isaiah" - Is. 60:1-3 BCP)
"And now your light shines upon those who live in darkness, O Lord, glory to you" (Vespers for the Eve of Theophany)
In the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches, the feast of the Theophany signifies the day that Christ was baptized in the river Jordan. This, according to the hymn I sang many times over yesterday, was the day that "worship of the Trinity was revealed". The Son was baptized, the Father spoke, and the Spirit in the form of a dove descended. This was the day when the son of a carpenter from a small town in Palestine was revealed to be the anointed one of God.
In the Western churches, we celebrated the feast of the Epiphany. This feast commemorates the visit of the magi to the child Jesus and the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The above passage from Isaiah is read today because it signifies the revelation of God's light to His people, both in the time of the Israelites returning from exile and in the time of Jesus' incarnation on Earth.
The words "theophany" and "epiphany" can both mean "a manifestation of a deity." But when you look up "epiphany" in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it also says this:
(1) : a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something
(2) : an intuitive grasp of reality through something (such as an event) usually simple and striking
(3) : an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure
When one has an "epiphany" in everyday life, it's thought of as one of those "Eureeka!" moments, where you have a sudden realization of something that blows your mind. I particularly love the second part of that definition - "through something usually simple and striking." I firmly believe God speaks to me in those simple but striking moments. The more I've learned to pay attention to them, the more I feel a sense of divine communication. One of those simple, striking moments happened to me last night.
At the Vespers at the monastery, the sisters celebrated the blessing of water. The priest lights a triple candle and dips each flame into the water - Father, Son, Holy Spirit. The water is then used to bless all the people present and the buildings of the monastery. We processed from one poustinia (retreat cabin) to another, in line behind Mother Theodora holding a candle. The sky was brilliant with stars, made all the more lovely by the complete lack of street lights. The monastery is located in the middle of Amish country where the nights get quite dark. I was mesmerized by the lights of the sky and the lone flame ahead of me. It felt like being part of an early Christian worship service - intimate, lit by natural light, accompanied by the music of our own voices chanting.
I believe God continues to shine a light on us no matter how much we get bogged down in our own darkness. All the scriptures I've referenced in relation to these two feasts are about God's manifestation of light into the world. And the amazing thing is that the darker things get, the brighter that light appears. The thick darkness of a countryside with no man-made lights made the stars and the light of a single candle brighter than ever before. The darkness of sin in our world makes the light of God's love all the more intense when we experience it.
The above piece of art was done by me a couple years ago. It was based on a stained glass window I'd seen of the Sacred Heart, but in my interpretation, I chose to depict Christ shielding the flame (my flame) that burns within. We all have that divine flame within us, and through my faith I feel it strengthened and shielded from the strong outer winds that threaten to blow it out. In Mother Vanessa's sermon at St. James today, she said, "It is glorious to be loved by God." Knowing I am loved unconditionally by God has ignited a flame within me, a flame which I believe I am meant to show to the world and not hide under a "bushel basket". We are all meant to "arise, shine" and bring forth the light of God's love into the world. Think of what this world would be like if we all actually did this. As St Augustine once said: "Without God, we cannot; without us, He will not." Think of each human being as the wick that is meant to carry the flame of God's light. How can the world be lit without us?
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