Holy Theophany
Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan, which contains all the mysteries of our salvation, is not only His epiphany as the Messiah, the Suffering Servant of the Lord.  It is also the first manifestation to the world of the greatest mystery of all, the worship of the Holy Trinity. 

When Thou, O Lord wast bapstised in the Jordan,
The worship of the Trinity was made manifest.
For the voice of the the Father bore witness to Thee,
Calling Thee His beloved Son.
And the Spirit, in the form of a dove,
Confirmed the truthfulness of his word.
O Christ, our God who hast revealed Thyself
And hast enlightened the world, Glory to Thee!

This is the unique doctrine of orthodox Christianity: the worship of the Divine Trinity “one in essence and undivided.”  It was foreshadowed in the theophanies of the Old Covenant of Israel.  It was approached in the contemplations of the holy people of various “world religions.”  It was obscurely discovered in the speculations of the mystical philosophers of all nations, especially the Greeks.  And it was clearly made manifest in the “final and everlasting covenant of peace” of the one true God with His people, first revealed in the Messiah’s epiphany at His baptism in the Jordan.  This worship stands at the heart of the celebration of the Winter Pascha in the Orthodox Church.  (Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko, The Winter Pascha).

Our celebration of this Great Feast will include Royal Hours and a Vigil on the eve, and the Divine Liturgy with the Blessing of Water on the day of.  With the Feast falling on a Saturday, there should be a healthy congregation in church.  This is the time for bringing a suitable vessel in which to take home a supply of holy water for the year.  Following our celebration of the Liturgy, Bassam and Emily Issa invite all the faithful who are present to join them for the blessing of their home and a reception (1106 Candytuft Ct.).  Hopefully others will also choose to host a “house blessing party” in coming years. 

Services This Month
+ Jan. 1: St. Basil the Great and the civil new year.  Those who come for Divine Liturgy will have the chance to be the recipient of the golden coin from the Vasilopita (St. Basil’s Bread) and a blessing for the new year.
+ Jan. 12: St. Sava, First Archbishop of Serbia.  Because of his life of good deeds and living out the gospel, St. Sava remains the most beloved of Serbian saints.  Given the history of St. Michael’s parish and the many Serbs who were and are a part of it, we ought to have a special veneration for St. Sava.  Let’s make this day a true celebration and at least plan to have a coffee hour after Liturgy.
+ Jan. 17: St. Anthony the Great, Father of the monastic life.
+ Feb. 2: The Presentation of our Lord in the Temple.

Annual Parish Meeting
Our Annual Meeting will take place after Liturgy on Jan. 14.  This will be an important meeting with the election of five members to the parish council.  Let us remember to be both courteous and brief.  Below is a revised list of the Stewards of St. Michael.

With the exception of Fr. Barnabas, John Kuzmiak, Tom Lynch and Larisa Bourgeault, anyone listed above who is present for the meeting is eligible for nomination to parish council or diocesan assembly delegate.
           
St. John’s Altar Feast
January 7, the Synaxis of St. John the Baptist, is the Altar Feast of St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church.  Metropolitan Isaiah may preside at the Liturgy.  We wish our brethren at St. John’s kronia polla (many years).  Following the Liturgy there will be a luncheon at the Parkside Steakhouse.  The cost is $10 for adults and $5 for children.  Please speak with Marian Kochiovelos (542-2193) to reserve a space by Jan. 2.  Our own coffee hour will be toned down somewhat as many of us will be going to the lunch.

+As Of This Writing There Is No Oil For The Lampadas+

Blessing the Continental Divide
Picture a snowmobile ride to the top of Monarch Pass, where you come before an altar made of snow.  Standing all around it, clergy from the Rocky Mountain Deanery concelebrate the Great Blessing of the Waters.  At least three dozen of the faithful are also gathered with them: from Denver, Littleton, Colorado Springs, Delta, Calhan and Pueblo.  Following the service, you come forward to be blessed with a handful of the sanctified, white powder which, as it melts, will carry the blessing of the Lord to both sides of the continent.  This surreal scene, full of joy in spite of the numbing chill, is enacted every Theophany season.  This year, the Water Blessing at Monarch Pass will be celebrated on Jan. 8 at around 11:00 am.  Following the service, the band of merry faithful will make its way down to Salida for a meal at Amica’s brick oven pizza house.

Theophany House Blessings
Anyone who would like to have Fr. Barnabas bless your home, please make an appointment at your earliest convenience by calling Fr. at 544-8423.  You will need a bowl, a candle and an icon or cross (or icon corner).  House blessings are an annual tradition and may be done for both Orthodox and non-Orthodox Christians. 

New Bishop
On the last day of January, clergy and faithful of the Diocese of San Francisco, Los Angeles and the West will gather together at St. Paul’s Church in Las Vegas for the purpose of electing a new bishop for the diocese.  Barring any unforeseen developments, that person is most likely to be Bishop Benjamin, current Bishop of Berkley and former auxiliary to Bishop Tikhon (now retired).  Once the assembly makes its choice, the candidate in question will be presented to the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America for their final approval.  He will then be enthroned as ruling hierarch of our diocese at the next diocesan assembly, which will take place next October in San Francisco.  Our parish will elect its lay delegate for that assembly at its annual meeting.

Memory Eternal!
We said goodbye last month to Angelina Kuimoff, a long-time member of St. Michael’s parish and the mother of parishioner Rita Moss.  Angelina’s 40th day falls on Jan. 14.  May her memory be eternal!

Window Blessing
The new windows in our temple will be blessed following the Liturgy on Jan. 14.  If you are standing by a window that day you will get wet!

Recommended Reading
The readings this month are two books of the genre of the “spiritual travelogue.”  Though they cover similar territory, the two works are worlds apart in perspective.

The first, A Place of Healing for the Soul: Patmos, by Peter French, is the unlikely memoir of a BBC radio broadcaster who initially visits the Greek Island of Patmos, where St. John the Theologian recorded the Book of Revelations, as a tourist.  An agnostic intellectual with a biting wit, French agrees with his Orthodox convert wife to buy a second home on Patmos, where the two eventually settle for good.  Then comes the delectable and astonishing surprise.  The somewhat canny Brit, after months of encouragement from his wife and the monastics he meets on Patmos, sees the light and receives holy baptism.  The odd thing is, he retains his sense of humor and skepticism, continuing to write satirically of what he sees as the eccentricities of Greek Orthodox people.  It is difficult to pin down French to a single narrative voice.  Just when he starts to come across with something truly deep and profound, he lets go with a one liner that leaves you rolling with fits of laughter (and always about things that we Orthodox can understand).  French seems like the kind of person you would gravitate toward at coffee hour, but only with your wits sharpened.  His book is a delightfully refreshing mixture of satire and seriousness.  On the downside, his presentations of theology can be a bit simplistic.

The second item, Kyriacos Markides’ Gifts of the Desert: The Forgotten Path of Christian Spirituality, is his sequel to Mountain of Silence.  At first I found this book difficult to read for all the same reasons I had qualms about Mountain.  There is that same latent syncretism, that same ideological agenda and that same fascination with guru-dom, presented here even more explicitly.  The book opens with Markides giving a lecture on “Mystical Christianity” to a bunch of heretics and New Agers who probably play Dungeons and Dragons in their spare time.  It ends with Markides lamenting the Orthodox Church’s “gender exclusivity” and “marginalization” of homosexuals (One suspects he would like the Orthodox Church to be more like the US Episcopal Church).  When Markides silences himself long enough to present the spiritual teachings of Fr. Maximos, now a bishop of the Church of Cyprus, however, the whole venture becomes worthwhile.  Here is a passage that speaks for itself:

“’So we should not despair if we keep falling asleep during prayer or if our mind is wandering during prayer,” I said               

“Naturally not.  All of us suffer from such shortcomings.  We may read whole pages from the Psalms and after a while we realize that our mind was not there and we have no clue what we read.  Only angels and those who have reached their angelic condition do not suffer from such problems of focusing the mind on prayer.  When we are in elementary school we must first learn the alphabet, and then move on from there.  We do not punish little kids when they face difficulties as they clumsily try to read a book.  It takes time, practice, and growth to master such skills.  We could not expect a child to act as if he is a university graduate.  It’s the same with prayer.  When we are beginners we are bound to face difficulties and make mistakes.  We will pray in an imperfect way.  Having that in mind, we must not lose our courage and interest in getting into the habit of prayer (pp. 218-219).’”

Words like these are what make Gifts of the Desert worth the $24 price of admission.  Still, this book is recommended with caution.  In addition to Markides’ slant, Bishop Maximos presents some troubling interpretations of out of body experiences that are not in line with the overall teaching of the Orthodox Church.

Bible Study
We have arrived at the call of Abram, Sarai’s jeopardy in Egypt and Abram’s agreement with Lot.  The teachings of the Fathers have been most illuminating and classes fairly well attended (usually 5-7 people).  Come join as for these last few sessions of the current class, which will conclude with Great Lent.  We begin with an Akathist at 6:30 and usually conclude our study by around 8:00 pm.

Investment in Heaven
Imagine a carpenter with the crudest of tools.  It takes him many days to make a simple table; and its quality is so low that the price he obtains for it is poor.  He has a choice: either he can spend all the money he earns on food and drink or he can set some money aside, even if it means going hungry, in order to buy better tools.  If he does the latter, then he will soon be making good tables much more quickly, and so his earnings will quickly rise.  This choice is analogous to a spiritual choice that each of us must make.  Either we can spend for our own pleasure all the wealth we possess or we can set aside part of our wealth to give to others.  If we do the latter, then we may sacrifice a few immediate, earthly pleasures; but the joy we earn for ourselves in heaven, far, far surpasses the pleasure we have lost on earth. Every act of charity on earth is an investment in heaven.

Saint John Chrysostom