January 2022
Spirit of the Eagle
St. John the Evangelist ACC
Spiritual Tidbits & Rector’s Reflections for
January 2022 from Father Tim
Welcome to 2022! January has arrived and so does Epiphany (6th) and Epiphanytide. The other notable feast day in January is the Conversion of Saint Paul (25th). This year, as the commemorations fall, I thought I would pass along a little knowledge about our Anglican worthies. In January, on Epiphany II, we have the Commemoration of Blessed William Laud. Laud was born October 7, 1573, Reading, Berkshire, England and died on January 10, 1645. He was Archbishop of Canterbury (1633–45) and religious adviser to King Charles I. He became a privy councillor in 1627 and bishop of London in 1628, devoting himself to combating Puritanism and enforcing strict Anglican ritual (and I mean strict). By the time he became archbishop of Canterbury, he had extended his authority over the whole country. He despised Calvinism and attacked the Puritan practice of preaching as dangerous. Laud had Puritan writers such as William Prynne mutilated and imprisoned (the mutilation part makes many struggle with his “Blessed” title). Aided by his close ally the 1st earl of Strafford, Thomas Wentworth, Laud used his influence over the king to influence government social policy. By 1637, opposition to Laudian repression had grown, and Laud’s attempts to impose Anglican forms of worship in Scotland provoked fierce resistance. In 1640 the Long Parliament met, and Laud was accused of high treason. His trial, which began in 1644 and was managed by Prynne (yes, the mutilated Prynne), resulted in William Laud’s conviction and beheading. So there is a little Anglican note-worthies enlightenment. The moral of the story? This turn of events shows how an out of control love of church doctrine and ritual for Puritan or Anglican can inflame one to forget the love of Jesus Christ. Beheadings, mutilations, and all the lesser forms of torture, revenge, and meanness have no part in the Summary of the Law given by Jesus. A fact we must never forget. I hope and pray you have a blessed Epiphanytide. ~ Father Tim
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Is there someone you know who is inflamed with the wrong things in this world? Are they in need of an epiphany in their own life? January is a season to reveal both the corruptions we need to overcome, and the spiritual beauty we are striving for. Please invite someone into the Holy Church to experience this coming Epiphanytide, the Kingdom of God, and His church family. ~ Father Tim
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Truth, by which the world is held together, has sprung from the earth, in order to be carried in a woman’s arms. ~ S. Augustine of Hippo, on the Epiphany
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Did you know?
Did you know that Saint John’s made charitable gifts in December to the Red Cross Western KY Tornado Relief and to the Salvation Army of Northern KY? Did you know that Saint John’s gave a charitable donation in Gift Cards to the Dayton Family Resource Center in December for Christmas Aid? Did you know the appliances finally arrived for the new Rectory? Did you know that Heritage Window Solutions are coming the first week of January to begin restoration and repair for nine of our stained glass windows?
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St. John January Ordo Kalendar
Sunday, the 2nd of January at 10:30 AM, Christmas II
Wednesday, the 5th of January at 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer
Sunday, the 9th of January at 10:30 AM, Epiphany I
Wednesday, the 12th of January at 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer
Sunday, the 16th of January at 10:30 AM, Epiphany II, Vestry Meeting
Wednesday, the 19th of January at 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer
Saturday, the 23rd of January at 10:30 AM, Epiphany III
Wednesday, the 26th of January at 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer
Sunday, the 30th of January at 10:30 AM, Epiphany IV
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Today the Magi gaze in deep wonder at what they see: heaven on earth, earth in heaven, man in God, God in man, one whom the whole universe cannot contain now enclosed in a tiny body. As they look, they believe and do not question, as their symbolic gifts bear witness: incense for God, gold for a king, myrrh for one who is to die. ~ S. Peter Chrysologus, on the Epiphany
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The magi, as you know, were wise men—wonderfully wise men—who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. ~ O. Henry, the Gift of the Magi
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January Birthdays & Anniversaries
Susan Moore – Birthday – January 20
Kim Marshall – Birthday – January 24
Devan Smith – Birthday – January 25
A big ‘thank you’ to those who helped make the church so beautiful in the 2021 Christmastide!
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If the Magi had come in search of an earthly King, they would have been disconcerted at finding that they had taken the trouble to come such a long way for nothing. Consequently they would have neither adored nor offered gifts. But since they sought a heavenly King, though they found in Him no signs of royal pre-eminence, yet, content with the testimony of the star alone, they adored: for they saw a man, and they acknowledged God. ~ S. John Chrysostom, on the Epiphany
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Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world. ~ John Milton, English Poet, on Epiphanies
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Last we consider the time of their coming, the season of the year. It was no summer progress. A cold coming they had of it at this time of the year, just the worst time of the year to take a journey, and specially a long journey. The ways deep, the weather sharp, the days short, the sun farthest off, in solsitio brumali, ‘the very dead of winter.’ . . . .And we, what should we have done? Sure these men of the East will rise in judgment against the men of the West, that is with us, and their faith against ours in this point. […] Our fashion is to see and see again before we stir a foot, specially if it be to the worship of Christ. Come such a journey at such a time? No; but fairly have put it off to the spring of the year, till the days longer, and the ways fairer, and the weather warmer, till better travelling to Christ. Our Epiphany would sure have fallen in Easter week at the soonest. ~ Blessed Lancelot Andrewes, Anglican Bishop & Confessor, Christmas Sermon 1622
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The whole life of Christ was a continual Passion; others die martyrs but Christ was born a martyr. He found a Golgotha even in Bethlehem, where he was born; for to his tenderness then the straws were almost as sharp as the thorns after, and the manger as uneasy at first as his cross at last. His birth and his death were but one continual act, and his Christmas day and his Good Friday are but the evening and morning of one and the same day. And as even his birth is his death, so every action and passage that manifests Christ to us is his birth, for Epiphany is manifestation. ~ Rev. John Donne, Anglican Priest & Poet, on the Epiphany
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The seeking of Jesus Christ, and the quest for chivalry combined, lead directly to one place only: Anglican-Catholicism. Courage, honor, courtesy, justice, and a readiness to help and defend the weak and the poor. Welcome to the Anglican Catholic Church. ~ Father Timothy Butler