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Christmas Gifts

My poetry professor, Dr. Lee M. Johnson, had a tradition of writing Christmas poems. The following one struck me as particularly appropriate to share right now, as we find ourselves between Nativity and Theophany – or, in the Western Christian tradition, between Christmas and Epiphany – especially in light of my Christmas homily:

The magi and the shepherds who were there
Beheld a wonder that we cannot share;
Absent, as usual, will we never see
A revelation or epiphany?
When will it be our turn in Bethlehem?
Or is it all that wise to envy them?
They heard some angels sing and saw a light
And know of something special in that night,
But further into time they could not go;
They did not know what their descendants know:
That light is Light, that night is Night, that love
Is Love restored to Life by God above;
They knew of birth; we know of death, and more;
What happens after saves what goes before:
The gift of Christmas is a pledge of peace;
The gift of Easter shows it does not cease.

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Fr. John Behr Lecture this Sunday!

Fr. John Behr will be at St. John of Shanghai Orthodox Church (195 E Windsor Rd, North Vancouver, BC  V7N 1J9) on Sunday, September 17th, and will be giving a talk on encountering Christ entitled, “The Great Mystery: We Shall All Be Changed” at 3:30pm.

There is no charge for attending, nor any obligation to sign up beforehand, but it would be helpful, if you are planning to attend, if you would fill out this brief form so we have some idea of how many people might be coming: https://forms.gle/32WfUQywv7yb7fMM6