Epiphany, January 6

Epiphany (Greek: επιφάνεια, "the appearance; miraculous phenomenon") is a Christian feast intended to celebrate the 'shining forth' or revelation of God to mankind in human form, in the person of Jesus. The observance had its origins in the eastern Christian churches, and included the birth of Jesus; the visit of the Magi, or Wise Men (traditionally named Gaspar, Melchior and Balthasar) who arrived in Bethlehem; and all of Jesus' childhood events, up to his baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptist. The date of the feast was fixed on January 6. Ancient Liturgies speak of Illuminatio, Manifestatio, Declaratio (Lighting, Manifestation, Declaration); cf. St. Matthew's Gospel (iii, 13–17); St. Luke's (iii, 22); and St. John's (ii, 1–11); where the Baptism and Marriage at Cana are dwelt upon. The Christian Churches have traditionally also talked of a "Revelation to the Gentiles", where the term Gentile meant all non-Jewish peoples. The Biblical Magi represent the non-Jewish peoples of the world.

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It's 6 AM Saturday morning on the 6th of January, 2007. It's still dark. The temperature is 46°F. and pouring rain. While spring weather in January is pleasant enough, it is disconcerting to say the least. These conditions are abnormal for this time of year. The keepers of weather history say that this is the warmest winter on record. Maybe it's a trick performed by tree huggers, using that weather machine in Michael Crichton's "State of Fear." Personnaly, I think it's a warning, an omen if you will. I don't have any ready answers, nor do I think that simply curtailing our energy use will reverse the trend. I do think we need to do some serious nonpolitical studing, research, etc. and make a more positive move in the direction of reversing this thing called global warming. This warming may be part of some global plan far beyond the concepts and control of homosapiens. We may in fact over estimate our importance in the universe as it unfolds. If we're mere pawns in the grand scheme of things, so be it. There are at least two opposing views in in this debate, and I come down on the side of, let's acknowledge global warming, and take steps to reverse it as much as is possible.

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Moving on: We enjoyed dinner with Leigh, Karen and Skye last evening at the Lodge restaurant. Of course the topic of the unseasonal weather came up. Leigh is my partner in kayaking adventures. We surmised that tomorrow (today now) would be a good day to slide those relaxation machines into the St. lawrence for a paddle. At this exact moment, the rain has stopped. If the weather stays rainless and the wind calm, we'll be out paddling soon after first light.

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Otherwise I'll be staying in and playing around with my scanner. Also, I'll be giving some ink to the prompt of "kissing" for tomorrow's Sunday Scribblings.