Emmanuel Episcopal Church
Delaplane, VA
Delaplane, VA
Notes from the Balcony
January 2012
Katherine Jameson
When Christ’s appearing was made known,
King Herod trembled for his throne;
But he who offers heavenly birth
Sought not the kingdoms of this earth.
Hymn 132
Greetings to you in the New Year! The “new year” of the world, that is. We are now well into the Church’s “new year” and have reached our time of epiphany. What a season it was! Our lovely Advent services, the greening and flowering of the sanctuary, the magical Christmas Eve service with the children’s Christmas Pageant, the joyful Christmas Day service, the elegant Service of Lessons and Carols - all contributed to a beautiful Christmastide! We sang, we played, we celebrated. What now? The silences of January are upon us. We are, as of January 6 and the arrival of the three kings with their gifts for the Christ child, in the Season of Epiphany. This is a time for listening, reflecting and discerning both the meaning of Christ’s birth in our own lives as well as the mission of the church in the world.
After so much sound and celebration, it takes a little time to get used to the silences and to settle into listening and reflecting deeply and quietly about what all this celebration means to us. Brother Roger of Taize writes: “Nothing is more conducive to a communion with the living God than a meditative common prayer with, as its high point, singing that never ends and that continues in the silence of one’s heart when one is alone again.” We are at that point - the time when the singing continues in the silence of our hearts.
Epiphany is a time to celebrate God in the ordinary and to look for the work of God in our every day lives. In his Gospel (Chapter 8, vs. 4-8) Luke recounts Jesus saying to a great crowd of people this parable: “A sower went out to sow his seed’; and as he sowed, some fell on the path and was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered for lack of moisture. Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. Some fell into good soil. and when it grew, it produced a hundredfold.” As he said this, he called out, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!”
So then, this is our time for listening, and not only to listen, but to hear. We will hear stories that tell us who Jesus was, is and will be. We will hear of miracles, stars, wine, light and water. We can find our song in the silences. May this season of light and quietness bring you peace, beauty and hope.
“For the music of creation,
for the song your Spirit sings,
for your sound’s divine expression,
burst of joy in living things:
God, our God, the world’s composer,
Hear us, echoes of your voice -
Music is your art, your glory,
Let the human heart rejoice!
Shirley Erena Murray
January 2012
Katherine Jameson
When Christ’s appearing was made known,
King Herod trembled for his throne;
But he who offers heavenly birth
Sought not the kingdoms of this earth.
Hymn 132
Greetings to you in the New Year! The “new year” of the world, that is. We are now well into the Church’s “new year” and have reached our time of epiphany. What a season it was! Our lovely Advent services, the greening and flowering of the sanctuary, the magical Christmas Eve service with the children’s Christmas Pageant, the joyful Christmas Day service, the elegant Service of Lessons and Carols - all contributed to a beautiful Christmastide! We sang, we played, we celebrated. What now? The silences of January are upon us. We are, as of January 6 and the arrival of the three kings with their gifts for the Christ child, in the Season of Epiphany. This is a time for listening, reflecting and discerning both the meaning of Christ’s birth in our own lives as well as the mission of the church in the world.
After so much sound and celebration, it takes a little time to get used to the silences and to settle into listening and reflecting deeply and quietly about what all this celebration means to us. Brother Roger of Taize writes: “Nothing is more conducive to a communion with the living God than a meditative common prayer with, as its high point, singing that never ends and that continues in the silence of one’s heart when one is alone again.” We are at that point - the time when the singing continues in the silence of our hearts.
Epiphany is a time to celebrate God in the ordinary and to look for the work of God in our every day lives. In his Gospel (Chapter 8, vs. 4-8) Luke recounts Jesus saying to a great crowd of people this parable: “A sower went out to sow his seed’; and as he sowed, some fell on the path and was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered for lack of moisture. Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. Some fell into good soil. and when it grew, it produced a hundredfold.” As he said this, he called out, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!”
So then, this is our time for listening, and not only to listen, but to hear. We will hear stories that tell us who Jesus was, is and will be. We will hear of miracles, stars, wine, light and water. We can find our song in the silences. May this season of light and quietness bring you peace, beauty and hope.
“For the music of creation,
for the song your Spirit sings,
for your sound’s divine expression,
burst of joy in living things:
God, our God, the world’s composer,
Hear us, echoes of your voice -
Music is your art, your glory,
Let the human heart rejoice!
Shirley Erena Murray