Presby-Musings

This week, as part of our effort to live in the rhythm of the Church calendar , we'll be celebrating the Third Sunday after Epiphany.  Interestingly, this is also known as the Third Sunday of Ordinary Time . I know. It's weird church-y stuff, but hear me out.  Regardless of what we call this particular season of the Church, we have to be aware of where  it's located: sandwiched between Advent and Lent.  The pause between signs and wonders--between Nativity and Resurrection. Which teaches us something about what it means to be a Christian. I am almost positive that the Church fathers who came up with this whole season thing knew exactly  what they were doing.  There is something about this strip of ordinary in between the extraordinary celebrations of Christmas and Easter that helps us understand what it means to follow Christ beyond the signs, beyond the wonders. This whole being a disciple of Jesus thing---it's about more than just Christmas...

Next Monday we will celebrate an important national holiday---the only one instituted in my lifetime: Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday. MLK Day was officially recognized as a national holiday during the tenure of President Ronald Reagan , which I am sure might surprise more than a few people. I remember that in the early days of it's institution there was a great deal of controversy regarding MLK Day--remnants of old enmities that were difficult to shed.  My children will never know such things.  To them it is simply a national day of remembrance for a man who gave his life in the struggle for freedom and equality. The speech that Martin Luther King, Jr delivered in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC on August 28, 1963 is commonly known as the "I Have A Dream Speech ."  It's more than a speech, though.  It's a sermon.  And I think it's a sermon that changed the world, which may seem like a pretty bold statement... but there you go....

This week at my church we’ll be celebrating “Baptism of Our Lord” Sunday, or as it is also known, “The First Sunday After Epiphany.”  Actually, it’s not ever really known as “The First Sunday After Epiphany,” but since next Sunday is the “Second Sunday After Epiphany,” I just assumed we could do that sort of thing.  I hope I don’t upset any official church people, and get an official letter of reprimand from the official magisterium of whatever.. I lied.  I really hope I do.  That would be cool to frame and put on my wall. We are, in fact, studying a passage of Scripture from the Gospel of Matthew that tells one of the accounts (there are four) of the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist .  Baptism is one of the two sacraments that us Protestant-types celebrate in the Church, the other being the Lord’s Supper .  Catholics have seven or something like that, which is kind of cool, but definitely more complicated. The reason why we have named this m...

This Sunday we will be celebrating what is officially known as "The Epiphany of our Lord," the day that ends the season of Christmas (the famous "12 Days") and begins the season of Epiphany in the Church.  I didn't make these things up, people.  Christians have been celebrating this stuff for a good long time, and I kind of dig it, to be honest. But what does "Epiphany" actually mean, and why should we even care about any of this stuff anyway?   To begin with, "epiphany" is a word that essentially means "realization," or more specifically, "inspired realization."  When you have an epiphany you know it.  You feel it in your bones.  It's more important than realizing that you took a wrong turn on the way to Albuquerque and ended up in Hoboken.  That would be a seriously wrong turn, I might add.   An epiphany is when you realize something that has the potential to change your life, the way you think about ...