The Cathedral of St. Andrew

January 2023

Note from Canon Heather+

We are living in a world that is absolutely transparent,

and God is shining through it all the time.

Thomas Merton

Epiphany Blessings, St. Andrew’s—

Grace and Peace be with you!

You know, in many ways the Epiphany season can be seen as a bridge between one “biggie” and another – seen as the time we catch our collective breath after Christmas before diving headlong into Lent and Easter. And, if this is all we see Epiphany as, a bridge from point A to point B, then we will miss out on the over-arching revelatory power of this incredible season which reveals Jesus as Messiah, week after week. Each Gospel during this season gives us an account of “A-ha! You’re are the one the prophets talked about!”, a story of “Oh! Wow! It really is you!”

Emmanuel, God with us, is announced at Jesus' incarnation by the songs of angels throughout the Advent and Christmas seasons. Messiah, the promised Savior from prophecy, God’s own self in the flesh, is witnessed to each week during the season of Epiphany – and not by a small handful of folks in Bethlehem, but by crowds of people from all backgrounds and biases. And what is the over-arching message: all people, all of us, belong in the story of God’s love. God is revealed, ongoing, now, still, always.

Let’s not rush over through the season and miss out on the transformative and transformational beauty of that epiphany for us – it is, after all,

Good News – for us, for everyone! Over these weeks here at the Cathedral, we do have opportunities for reflection and consideration of this goodness – our Wednesday Bible Study which will dive into these Epiphany-specific scriptures continues, weekday prayer opportunities on Tuesday and Friday (online) and Wednesday (in-person, Noon Mass) continue, and we are adding in a Wednesday evening in-person gathering called PBS-St. Andrew’s – more information below! Join us!

During this Epiphany season, my prayer for all of us is that we do Epiphany and be present in all that is revealed along the way during these five weeks. In this “transparent world”, as Thomas Merton mentions, epiphanies are abundant! Use these weeks for reflection:

Where do you see God made manifest during your days?
Where is God shining through for you?
How do you feel knowing you belong to God and with God – that God’s love is with you?
How do you make that love manifest in the world?

Keep a journal – an epiphanies list! Mark it down, take a picture, and chart out for yourself those times, places, people who are “shining” through for you. Rather than standing on a bridge, we are on a mountaintop taking in the vastness of God’s enormous love for all creation~~ may it be so! May it be so.

In Christ,

Cn Heather+

Songs of thankfulness and praise, Jesus, Lord to thee we raise,

manifested by the star to the sages from afar;

branch of royal David’s stem in thy birth at Bethlehem;

anthems be to thee addressed, God in man made manifest.

Manifest on mountain height, shining in resplendent light,

where disciples filled with awe thy transfigured glory saw.

When from there thou leddest them steadfast to Jerusalem,

cross and Easter Day attest God in man made manifest.

(Christopher Wordsworth, Hymn #135 vv 1, 4)

A Message from the Bishop:

The Feast of the Epiphany

Na ke aloha o ke Akua ma loko o Iesu Kristo, e aloha iā ʻoukou ā pau!

We begin 2023, yet again, in a complicated and uncertain time. The economy is shaky, there is war in Europe and threats to peace in Asia, a pandemic continues, and our national government seems to be unsteady. This year is beginning like so many other years in human history. What does reality mean for us who know God in Jesus Christ.

For today, I have been rereading the second chapter of Matthew’s Gospel. The account of the birth of Jesus in Matthew’s telling of the story focuses on Jesus as “Emmanuel” (meaning “God with us,” 1:23). The second chapter focuses on the Magi, King Herod and the flight into Egypt. It is the story of dreams and misplaced trust.

It was a time of anxiety. Herod was in power as king with the support of the Roman Empire. He was an outsider who played the games of power with skill and being made king was his reward. The Magi (they are never called “kings” in the story) are astronomers/astrologers (there was no difference in the ancient world) from the “east” (2:1). No, there is no explanation how far east. They are following a star looking for the “king of the Jews.” The story unfolds as they stop by Jerusalem to get directions from Herod. Herod tries to fool the Magi. The Magi find Jesus. They have a dream to avoid Jerusalem on their way home. Joseph has a dream and is warned to flee with Mary and Jesus to Egypt. Herod finds out and orders all the babies murdered. Time passes and Herod dies. Joseph has a dream and is told to return home, but as he does, he avoids Bethlehem and settles in Nazareth.

It is a great story. What does Matthew want to teach? Those first hearers of the story would have immediately connected the story to the story of Moses with an evil king, the murder of children and the flight (this time into Egypt). They also would have connected “kingship” with David. Frankly, they would have understood why Herod and “all of Jerusalem” was frightened at the notion that a king (and not Herod or one of his sons) had been born (2:3). It was a threat to the established order and the Romans didn’t like that. That fear led to a great evil in the murder of the Holy Innocents.

Matthew is reminding his hearers that authority – holy authority – comes from God. Jesus is “God with us.” While raw power not only corrupts, it can also be comforting to those who desire security and certitude. The recognition of the difference can even come from strangers -- the Magi from the “east.” The “true” king must become a political refugee escaping to the Roman Province of Egypt. God acts in a personal way – by dreams in the story. Finally, the story of Jesus is connected to the grand narrative of the Hebrew scripture. It is a story of connection and of universality. It is a personal story of Emmanuel, “God with us”: Jesus.

It us our story. The brokenness and limitations of the world and of civil leaders is real today. The same, of course, is true of me. Anxiety and the desire for security can lead us to accept unjust and even harsh authority. We can turn a blind eye to the brokenness around us. National leaders can direct that great power into violence done to innocents. Refugees still wander the earth seeking safety. It can be overwhelming and frightening. It is a story for 2023.

In such times, I am reminded of the words of Dorothy Day (1897-1980):

I do believe in a personal God, because I too have had revelations, answers to my questions, to my prayers, and if the answer fails to come, which is usually the case because God wants us to work out our own salvation, I have that assurance God gave Saint Paul and he passed on to us, “My grace is sufficient for you.” And what is grace? Participation in the divine life. And that participation means for me light and understanding and conviction, of course only occasionally, but strong enough to carry me along, to lift me up out of depression, discouragement, uncertainty, doubt. (The Reckless Way of Love: Notes on Following Jesus, [Walden, NY: Plough Publishing House, 2017], page 44)

Day was the co-founder (with Peter Maurin) of the Catholic Worker Movement. She was a Roman Catholic lay woman and a social activist. Day is reminding us that for Emmanuel to have impact, God must be “personal.” We cannot put our whole “trust and faith” in the world as it is. As we seek God’s realm of justice and peace, we must also be reminded that it is not up to us alone, but we each must do our part as best we can.

As we live into 2023, I pray that we have the grace of God to have the wisdom of the Magi to seek Emmanuel in the world around us, that we have the ears to hear the dream of God and the courage of Joseph to act upon it, that we have the eyes to see the refugees around us and the hands to help them, and that we all may have that “participation in the divine life” to can carry us through days such as these.

May 2023 be a blessing to each of us.

Aloha ma o Iesu Kristo, ko makou Haku,

+Bob

The Right Reverend Robert L. Fitzpatrick,

Bishop Diocesan

The Episcopal Diocese of Hawai'i

Calendar of Events

Choral Evensong for the Feast of the Epiphany (tr.)

Sunday, January 15

Upcoming Ali'i Sundays

January 15 - Commemorating Queen Kapi'olani

January 29 - Commemorating Queen Emma

February 8 - Commemorating King Kamehameha IV

PBS-St. Andrew’s (Provost’s Book Study) BEGINS

Wednesday, January 18! Save-the-Date!

Join Canon Heather in some good book study and reflection, Wednesday evenings, 6:30p-7:45p, starting January 18.

For our Epiphany undertaking, we will be diving into Scripture and considering the Letter of James. Tucked in the New Testament between Hebrews and the First Letter of Peter, the Letter of James is a book with mysterious authorship and debated relevance. In the letter, the author addresses the spiritual and ethical life of a “congregation” in living out their Christian identity – A perfect way for us to start a new calendar year and embrace our Cathedral's annual meeting reflections and initiatives. (Additionally, your participation in Epiphany will also support Canon Heather’s doctoral work! Thanks in advance!)

So join in! There will be light refreshments and lots of discussion – and we will end our time together each week with the saying of Compline.

PBS-St.Andrew’s (Provost’s Book Study)

Wednesdays, starting Jan. 18

Von Holt Room

6:30pm-7:45pm

Cathedral Annual Meeting on Sunday, January 22

Please join us for the Annual Meeting of the Congregation for 2023! The meeting will take place on Sunday, January 22 at 9:00am in the Cathedral.*

We will be discussing important Cathedral topics such as:

Electing new Chapter members and Diocesan Convention Delegates.
Accepting the 2023 Budget (approved by Cathedral Chapter in December, 2022 meeting).
Reports from Bishop Fitzpatrick and Canon Heather.

The following documents for the Annual Meeting will be released in the Friday email blast on January 20:

Meeting Agenda
Note from Canon Heather
2023 Financials
Chapter Nominee information

Note: the 8am and 10am services on this day will be shortened to accommodate the Annual Meeting.

Outreach

The Cathedral, alongside St. Peter's Episcopal Church, resumes their collection this upcoming Sunday, January 15, of non-perishable food / toiletry donations for Food Vault Hawai'i. Suggested items include:

Canned meats (spam, tuna, chicken, salmon, corned beef, vienna sausage)
Canned vegetables/fruits
Canned meals (stew, spaghetti, chili. chowder)
Canned soups (chicken noodle soup, vegetable broth, chicken broth, bone broth)
Packaged pasta (spinach, wheat, etc)
Tomato sauce, meat sauces
2-5 pound bags of rice
Cup noodles/instant noodles/saimin
Mac n Cheese (ready to make)
Peanut Butter
Jelly, Jam, Honey
Beans, Lentils
Mini boxes of cereal
Granola, Oatmeal
Nuts (almonds, peanuts, etc)
Toiletries (individually wrapped toilet paper, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, body soap, deodorant, pads, tampons)

Collection baskets for the Cathedral will be located on the Diamond Head side of the Cathedral, near the Platform.

For more information on Food Vault Hawai'i, please visit their website.

*If you would like to make a monetary donation, please make checks payable to The Cathedral of St. Andrew, with "Food Vault Hawai'i" in the memo line.