Pax et Bonum

The Online worship resource for St. James Parish

January 6, 2010

Today there shines the Sun that never sets,
And the world is sparkling with the light of the Lord.
---Orthodox, Feast of the Epiphany---
Arise, shine; for your light has come,
And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For darkness shall cover the earth
And thick darkness the peoples;
But the Lord will arise upon you,
And his glory will appear over you.
Nations shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your dawn.
Lift up your eyes and look around;
They all gather together, they come to you;
Your sons shall come from far away,
And your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms.
Then you shall see and be radiant;
Your heart shall thrill and rejoice,
Because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you,
The wealth of the nations shall come to you.
A multitude of camels shall cover you,
The young camels of Midian and Ephah;
All those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
And shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.
---Isaiah 60:1-6---

Epiphany

Today is the feast day of the Epiphany. Traditionally on this day we remember the wise men who saw a great portent in the sky, and followed its path to Bethlehem, where they discovered the Christ child, and gave gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

The tradition of there being three wise men came much later than scripture, and was probably an outcome of there being three gifts offered. The wise men were named, and it became part of the tradition that one was of African descent. Where the men came from originally is not known, nor how many of them there were.

The wise men symbolize the world coming to Christ; indeed they foreshadow that day in which, according to St. Paul, every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. From a small band of followers in Judea and Galilee, the Word of Christ spread throughout the known world in a relatively short time.

The wise men are also reminders to us to follow the portents of our own lives. While we may not see a star in the east, or hear the voice of angels, the Word of Christ comes to us in many ways – through scripture, prayer, the voice of a friend, a circumstance, and the sacraments. Just as the wise men went on a journey of discovery, we can do the same, discovering God’s will in our own lives, and drawing nearer to him, that we might come and worship.

O God, who by the leading of a star did manifest your only-begotten Son to the peoples of the earth:
Lead us, who know you now by faith, to your presence, where we may behold your glory face to face.
---Book of Common Prayer---

Praying the Hours: Vespers

I call upon you, O Lord; come quickly to me;
Give ear to my voice when I call to you.
Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,
And the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.
Psalm 141

Vespers is one of the two great offices of the day, morning and evening prayer. It is a beautiful time of day to remember that God is walking with me through work, rest and prayer. Candles are lit and in our own service for Evening Prayer we say together the Phos Hilaron or O Gracious Light:

O gracious light,
pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!

Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
And our eyes behold the vesper light,
We sing your praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of Life,
And to be glorified through all the worlds.

In Theology and Spirit this week we are studying the posture of blessing-God’s blessing to us and our blessing to God. This is more than a prayer posture; it is an attitude of living. Blessings are given to encourage and support the full life of the blessed one. Praises and blessings go hand in hand, so as we come to the end of the day, regardless of the happenings of the day, we have an opportunity to praise God and to bathe in the vesper light.

During the 4th Century a light was kept burning near the empty tomb of Christ to symbolize the light of Jesus. At the time of vespers a candle lit from the lamp was brought forth and used to light the candles for the evening service. In this way worshippers were reminded of the flame of the Risen Lord.

Each of the hours of prayer points to Christ. Vespers reminds us that as we face the long darkness of night, the light of Christ illuminates our way. If we are consistent in vesper prayers we will notice that in other darknesses, the Christ light shows for us as well.

While the earth and the sky move into night, our evening prayer rises like smoke from incense, to touch the clouds and point the way to the stars. These brilliant lights become the sky’s vesper candles, lit to celebrate the risen Lord.

Blessings,
Debra

Daily Morning Prayer

Daily Morning Prayer

This Week at St. James

Prayers Etc.

For those on our prayer list:

For Matt Rogers, our Postulant
For those who are deployed and their families.

In Closing:

Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Our glory is to stand before the world
As your own sons and daughters.
May the simple beauty of Jesus’ birth
Summon us always to love what is most deeply human,
And to see your Word made flesh
Reflected in those whose lives we touch.
--Roman Rite--

Pax et Bonum,
Loree+

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