HOPE   EVANGELICAL
LUTHERAN   CHURCH

Epiphany begins on the day of Epiphany -- January 6th, and ends on Shrove Tuesday -- the eve of Lent, lasting between four to nine weeks depending on the date upon which Easter falls in any year.
There are two liturgical colours for this season:   white on the first and last Sundays of the season, symbolizing the divinity of the Christ;   and green on all other days, representing the growth of Christ's church through missionary efforts from the time of the Apostles to our own day.
Epiphany is the festival commemorating signal events during the life of Christ on Earth.   On the day of Epiphany we celebrate the Visitation of the Magi to the Christ child, and their prophesy that this baby was to be king of the world.

On the first Sunday after Epiphany, we commemorate the Baptism of our Lord at the hands of his earthly cousin, Saint John the Baptist.

When Jesus came down to the Jordan where John was baptising the Jews for the forgiveness of sins, to be himself baptized of John,

John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?   And Jesus answering said unto him Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.   Then he suffered him.   And Jesus, when he was baptized, went straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him. And lo a voice from heaven, saying This is my beloved Son; in whom I am well pleased.
          Matthew 3:14-17

The scallop shell, or escallop, is the token of Santiago el Grande -- St James the Great; it is the emblem of pilgrims taking the Strange Road to St James' main shrine at Santiago de Compostela in Galicia.   Most important, it is a symbol representing the sacrament of Holy Baptism.   This association between Baptism and the scallop shell comes from early Christian artworks, some found within the Roman catacombs, depicting John the Baptist baptizing Christ with water poured from a scallop shell.   The three drops of water represent God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, in whose names Christ commanded his disciples to baptize all nations.

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.
         Matthew 28:19
And he said unto them: Go ye into all the world and preach to every creature.   He that believeth in me and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
         Mark 16:16

Candlemas is the commemoration of the Presentation of Jesus Christ at the Temple of Jerusalem and symbolizes his advent as the light of the world, with Simeon prophesying Jesus as:
A light to lighten the Gentiles;
and the glory of thy people Israel.
            Luke 2:32

The blessing of candles, traditional since the 11th century, is the common means of commemoration, and the origin of the present name.   The feast is celebrated on February 2nd, the fortieth day after the birth of Christ, as Levitical law decreed that the period during which women who had newly given birth to male children must abstain from Temple.   On the fortieth day Mary came to the Temple, was herself purified according to the law, and presented the Christ child along with the prescribed sacrifice with which to redeem him -- a pair of doves.
Candlemas is celebrated as a feast of Our Lord in the Eastern Church.   In the Roman Catholic rite it has been overtaken by the cult of the Virgin Mary, and as a result is largely disused within the Protestant churches.   In reaction to Roman usage, during the thirtieth year of his reign King Henry VIII issued the proclamation:

"On Candelmas Day it shall be declared that the bearing of Candles is done in the memory of Christ, the spiritual light whom Simeon did prophesie, as it is read in the Church that day."

Candlemas falls on the cross-quarter day midway between Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox.   Its connection with weather prediction is associated with the condition of the sky, and only coincidentally with the shadows of animals.   In Europe the country folk watch for the emergence of badgers; North Americans make do with groundhogs.

If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Come, winter, have another flight;
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Go, winter, and come not again.

On February 18th Lutherans mark the passing of the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther, the great reformer and renewer of the Catholic church.   We remember the courage and sacrifice of Luther and give thanks for his having had the strength of will to speak out against papal abuses, and the courage to lead the Church to the renewal of its true purpose.

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness:
for they shall be filled.
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake:
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
          Matthew 5:6 & 10

Our Church Calendar
A.D. 2012

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January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December