Emmanuel Episcopal Church

Homily for the Third Sunday after the Epiphany - Share the Light!

Isaiah 9:1-4
1 Corinthians 1:10-18
Matthew 4:12-23
Psalm 27:1, 5-13

Homily by Fr James W Mathieson, Visiting Preacher and Celebrant

Epiphany – “WOW!”

Epiphany is that time of the church year, like the times in your life – those moments when you’ve been wrestling with a question and the answer comes to you like a beam of light. Or maybe you thought you knew the truth and then circumstances change and make you realize that there is another way of looking at things.

Last week, after Jesus’ baptism, John was stunned by the truth: “I didn’t know him!” John and Jesus were cousins. They probably grew up together, and yet John was now seeing a new side of Jesus, a new light had dawned.

Many scholars think that John and Jesus both went to the school of the Essenes together, down in the Quam Ran Society.

The Quam Ran Society was composed of a group of people who made the choice to separate themselves from the society of Israel. They didn’t like the Temple priests at Jerusalem, or the corrupt kings. They didn’t like the growing Greek influence in Israel, or the Pharisees with their constant adding to the law. They thought the people of Israel were not devout enough, and they certainly did not like the Romans, their customs, their language, or their moral laxness.

So they decided to separate themselves and to shut out the world. They read nothing but Scripture; they were very pious. They performed baptisms as a rite of cleansing, as a way to seek forgiveness of sins.

John decides he’s a prophet of God, a missionary, calling a wicked world to repent. He goes out into the desert and preaches to anyone and all who come by, chastising them as “you brood of vipers.” John must have been delighted when his cousin Jesus came to his baptismal ministry. After baptizing Jesus, John hears a voice from God,” this is my son in whom I am well pleased.”

John knew Jesus one way and now knows him as “the Lamb of God.” Wow! The lamb who carries the sins of the world on his shoulders.

Service Bulletin for the Third Sunday after the Epiphany

Download 01262014 Epiphany 3a

Service Bulletin for the Second Sunday after the Epiphany

Download 01192014 Epiphany 2

Service Bulletin for the First Sunday after the Epiphany: the Baptism of our Lord

Download 01122014 Epiphany 1

Clarinetist Alex Jones & Saturn String Quartet to Play in Chatham

 

By Susan Paynter

Christmas and New Year’s have passed but winter’s cold, dark days have not.  On January 19 the brightness and warmth of Mozart and Brahms will brighten winter’s monotony in Chatham.

The Chatham Concert Series returns from its holiday break with Alex Jones, principal clarinetist of the Pittsburgh Philharmonic, and the Saturn String Quartet.  Jones and the string musicians will perform Mozart and Brahms Quintets for Clarinet & Strings.

“We wanted to bring symphonic music to Chatham,” said Chatham Concert Series Artistic Director Kevin Matheson.  “Naturally we’re limited in the number of performers we can bring, but these pieces offer a depth beyond the traditional chamber repertoire.  They have the feel of a symphonic concert.”

Composing his Quintet in A Major in 1789, Mozart beautifully blended styles he used for opera, concerto and string quartet.  Brahms, whose chamber music is unsurpassed, wrote Quintet in B Minor, considered one of his finest compositions, in 1891, or 102 years after the influential Mozart piece.

Alex Jones is looking forward to the concert.  “Hearing these quintets got me excited about learning the clarinet when I was in school, and I love seeing that excitement in our audiences,” he said.

Filling out the quintet with Jones’ clarinet will be the Saturn String Quartet: Kevin Matheson and Leon Kok on violin, the viola of Bryan Matheson and cello played by Kelley Mikkelsen, all of the Roanoke Symphony.

The concert will be held at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 66 N. Main Street in Chatham at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 19.  Admission is by donation for the artists.  For more information contact Kevin Matheson at [email protected] or 540-382-9624.

Congratulations to Our New Vestry Members

Congratulations to our new vestry members who were elected at last Sunday's Annual Meeting:  

Beth Coles, Jayne dePaulo, and Eric Roberts.

Service Bulletin for the Second Sunday after Christmas

Download 01052014 Christmas 2 and Annual Meeting