January 6, The Epiphany of Our Lord
To all Fivedoves,
greetings
yr bro friedrich/germany
I like to draw your attention to January 6 (this year Saturday/Sabbath Day)
The Festival of The Epiphany of Our Lord, which is also the “Christmas” in the Orthodox Churches.
As on that day is also commemorated the visit of the Magi (see Matthew 2:1-12),
“....for we have seen his star in the east...” !!!
here are amazing news from http://www.spaceweather.com/ (from January 4, 2007):
“.....HOT COMET: Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) is plunging toward the Sun. It won't hit, but at closest approach on Jan. 13th it will be only 0.17 AU away--much closer than Mercury (0.38 AU). When the hot comet emerges later this month it could be brighter than a 1st-magnitude star. Or not. No one knows what will happen.
Meanwhile, you can see the comet with your own eyes.... http://www.spaceweather.com/images2007/05jan07/skymap_north.gif
"This morning (Jan. 3rd) the comet was faintly visible to the naked eye before sunrise at an altitude of 4 degrees (the sun was 10 degrees below the horizon)," reports photographer Haakon Dahle of Fjellhamar, Norway. "The photo," he says, "resembles the view through binoculars." More information: finder chart, ephemeris, 3D orbit.
Soon, the comet will be too close to the Sun to see--unless you're SOHO. From Jan. 11th to 15th, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory will monitor the comet-Sun encounter using its onboard coronagraph. A date of note is Jan. 14th when Comet McNaught passes less than a degree from the planet Mercury. Join SOHO for a ringside seat....”
(By the way:
Jan 6 = 59 days since Nov. 8 ..118
2007 = 59 years since 1948....
59+59 = 118)
Now I like to invite you to “study” The Epiphany of Our Lord :
From this source: http://www.stpaulskingsville.org/epiphany.htm I did copy the texts below. (On that site you’ll find more sources.)
Blessed is He who cometh in the name of the Lord!
Maranatha
Come Lord Jesus
The Epiphany of Our Lord
WHAT IS THE EPIPHANY OF OUR LORD?
The Epiphany of our Lord is the wonderful liturgical festival observed on January 6th.
It is the oldest of the Christmas festivals and originally the most important. It is still the climax of the Christmas season in churches of the Eastern Orthodox tradition. Since January 6th is most often a weekday, Lutherans and liturgical Protestants sometimes shift the celebration of Epiphany to the Sunday immediately following the 6th. Epiphany is also a season that lasts until the beginning of Lent and encompasses four to nine Sundays, depending on the date of Easter.
WHAT DOES THE WORD "EPIPHANY" MEAN?
The word epiphany comes from the Greek noun epiphaneia, which means "manifestation." In the ancient Greco-Roman world, an epiphany referred to the appearance of one of the gods to mortals. Since kings and emperors were considered by many to be divine, an epiphany could also describe the visit of a king. The Epiphany of our Lord is the Christian festival that celebrates the many ways through signs, miracles, and preaching that Jesus Christ manifested Himself to the world as God Incarnate and King of kings.
WHAT DOES THE CHURCH COMMEMORATE DURING EPIPHANY?
The Festival of the Epiphany of our Lord originally commemorated three incidents that manifested the mission and divinity of Christ:
the visit of the Magi (see Matthew 2:1-12),
the baptism of Jesus (see Mark 1:9-11),
and the miracle at Cana (see John 2:1-11).
Nowadays, most liturgical churches emphasize the visit of the Magi on January 6th and celebrate Christ's baptism on the first Sunday after the 6th.
WHO WERE THE MAGI?
The Magi were members of the religious hierarchy of ancient Persia and Media (the region corresponding to modern Iran). They were scholars and practitioners of astrology, divination, and the interpretation of dreams. Their expertise in these arcane subjects is the reason they were often referred to as "wise men." The Magi of Babylonia were undoubtedly acquainted with exiled Jewish priests living among them. As such, they would have been familiar with Old Testament prophecies about the coming of Christ, including the cryptic "messianic star" passage of Numbers 24:17. This explains why they were so fascinated by the appearance of the star of Matthew 2:1-12.
Many pious legends about the wise men have arisen over the centuries. In the western Christian churches, these include the traditions that there were three Magi who visited Jesus, that their names were Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthasar, and that they were kings. To get more detailed information about the Magi, we invite you to read two excellent resources on the subject: The Magi/Wise Man FAQ by Rev. Dr. Richard P. Bucher and The Visit of the Magi -- Fact or Fiction? by Rev. Dr. Paul L. Maier.
WHAT IS THE LITURGICAL COLOR FOR EPIPHANY?
White, the color of purity, holiness, and joy is the traditional liturgical color for Epiphany, the first Sunday after the Epiphany (the Baptism of our Lord), and the last Sunday after the Epiphany (the Transfiguration of our Lord). For the other Sundays of the season, green is normally used. Green represents the new life that Christ gives us in baptism, as well as the spiritual growth we experience during the season as we study the Lord's ministry of teaching, healing, and miracles. Some churches prefer using white on every Sunday of the Epiphany season and reserve green for the season after Pentecost.
WHY IS EPIPHANY SUCH A SPECIAL DAY AND SEASON?
Epiphany is one of the most important festivals of the liturgical year because it shows the church how God comes to His people. We are so full of sin and deserving of divine punishment that we cannot hope to approach God. Knowing that we cannot come to Him, God took the initiative and came to us by becoming one of us. The most holy and almighty God condescended to take on human flesh in order to reveal His salvation to the world. This is the mystery of the Epiphany of our Lord.
During this season, Christians meditate on many of our Lord's epiphanies. Epiphany Day itself commemorates the arrival of the Magi in Bethlehem to worship the Messiah and bring Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh (see Matthew 2:1-12). Since the earliest days of the church, these wise men have been considered to be representatives of all the peoples of the earth. By means of a miraculous star, God showed them that Jesus was born to be not only the King of the Jews, but the Lord and Savior of all nations.
The first Sunday after the Epiphany is the Festival of the Baptism of our Lord, an observance of Jesus' baptism at the hands of John the Baptist (see Mark 1:9-11). The words of the Father and the appearance of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove as Jesus came out of the waters revealed Him to be God's true Son.
The Transfiguration of our Lord, the last Sunday after the Epiphany, is a celebration of the moment that Christ, in the company of Moses and Elijah, literally shined His glorious divine nature on Peter, James, and John, leaving them dazed and awestruck (see Luke 9:28-36). This event, the greatest of Christ's epiphanies until His triumphant resurrection from the grave on Easter, serves as the dramatic conclusion of the season. Transfiguration Sunday stands in vivid contrast to what takes place just a few days later: Ash Wednesday, the day of sorrow and repentance that initiates the season of Lent.
In between the two Sundays that mark the Lord's baptism and transfiguration, the church concentrates on several of the other incidents from Scripture that show how Jesus manifested God's love to the world through His ministry of preaching, miracles, and healings. What is common to each of these epiphanies is that in one way or another they make known the identity and mission of Jesus Christ: True Man and True God, born into this sinful world to be the Lord and Savior of all humanity.
We begin to understand the joy and wonder of Epiphany when we read the story of Simeon (see Luke 2:22-35). Simeon was a devout old man who lived in Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the promised Messiah with his own eyes. When Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to the temple to be consecrated according to Jewish law regarding firstborn males (see Exodus 13:2), Simeon realized that this infant was the Christ. In joyful response to this personal epiphany, the old man took the baby Jesus in his arms and chanted a magnificent song of thanksgiving known today by its Latin title, Nunc Dimittis. We at Saint Paul's, along with Lutheran Christians everywhere, sing Simeon's great canticle at the end of each service of Holy Communion. The words of the Nunc Dimittis remind us of the mercy and salvation that God revealed to the world in His Son, Jesus Christ:
Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace
according to Thy word,
For mine eyes have seen Thy Salvation
Which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people:
A light to lighten the Gentiles
And the glory of Thy people Israel
