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MESSENGER
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THE CHURCH OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST

January 2009

he Gospel of Matthew does not call them three kings or wise men, but just Magi from the East, neither does the Bible attach names or a number to them. The word magi is associated with wisdom and secret knowledge so we can speculate that such sages included alchemists, philosophers, scholars, physicians or astronomers and the like. Many have linked the Magi with the royal court of the king of Persia, where they may have served as priests. hoever these three men were, after a harrowing journey, they reached the inn. They found the baby and fell to their knees, presenting three gifts which may have led to our belief that they were indeed three in number. The first gift was gold, the second, frankincense, and the third, myrrh. These gifts were prophetic. Gold speaks of Jesus kingship, frankincense was a spice or perfume used in the priesthood, and myrrh was an embalming ointment anticipating His death.

Still from The Nativity Story: New Line Cinema

Sacred gifts of mystic meaning: incense doth their God disclose, gold the King of kings proclaimeth, myrrh his sepulcher foreshows.

Eastern sages at his cradle make oblations rich and rare; see them give, in deep devotion, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

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hen you think about it, Balthazar, Melchior, and Gaspar do have a lot to answer for! After all, they were the first bringers of gifts at Christmas and conceivably could be blamed for the excesses of spending which each of us negotiates at Christmas. The retail trade, shopkeepers everywhere, of course, are perfectly happy about the whole process and will never criticize or slow the activity on which so many of them rely. It is their reason for the season! And who can fault them? How many of us waste a thought worrying about the how or why of the gifts stacked under the tree? Business is business, as they say, so perhaps it is unfair to point a finger at three men willing to travel many miles in search of a baby, born, figuratively and literally, under a star.

f you believe the pageant version of the Nativity, the Wise Men showed up at the stable the same night as Jesus birth. However, it has been suggested that they came weeks, perhaps months, afterward. One theory holds that they may have visited Jesus two years after his birth, as there is mention in ancient texts of Herod ordering the deaths of children two years old and younger. It is also plausible that when the Magi visited, Joseph, Mary and Jesus were no longer in Bethlehem. The family may have moved to Jerusalem forty days after the birth and were staying with Zacharius or Elizabeth when the Magi came knocking. Such speculation is the stuff of historical fact lost in a confusion of inconclusive evidence and dubious documentation.

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he magi probably crossed the Syrian desert lying between the Euphrates River and Syria, then moved on to Damascus and southward along what is today called the Great Mecca trail. This means Jordan and the Sea of Galilee was to their west. If they came from Persia, this journey would have covered a distance of 1,200 miles and would have taken a year by camel, a daunting prospect in the best of circumstances. oday, we set off on a trip, having advised our GPS co-pilot of the destination, who then sits, winks and talks to us from the dashboard of our hundred horse-power camel all the way to the motel which, of course, we have had the foresight to book ahead! As would still be the case today, however, the journey of those early travellers was a journey through territory marked by unrest and danger, whose destination, purpose and outcome could never have been certain. After all, they had nothing but a star to guide them through the desert with no Google advisory in advance; yet they journeyed on, these three wise men.

ltimately, what we choose to believe has little to do with proven realities. The journey of the magi lives on as a spiritual journey. It is mankinds search for hope amid despair, for truth even when it is surrounded by deceit. It offers light and encouragement to keep on. As we make our way, we bring our gifts humbly before God, knowing that whatever we have to offer must pale by comparison to His gift to us. This is the true legacy of Balthazar, Melchior, and Gaspar. What we really owe to the three wise men will not be found under a fir tree or in the shopping mall but in the mysterious discovery that we too have to make a journey just like theirs.
David L. Paterson, Editor

Bless us, Lord, this New Year with quietness of mind; Teach us to be patient and always kind. Show us in quietness we can feel your presence near, Filling us with joy and peace thoughout the coming year!
With thanks to Doreen Asbil, Grenville-sur-la-Rouge

Breaking news!
(special to the MESSENGER) GOD CHANGES HIS MIND! Joppa, 15th Adar, AD35: In a startling restatement of a major part of the Holiness Laws of centuries past, God today, in conversation with Simon Peter, declared the prohibition against sea food, pork, and other food items null and void, instructing the Apostle to take and eat what was set before him. In the well-established tradition of arguing with God, Peter pointed out that he had never eaten anything common or unclean to which God retorted, What God has cleansed, that you shall not call common. It does not appear that God gave any reason for abrogating the food laws. One commentator suggests that it might have been related to the cultural shift from a primitive, nomadic and agrarian life style to a modern, cosmopolitan, highly diversified urban culture. Perhaps God thought it was time to bring the church up-to-date he said.
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TAP tips or not the news from The Anglican Planet

Anglicans who feel they can no longer in good conscience worship in the Anglican Church of Canada or the Episcopal Church in the USA have formed a new faith community which they hope will be recognized by the global Anglican community.
TAP, January 2009

The Rev. Alan Cameron

There is nothing so compelling about the new NA province (Anglican Church in North America), however, as spending time in the old ones: the smugness of the leadership; the determination to push forward the very agenda that is dividing the church whilst simultaneously giving lip service for the need for diverse voices; and the absolute refusal to recognise that there is a major problem, even when large parishes and entire dioceses in ECUSA have broken away. The groundswell of support to establish a new province, along with declining attendance, declining financial support and declining ability or even desire for evangelism within the existing provinces is a sign that the two (ACC, ACNA) have strayed far from their calling and need to repent.
Excerpted from an editorial (Harris / Molloy), The Anglican Planet, January 2009

During the first week of January, the resignation of the Rev. Alan Cameron as an Anglican priest was announced. Sadly, concomitant to that, he cannot continue as Honorary Assistant here at Saint John the Baptist. He has served us well with great personal conviction since his retirement, taking occasional services and performing other pastoral duties. We wish him well as he moves on to service elsewhere.

R.I.P.

For those who may remember the Taylor family, parishioners in years past, the following piece of news was received from Ray Smith in B.C. recently. Irene Taylor, Normans wife, died in their home in Florida on 23rd December. Norman was Treasurer of St. J. the B. for a long time and they were faithful attenders. They have been in Florida for many years now, moving there in the 1980s.

o religion accepts us as the person we know ourselves to be. Rather, we are told that we are inadequate, unsatisfactory and helpless. We fear that this is so, and to give us hope we construct a fantasy about how we are superior to those who do not share our views. n these grounds we feel entitled to force our views on non-believers, and, if they resist, to persecute them. I was taught that we Presbyterians were infinitely superior to Catholics and all the rest, while Aboriginals were not even human. I thought that the man Jesus wouldnt have approved of such views, and this set me on the path of understanding that, although people differ as individuals and in terms of culture, basically all human beings are the same. o one is better than anyone else by virtue of their beliefs. We all want to be the person we know ourselves to be, and for others to recognise this and treat us with respect. We want to live without being dominated by fear, to enjoy good relationships, and to have a secure place in our society. When we are able to be the person we know ourselves to be, without vanity or self-pity, we have the wonderful experience of feeling at home with everything that exists. Some people describe this in religious terms, some in terms of nature, but, whatever, we do not feel the need to have a religion tell us what we should believe.

The emerging province accepts, as a standard for its doctrine and discipline: the Apostles, Nicene and Athanasian Creeds, the 1662 Book of Common Prayer and accompanying Ordinal and the 39 Articles from 1562.
Editorial, Sue Careless, The Anglican Planet, January 2009

The Annual Vestry meeting of the parish will be held on Sunday, February 8th. As we anticipate this event, perhaps it would be a useful exercise to consider what St. J. the B. means to each of us. At the beginning of this new calendar year, what direction do we see for this church in the next twelve months? If we take a moment to think about this, how many and what are the questions which come to mind? Send your thoughts to the MESSENGER.

Bishop N. T. Wright (Durham), TAP, January 2009

From What Should I Believe?: Dr Dorothy Rowe, October 2008

On the first Sunday in January, the Servers presented a seasonal reading entitled The Reason for the Season. Seen with Canon Glencross above are Connor Thouret, Nicholas Vonniessen, Andrew Lowther, Andreas, Christian and Angela Deslauriers, Liane Vonniessen and Stephanie Cowan.

Editor : dlpater@videotron.ca

We need as a Church to work out the differences that make a difference and the differences that dont make a difference.

Q : marbet@videotron.ca

Annual Vestry 2009

A Journey on Foot
Last months MESSENGER presented Part 1 of Lyn Priestleys description of a pilgrimage which she has undertaken, a walk from St. Jean Pied de Port, in the foothills of the French Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela in the north-west tip of Spain. Part 2 of Lyns camino, which appears below, was written after she returned from Spain last summer. (Lyns walk will be completed next year so Part 3 will appear at some point in the future.)

Lyns camino, Part Two

Pilgrim bridge built in medieval times

Last summer, I returned home having walked more of the pilgrim way to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. My journey had picked up where it left off the previous year. After a week of very flat terrain with wheat fields as far as the eye could see, I was happy to start walking up the foothills of the next mountain range west of Leon. I stopped for the night in the tiny stone walled village of Rabanal del Camino. The Knights Templar are thought to have had a presence here as early as the twelfth century ensuring the safe passage of pilgrims over this remote land. The tiny church of Santa Maria was possibly built by them. The hospitaller mentioned that Vespers was held at seven that evening. I had read that today an order of Benedictine monks originating from Germany have taken up residence in the church. The Latin Gregorian chant of Vespers was something I could not miss. This tiny crumbling church, cold, damp and sparsely lit, welcomed us as pilgrims from all over the world. We squeezed in. The stone Hostel, Rabanal del Camino floor on which the benches were arranged, was very uneven and it was not hard to imagine over eight hundred years of feet tramping over the rough flagstones. The walls were of peeling plaster and old whitewash, the few windows of plain glass. Two large candlesticks and a pot of dahlias were on the floor in front of the tableclothcovered altar, on which the only objects were a silver host holder and a brass bowl billowing with burning incense. Three monks came in and the short service, followed by a pilgrim blessing, started. Four young people from four different countries had been chosen beforehand by the hospitaller to read a passage in their own language. We heard readings in Spanish, French, German and English, only a representative selection since I knew that there were pilgrims there from other places. The effect was as if we all spoke the same language, as if we all had the same intent. It was beautiful and very moving. I closed my eyes and felt as if, once again, the faith and safe passage vouchsafed by the Knights Templar was mine again. I finish with this little medieval prayer for the safety of pilgrims.
LP Rabanal del Camino

Oh God, Who didst bring Abraham, Thy servant, out of Ur of the Chaldeas, and did preserve him unhurt through all the paths of his pilgrimage ... Be unto us a covering in the rain and cold, a staff in slippery places

Sights and Sounds of Christmas 2008

Members of the choir and guest accompanist, Ian Smith, enjoyed some refreshment after rehearsing music for Christmas, all provided by Choirmaster, Barbara MacPherson

Music and munchies The Christmas Alphabet

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as performed by

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Stephanie and Tristan Cowan, Adrienne and Robbie De Castris, Aurora and Jaime Girard, Danielle, Anna, Peter, Mark, Lily and Cole Richard and Jonah Smith aided and abetted by Brenda and Ted Richard, Carol Glencross, Sue Hammond, Lenore and Rod Smith, Mary Ellen De Castris, Martha Hogg and the Rev. Canon Bruce Glencross