Frontpage, January 26, 2020

January 26, 2020

Pictures and text from Epiphany 3, Jan. 26, 2020

Videos from Epiphany 3, Jan 26, 2020

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The Week Ahead…

Jan. 29, 10:00-12:00pm – Ecumenical Bible Study

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Feb. 2, 10am, Christian Ed – Genesis

We will be looking at “Hagar Mother of Many Nations”, Genesis 16:1-14

Feb. 2, 11am, Holy Eucharist, Rite II – The Presentation of our Lord and Candlemas

Feb. 2, Souperbowl collection

Feb. 2, 12am, Coffee Hour Potluck

Feb. 2 – The Presentation of our Lord Readings and Servers

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Epiphany Christian Ed on Genesis continues on Feb. 2, 10am

Genesis is foundational to the whole Bible, and to every human life. Genesis tells us who God is, who we are, how things went wrong, and the plan that God has put in place to return the earth to the way it was meant to be.

In Genesis, God’s purposes for the heavens and earth are distorted by sin spreading through all the earth. We saw this on Jan 19 with the deception of the snake and explusion of Adam and Eve from the garden. Here are the notes.

Even after Adam and Eve sin and are punished, the promise is given that the offspring of the woman will defeat the serpent and restore the earth. The focus is on one man: Abraham. Through him and his family God would bring blessing to all nations.

This promise is traced throughout the book in its genealogies, which provide the backbone of the entire book. Key divisions are traced by “These are the generations of,” tracing out the stories of key figures, starting with “the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 2:4–4:26), and going on to Adam (Gen. 5:1–6:8), Noah (Gen. 6:9–9:29), the sons of Noah (Gen. 10:1–11:19), Shem (Gen. 11:10–26), Terah (Gen. 11:27–25:11), Ishmael (Gen. 25:12–18), Isaac (Gen. 25:19–35:29), Esau (Gen. 36:1–37:1), and Jacob (Gen. 37:2–50:26). An amazing story, it is the longest book in the Bible.

Join us at 10am in the Parish House during Sundays in Epiphany as this pivotal book. Next week on Feb. 2 is God’s promise to Noah.

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Celebrating the Souper Bowl, Feb 2

Souper Bowl of Caring” is an annual fundraising drive organized in partnership with the NFL. It focuses attention on the issues of hunger and poverty in our community and throughout the world. 149 million will tune into the big game but there are 50 million facing hunger. We would like to “change the game” from hunger to abundance. Over 30 years over $150 million in food and funds have been collected. In 2019 alone, $9.6 million was collected.

It began 30 years ago with a simple prayer : “Lord as we enjoy the Super Bowl, help us to be mindful of those without a bowl of soup to eat.” Souper Bowl evolved into a separate non-profit.. Hunger and poverty have a negative impact on individuals and the communities they live, yet there is joy in serving and giving to those in need. There is online video” about the program –

St. Peter’s began participating in 2012 so this is our 9th year. The money and food we collect stays local and benefits Caroline County since the proceeds will go to our Village Harvest Food ministry.

The Souper Bowl collection on Feb. 3, 2019 was a success attracting $210 compared to $175 and $125 for the previous two collections. We have been involved in the program since 2012 and we have collected $1.3K during that time.

On Sunday Feb 2, 2020, please make a separate donation at the offertory (with “Souperbowl” in the memo line) and/ or bring in some food for this worthy cause. The youth will also be collecting dollars in our pail outside at the conclusion of the service

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Feb 2 – The Presentation and Candlemas

“Today is a day of purification, renewal, and hope.”

 

Bring a candle on Sunday to be blessed in mass as we celebrate the festive Candlemas.  

 

The Presentation of our Lord commemorates when Mary and Joseph brought the infant Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem where he was greeted by Simeon and Anna. By the Law every first born male was to be consecrated to the Lord.” This happened 40 days after his birth at Christmas.

It is a feast day though it does not often fall on a Sunday. Candlemas occurs at a period between the December solstice and the March equinox, so many people traditionally marked that time of the year as winter’s “halfway point” while waiting for the spring.  

Candlemas is actually a very old feast, celebrated by both the churches of the East and the West, and in some places it is on this day that the creche is finally removed from the church.  The passage from The words in this scripture are often part of Compline

According to some sources, Christians began Candlemas in Jerusalem as early as the fourth century and the lighting of candles began in the fifth century. Other sources say that Candlemas was observed by blessing candles since the 11th century. An early writing dating back to around 380 CE mentioned that a feast of the Presentation occurred in a church in Jerusalem. It was observed on February 14. The feast was observed on February 2 in regions where Christ’s birth was celebrated on December 25.  It is also Groundhog Day in the United States and Canada on February 2.

Candles are blessed on this day (hence the name “Candlemas”). It was the day of the year when all the candles, that were used in the church during the coming year, were brought into church and a blessing was said over them – so it was the Festival Day (or ‘mass’) of the Candles. Candles were important in those days not only because there was no electric lights. Some people thought they gave protection against plague and illness and famine. For Christians, they were (and still are) a reminder of something even more important. Before Jesus came to earth, it was as if everyone was ‘in the dark’.

Pieces of these candles are considered of great efficacy in sickness, or otherwise. When a person is dying, a piece is put in his hand lighted, and thus he passes away in the belief that it may light him to Paradise.

Read more about Candlemas…

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Lectionary Epiphany 4 – The Presentation in Temple"

I.Theme –  The Temple as the place of God’s revelation

 

"Presentation of Jesus in the Temple"  (detail) – Rembrandt (1631)

The lectionary readings are here  or individually: 

1.  Old Testament – Malachi 3:1-4

2.  Psalm- Psalm 84 OR Psalm 24:7-10

3.  Epistle – Hebrews 2:14-18

4.  Gospel – Luke 2:22-40 

The readings focus on the Temple as the place of God’s revelation. When Jesus is brought to the Temple, he becomes the living revelation of God.

Luke 2:22-40. Luke shows Mary and Joseph observing the requirements of the Torah by presenting their firstborn to the Lord and then ransoming him back. Within this scene, Luke paints a meeting between Jesus and two representatives of Israel: Simeon, who is “righteous and devout,” and Anna, a “prophetess.” (Luke frequently presents women in leadership positions where his audience would normally expect a man.) 

Malachi 3:1-4. In Jewish thought, the Temple was God’s footstool on earth, the point at which the divine touched creation. In apocalyptic thought, it was the place where the final judgment would take place. That is Malachi’s vision: God will appear seated in the Temple, “refining and purifying,” so that the people might offer pure sacrifice. 

Psalm 24. This song was sung by pilgrims as they reached the Temple. Standing outside, they called on the gates to lift up. From inside the Temple, voices sang back a question of faith: "Who is the king of glory?" The answer, given in faith, allowed access to the Temple.

Hebrews 2:14-18. An excerpt from an extended reflection on why Jesus had to be human—he had to be one of the “children” in need of redemption that he might “expiate the sins of the people.” 

Read more about this week’s lectionary…

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Story of a painting- Rembrandt’s "Presentation of Jesus in the Temple"

Rembrandt returned to this subject, "Presentation of Jesus in the Temple" at least 5 times from 1627 to 1654, two paintings, three etchings.

The subject is the biblical story of Simeon. Jesus was still an infant when Joseph and Mary took him to the temple to be presented to God. There they were approached by Simeon, a devout old man who recognised the child as the Saviour and praised him to God.

The most famous of these works was in 1631 when he was about 25 and still living in Leiden. Later that year he moved to Amsterdam. This painting is the high point of Rembrandt’s Leiden years: it represents the sum total of his artistic abilities at that

Most of his paintings are in very dark tones out of which his figures seem to appear to the foreground. Rembrandt was the master of dark and light and most of his pictures are made in this style of struggle between dark and light, night and day, sorrow and joy.

The key to the picture is how carefully and delicate the figures are painted, even those in the darkest part of the painting. The beautiful contrast, between the light on the central group and the soft dimness of the remoter parts of the cathedral, illustrates a style of work for which Rembrandt was very famous.

Our eyes are drawn to the very emotional Simeon, eyes aglow. As with the priest, his figures are often elongated in this period. The pictures is framed by the two figures behind Mary and Joseph in dark contrasting with Mary’s blue and Simeon’s shimmering robe.

Read more about the painting…

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