Epiphany-tide 2005 Letter
Saint John's Church

Epiphany-tide 2005

Dear Members and Friends,

As the days begin to lengthen it is no coincidence that the Church enters the season of Epiphany. Starting with the legend of the Wise Men and moving through the life of Jesus right up to the story of his Transfiguration, the lessons at the Daily Offices and the Sunday Eucharists reveal how Jesus came to be understood as the one God had sent to lead us back to Him, the Light of the world.

We take that light so much for granted. Just think what it would be like in our world if no one had ever lived-out Jesus' principal message. You do remember his message, don't you? I mean, if they asked, you could tell someone what he said and what his life was about, right? You could tell someone who Jesus was and what he lived and died for, couldn't you? Of course, you could. Even the most illiterate medieval peasant could have done that, and done it with great clarity and brevity! Ah, but it is a different world today...

How complicated everything has become as the seed of Jesus' message and the lives of his saints has taken root in our world. There has been unthinkable change. An entire system of thought, a world-view, used to understand ourselves and our world, has been overturned by Copernicus and Galileo, by Newton and Darwin, by Einstein and Freud, by Hawkins and Jung, by Rodgers and Hammerstein (just seeing if you were paying attention...!), by Crick and Watson, by Kinsey and Piaget, not to mention Dr Ruth. Still, the Light of the world shines in the darkness of the confusion. The message of Jesus still gives light, life, and hope; it gives strength in adversity and reassurance in disaster.

If you are unsure what the message of Jesus of Nazareth was and is, come to the church at 7.00 PM on two Tuesday evenings, the 18th of January, the Feast of the Confession of Saint Peter, and on the 25th of January, the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, and we will try to set it out clearly and simply, with no presumptions about what you "should" know, just a desire to shine a little light on what might be unknown, has become obscured, or simply forgotten. These two "Evenings in the Light" are meant once again to bring out of darkness the original message of Jesus. Come; bring an inquirer.

Light and peace in Jesus Christ our Lord,

(The Rev'd) Jesse L. A. Parker
Rector of Saint John's Church in the Village
Baltimore