Stop And Smell The Coffee

(Yes, I know, it’s been a long time since I’ve posted. I really need to get better at that, and so on. Okay, now that’s out of the way, on to the actual post.)

As anyone who really enjoys coffee knows, drinking coffee is much more than just consuming a beverage. It’s certainly more than getting a “quick pick-me-up”. It is an experience that involves the whole body.

Now, certainly, there are many ways to enjoy coffee. Drink it with breakfast, while reading the morning paper, or however else you choose to drink it. I often drink my coffee in a travel mug or while reading in the morning, before work. But this morning, somehow, it was different.

This morning, as usual, I got up and fixed eggs for myself and my wife, and got the coffee going. As many of my friends know, I’ve taken to roasting my own coffee at home. This way, every week, I have a freshly-roasted batch to enjoy. Today, I was brewing an Ethiopian Dry Process Guji Sidamo that I had roasted Sunday evening.

As I was finishing my eggs, and my wife had already left for work, the coffee finished brewing. I pushed down the plunger of the french press, poured my first cup, and spent the next few seconds just taking in the aroma. Even in the scent I could detect a full body that complimented the hint of sweetness I’d already noticed the past couple mornings.

Then I took a sip. I let it linger on my tongue a bit before swallowing, savoring the flavor. It wasn’t intense, certainly not the kind of thing that would make you want to jump up and say “wow!” It was subtle, full, and calm. After the coffee was swallowed, the taste continued to linger, and I waited a moment before taking the next sip. Somehow, this coffee tasted better much more than usual. I still had a bagel to finish, but I honestly didn’t want to eat it, knowing that it would interrupt the taste I was so enjoying.

So, there I sat, for at least 15 minutes this morning, probably longer, serenely sipping my coffee and looking out the window as the dawn began its transition into day. I thought about picking up the book I’ve been reading, but I just didn’t want to distract myself from the coffee. Everything seemed, for that period of time, to be quiet and calm around me. Even our dog barking in the backyard didn’t really disturb the peace.

I said earlier that drinking coffee is an experience that involves the whole body. I’ve mentioned the smell, and the taste already. There’s also sight. Of course, seeing the coffee isn’t essential to enjoying it, but I think it does add some to take a moment and watch the steam rising from your cup. And you’ve got the feeling of the hot cup in your hands, and the warm feeling in your mouth and down your throat as you drink the coffee.

Sight and hearing also take in everything around you, because the experience is not limited to the coffee. As I mentioned, I enjoyed also looking out the window on our backyard, and hearing the sounds around me. When it’s warmer, I prefer to have my coffee on the front porch, where I can hear birds in the summer, and hear people starting their cars to leave for work, and so on.

In the end, I suppose I’m not just talking about coffee. Taking my time to leisurely enjoy my coffee this morning simply helped me do something I don’t do enough of: to stop. Not just in the sense of “cessation of activity”, but, for a moment, at least, I took a break from all the things that stress me out and just enjoyed God’s creation: the coffee, the light silhouetting the trees to the east, and all the things around me. I let my mind wander and just forgot about “life.”

Google Voice After a Week

This Tuesday, I got something exciting in my email inbox: an invite to Google Voice! I’d signed up a few months ago, but wasn’t expecting to hear anything for a while; I knew people who had signed up over a year ago. So I figured, when they began sending out the invites, there would be a lot of people between them and me.

I guess Google sent out a lot of invites.

When I first heard about the service, my interest was mainly business-related. At my current job, I have the freedom to work from home, my company’s office, or the client’s office (I mainly only work with one client). The freedom is nice, but with it comes the hassle of making sure people can contact me between three phones. Google Voice, quite obviously, solves this problem; I now have one number they can call and it will reach me wherever I happen to be.

As I began placing and receiving calls through Google Voice at work, I discovered another very useful feature: notes. GV keeps a log of all calls you place, receive, and miss, which you can view on the web site. This can be helpful in and of itself, because you can see who you called and when. What’s better is the ability to add a note to your call log. I have been using this with my work calls so I can keep track of what I talked about with people. This, I think, can be very helpful not only for work but also when talking to customer service or tech reps.

Another feature that sounds promising is recording. In addition to making an audio recording of the call, I believe GV will also provide a transcript as it does with voicemail (I’m not sure about this, though). This sounds like it would be really useful when, for example, dealing with customer service reps. However, there are a couple things that keep this from being what it could be.

First of all, you can currently only record inbound calls. This is probably a technical issue (since you interact with Google Voice through the DTMF tones, calling a phone tree, for example, would present a conflict), but it severely limits the usefulness of the feature. It isn’t very often that a customer service rep calls me.

Secondly, people are kind of freaked about the idea of recording calls. To comply with local and federal laws, the GV service will announce when the call is being recorded. This is likely to make the other person nervous, and they may not feel comfortable speaking at all with a recorder on. I’ve read somewhere that some companies actually train their reps to end the call if it’s being recorded (despite the fact that they record your calls). I’m not sure if that is true, though I think if it is, I would probably not want to do business with such a company.

Overall, Google Voice is a pretty cool service. However, there is one major drawback: it adds an extra level of complexity to the simple process of using a telephone. This is probably intrinsic to the nature of the service, but I can think of some ways it could be improved.

Receiving calls is probably about as good as it gets. On your end, when you receive a call, you pick up whatever phone you want, and the first thing you hear is GV’s announcement of who is calling. You can then choose to answer the call or send them to voicemail. Sending them to voicemail presents a couple options as well: you can just forward them and hang up or you can listen in as they record their voicemail. This last option is similar to what people often did with answering machines before caller id.

On the caller’s end, the default behavior is that, if the caller is in you contacts list, they immediately hear ringing. If the caller is unrecognized, Google Voice asks them to record their name to play back to you when you pick up. This behavior is configurable, so that you can choose to require this of all unknown callers, only blocked callers, or turn it off completely.

Placing a call, however, is where things get complicated. You have two options for placing a call: first, you can log onto the website (or the mobile site) and select the person you want to call. GV will ask you which phone you want to use, and then it will dial both your phone and the person you’re calling. When you pick up, you’ll be connected.

However, what if I’m out and about, and don’t want to log onto the mobile site from my phone? I can then call my own GV number, put in my pin, and select to make an outbound call. Then I enter the number I want to dial and it connects me.

The problem here is that many of us, having gotten used to just pulling up a number from our address lists, don’t know very many phone numbers off the top of our heads. There are ways to circumvent this; for example, you can edit the person’s number in your address book to first dial GV, pause, enter your pin, pause, select 1, pause, and enter the number. This automates your calling, but is still a bit of a hassle.

I think there is a fairly simple way to automate the system, though: voice recognition. Google already uses voice recognition in their GOOG-411 service (a free directory assistance service), and cell phones have been using voice dialing for some time now (my past 3 cell phones have supported it). Honestly, I’m surprised they haven’t already implemented this.

Sorry this has been such a long post, but I had a lot to say. Google Voice is a very promising service. Sure, it’s got a few issues, but I’m sure, over time, they’ll work them out. Some issues, I think, are unavoidable with a system like this, but people can adapt. If they get the issues they can fix worked out though, I may well begin using my Google Voice number for personal as well as business calls.

Saturday Morning

One of my favorite times of the week is Saturday mornings. Granted, most Saturdays, I end up sleeping until noon, making up for the sleep I missed the rest of the week. But the best Saturdays are the ones that I wake up early enough to say morning prayers, fix myself some coffee, and go sit on the front porch to enjoy the freshest part of the day. Of course, fixing breakfast for my wife and myself fits into that, as well, but that depends on when she wakes up.

I think a lot of what I love about Saturday mornings really just applies to mornings in general. Everything about the morning seems different, somehow. The light seems newer (even if you wake up after sunrise). More so than that, the air smells fresher. After a hot shower and a couple cups of coffee, I don’t think there is a better way to wake yourself up than to go outside and take a good deep breath of morning air.

It seems there’s a psychological boost you get from being up in the morning, especially after having a good night’s sleep. At least for myself, I’ve noticed that I feel more energetic, happier, and more productive when I get up early. I think I actually feel less stressed in general.

Of course, this doesn’t seem to apply when I have to wake up early. If I’m up early because I have to work, for example, then I don’t feel like I get that boost. I think a big part of that, though, is that I feel rushed. Even if I wake up plenty early, it’s still in the back of my mind that I have to be ready to go by a certain time.

I think that’s why I enjoy Saturday mornings more than any other; I don’t usually have anywhere to be. I can wake up at my own pace. I can go sit on my front porch and enjoy drinking my coffee. I can take my time saying morning prayers. I can write on my blog (if I can think of anything to write about). I can listen to the birds sing, neighbors mowing their grass, and dogs barking. I can watch birds fly around in the trees nearby. And if I don’t get up from the porch swing until noon, that’s okay.

Well, except for this particular Saturday morning. It rained yesterday, so it’s nice and cool out, despite being a sunny, mid-July day, and my wife thinks it would be a great time to go for a walk. I agree.

Celebrating our Independence

Happy Independence Day, everyone! It’s been a while (again) since I last updated this blog. However, I just can’t think of anything to write today. Perhaps I’ll post something more interesting later this weekend, but for now, I will simply leave you with two things:

1) Father Stephen, on the blog, Glory to God for All Things, re-posted an older entry on his blog for Independence Day: Civilizations and the Kingdom – A Call to Prayer. It is a good meditation to read today; let us not forget that this nation is not the Kingdom of God.

2) Secondly, I think it is appropriate to post, here, the text of the Declaration of Independence. This is the document in which the American colonies declared their secession from the British Empire. It is interesting to me that the idea of secession is so ridiculed in America today, when it is the root of our very existence as a nation. (This text is from Wikisource.) Read the rest of this entry »

Return to Blogging

Wow, it’s been a long time since I last posted. I hope everyone had a good Easter/Pascha, and I hope y’all are having a good Eastertide (i.e., the season between Easter and the Feast of the Ascension; also, “everyone” and “y’all” refer to my theoretical readership). Christ is risen!

As usual, a lot has happened and little seems to have happened since my last post. Obviously, the biggest event to occur was Easter. My last post was just at the beginning of Lent, expressing my hope that I would manage to keep my focus on Christ and the real reason for fasting and so on. Well, “the best laid plans of mice and men,” I suppose. But, isn’t that, to some degree, a part of Lent. For me, at least, it always serves as a reminder of my own weakness; it always seems to be a magnifying glass on my own shortcomings. And I am reminded of Christ, and His mercy and grace.

Anyway, of course, Spring has come, which brings me back out onto my front porch to enjoy this Saturday morning with a cup of coffee. The trees are all already full of leaves, the weather is warm, if a bit humid, the birds are singing, and the dog has more to do during the day than destroy our house from the outside. On the downside, it seems to rain almost every day lately.

I have also decided to start doing my own mainenance on our cars. Both of them are around 10 years old, and are starting to require more frequent trips to the shop. After an unexpected visit to the shop (and coming out almost $1000 poorer) for my car, a friend of mine put a bug in my ear about doing the work myself. And, so, when the rotors on my wife’s car seemed to be warped (again), he helped me change them and the brakes out. After that, I went out and bought the basic tools I’ll need, and started cleaning up some in the garage (it’s still largely full of cardboard boxes from when we moved in). My next project was changing the oil on my wife’s car, which went pretty well.

Then I decided to tackle the brakes on my car. I’m going to be replacing all four, but to be safe, I’m just going to do the front together, then the rear together. However, when I went to follow the instructions in the Chilton manual I bought to life the car, I ended up denting the crossmember with the jack. So far, it doesn’t look like I’ve done any serious damage to the car, and now I know (after doing more research) that this car is not built to be jacked up by the cross member. However, I’ve been a little hesitant to try working on it again.

If it weren’t for the fact that I have already both both sets of brake pads, I would actually be inclined to giving up for now and taking it into a shop to get the brakes done. However, I’ve spent the money on the pads; I’m going to try again. If I have to, I’ll just lift one wheel of the car at a time.

This was my original plan for this morning, but I ended up sleeping in instead. Also, considering that it’s actually nice out (not raining) right now, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to sit out here and enjoy the morning. I’m debating on whether I’ll have time to do the brakes this afternoon (when it is supposed to be raining) before going to church for Vespers. I’ve missed the past couple weeks, and would hate to miss 3 weeks of Vespers in a row.

Well, I suppose that’s enough for now. The battery is almost dead on the lappy, and it’s getting near lunchtime.

Great Lent is Coming

Tomorrow is Cheesefare Sunday, also known as Forgiveness Sunday. ‘Cheesefare’ refers to the fact that it is the last day for eating dairy products (last Sunday was ‘Meatfare’, the last day for meat). With the end of tomorrow comes the season of Great Lent.

This being my third year observing Lent in the Orthodox fashion (my second year as an Orthodox Christian; three years ago, I was still a catechumen), I find that I approach Lent with a joyfulness and also with dread. With dread because I am really going to miss my bacon cheeseburgers for the next 6 weeks or so. With joyfulness because it is a season of repentence, a season in which the whole liturgical life of the Church encourages us, in a more intense way than normal, toward repentence, and I know that I desperately need it.

And, yet, that aspect of Lent is so easy to forget in the attempt to keep the food fast. It is so easy to merely abstain from certain foods, and forget God. Apart from a conscious effort, one can spend the entirety of Lent “going through the motions,” as people at my former Baptist church often say. Without renewing one’s focus regularly, one may very well come upon Holy Week and realize, “I have wasted the Fast.”

For that reason, I am very grateful for a recent post by Father Stephen, an Orthodox priest in Tennessee who keeps the blog Glory to God for All Things. He has, in the past, posted sections of St. Nikolai Velimirovich’s writing, “Prayers by the Lake,” and the other day, he posted a section from that work on Fasting. It has encouraged me so much, I would like to (with apologies to whomever apologies are due) re-post it here in its entirety:

XLI

With fasting I gladden my hope in You, my Lord, Who are to come again.

Fasting hastens my preparation for Your coming, the sole expectation of my days and nights.

Fasting makes my body thinner, so that what remains can more easily shine with the spirit.

While waiting for You, I wish neither to nourish myself with blood nor to take life–so that the animals may sense the joy of my expectation.

But truly, abstaining from food will not save me. Even if I were to eat only the sand from the lake, You would not come to me, unless the fasting penetrated deeper into my soul.

I have come to know through my prayer, that bodily fasting is more a symbol of true fasting, very beneficial for someone who has only just begun to hope in You, and nevertheless very difficult for someone who merely practices it.

Therefore I have brought fasting into my soul to purge her of many impudent fiancé’s and to prepare her for You like a virgin.

And I have brought fasting into my mind, to expel from it all daydreams about worldly matters and to demolish all the air castles, fabricated from those daydreams.

I have brought fasting into my mind, so that it might jettison the world and prepare to receive Your Wisdom.

And I have brought fasting into my heart, so that by means of it my heart might quell all passions and worldly selfishness.

I have brought fasting into my heart, so that heavenly peace might ineffably reign over my heart, when Your stormy Spirit encounters it.

I prescribe fasting for my tongue, to break itself of the habit of idle chatter and to speak reservedly only those words that clear the way for You to come.

And I have imposed fasting on my worries so that it may blow them all away before itself like the wind that blows away the mist, lest they stand like dense fog between me and You, and lest they turn my gaze back to the world.

And fasting has brought into my soul tranquility in the face of uncreated and created realms, and humility towards men and creatures. And it has instilled in me courage, the likes of which I never knew when I was armed with every sort of worldly weapon.

What was my hope before I began to fast except merely another story told by others, which passed from mouth to mouth?

The story told by others about salvation through prayer and fasting became my own.

False fasting accompanies false hope, just as no fasting accompanies hopelessness.

But just as a wheel follows behind a wheel, so true fasting follows true hope.

Help me to fast joyfully and to hope joyously, for You, my Most Joyful Feast, are drawing near to me with Your radiant smile.

I think I am going to try to re-read this regularly throughout Lent, to re-center myself. I think I am also going to take more seriously the admonition of my own priest, Father Jacob, to “turn off the TV,” so to speak. I haven’t decided what all I am going to cut out (I do know I won’t be keeping up with Heroes this Lent…which will be very difficult for me!); I need to make that decision soon, I guess.

That said, if I disappear from anywhere that I normally frequent online (Twitter, Facebook, etc.), I’ll probably be back after Pascha (Easter). I think I may continue blogging, but I’m not sure how often I’ll post. That’s nothing different from normal, though.

No More Flying for Me

I generally tend to stay away from political topics, both on- and off-line. Whenever I discuss them, I usually end up getting angry and frustrated. However, today, I read something that I feel the need to post about: the new scanning machines the TSA is now testing.

According to this article in USA Today, these machines have been rolled out in the Tulsa airport already, as a preliminary test before they go into full operation. It sounds like many of the passengers who went though the machines didn’t really know how the machines worked.

Basically, they are sort of like the X-Ray glasses many young boys have dreamed off. You know, the ones that would let you see through people’s clothing? To be more specific (quoted from the article),

The machines use electromagnetic waves to create pictures of energy reflected off people. The metallic-looking images show outlines of private body parts and blur passengers’ faces. Two Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screeners in a closed room near the checkpoint view the images on computer monitors and relay information on radio headsets to checkpoint screeners. [emphasis mine]

Elsewhere, the article states that the machines “produce vivid pictures of what is underneath passengers’ clothing.” Granted, the machines will “blur passengers’ faces,” but to be honest, that doesn’t make me feel any better.

Currently, the TSA is only testing these machines, but once they go into production, they will replace the ubiquitous metal detectors that we have become so accustomed to. And what if you would rather not pass through one of these machines?

“It’s a little too revealing,” said Deborah Newell, who had seen images created by the scanner on local TV news Wednesday. When Newell, 29, a software-project manager from Charlotte, declined to go through the scanner, a female screener gave her a traditional pat-down search.

Kerry Holden, 48, of Miami also opted for a pat-down. She said the machine’s electronics might weaken her pacemaker battery. [emphasis mine]

A pat-down search. That’s what the police do with a criminal they’re arresting. So, either you receive a virtual strip-search, or you get patted-down like a criminal. And I think we’ve all heard stories about what happens to people who object to this sort of TSA foolishness (here’s a hint: arrested, detained, whatever word you want to use for it).

Is it just me, or does it seem like the government is going too far?

Religious Freedom: How Far?

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
—First Amendment to the US Constitution

Freedom of religion is a much-cherished ideal in the United States. In fact, it is something that is just taken for granted; no one even questions whether we should have freedom to choose our own religion or not. Jews can worship as freely as Muslims and Hindus and Bhuddists and Christians. Orthodox and Catholic Christians can worship openly and freely in a largely Protestant country. And that guy who wants to worship a rock in his backyard? Well, his neighbors will certainly look at him a little oddly, but there’s no law stopping him.

Now, let me take a quick moment to note that I, for one, do not believe that all religions are equally true. I am a member of the Orthodox Church because I believe that, of all religions and denominations, it alone has the fullness of the Truth, and there is nothing to be gained by compromising that belief. However wrong I may believe others to be, and whatever I may say to them in conversation about their and my beliefs, I fully support their freedom to worship as they see best. I would not want that freedom to be taken from me.

However, every so often, a case comes up where the question must be asked: how far does religious freedom go? I came across such a case the other day in an article posted to Twitter by one of the people I follow. This article was: Trials for Parents Who Chose Faith Over Medicine

In summary, an 11-year-old girl has died of complications as a result of untreated diabetes. Her parents had not taken her to a doctor because the church they are members of teaches that “God alone has the ability to heal” (as the article states). Other cases of children dieing of similarly treatable, or even curable, diseases because of their parents religious beliefs about medicine are mentioned in the article. In this case, the parents have been arrested, and are facing 25 years in jail for “reckless endangerment.”

Since I read that article, I’ve had mixed feelings about the case. On the one hand, it saddens me to hear of the harm that is be caused by wrong beliefs. And, certainly, those who believe that we should not seek medical help when necessary are mistaken and deceived. I know of nothing to indicate that God requires this of us.

At the same time, should the parents be punished for this? What they did was foolish, but, given what little information I have about the case, it sounds like they did so in good faith (pun not intended). It sounds like they did what they believed they should do for their daughter: they prayed for her and commended her to God. Had they not believed that they shouldn’t bring their daughter to the doctor, they may well have had her there at the first opportunity.

The parents responded to the court the charges violate their First Amendment rights, that the government is taking a role in matters of religion. So, ultimately, the case is about how far freedom of religion goes. Is freedom of religion guarunteed even to those who cause harm to themselves or others by their practices? Certainly, one could say that Muslim terrorists are acting according to their religion in their attacks (and before anyone comes complaining about that statement, I just note that, whatever other Muslims may believe, certainly many if not all of the terrorists would argee with what I just said), but we would say that’s not a valid argument, because they’re killing and harming people who have nothing to do with their religion. But what about this case, when the harm is within the family? What if the daughter, although 11, agreed with her parents (something we don’t know)? Was it them her choice, or are her parents still responsible?

And, then, there’s this statement from the judge: “The free exercise clause of the First Amendment protects religious belief, but not necessarily conduct.” Honestly, though I understand the context of the statement, such a precedent scares me.

I don’t really know what to think about this. Obviously, we should pray for all involved in this case. At the same time, as citizens of the United States, who vote for their leaders and (supposedly) have some say in the laws that are passed, it would seem like we should have an opinion on this. So, what thoughts might anyone out there have about this?

Ruby Tuesday

This past Friday, my wife and I had an interesting experience eating at a local Ruby Tuesday. Apparently, we frequent this restaurant rather frequently. Not only did the manager stop by our table to thank us for eating there so often (as he put it, he sees us there almost every Friday night), but, when we received the check, we learned that he had given us our appetizer for free.

Now, we know that we eat there a lot. It seems like that is our default if we can’t think of where to go. I can always find something I like at Ruby Tuesday. However, until the other night, we had not realized quite how often that was.

As we were leaving the restuarant, we began talking about the role that Ruby Tuesday has played in our relationship. We met there, we celebrated our engagement there, and we even had our rehearsal dinner there.

Back when I was in college, the church I had grown up in (Southern Baptist) was outgrowing it’s facilities. Plans had been made to build a new, larger building, but, until then, there wasn’t enough room for all the Sunday School classes to meet. To handle this, the church had gotten permission from various businesses in the area to let us hold our classes in their buildings. My class ended up meeting in the Ruby Tuesday down the street. It was a pretty decent arrangement; the only issue was that we had to be out in time for them to open for business. Another class met at a Buffalo’s restaurant, but eventually they combined with our class at the Ruby Tuesday.

One Sunday morning, Kristen tried to go to the Buffalo’s class, only to discover that the Buffalo’s class was no more. Instead, she ended up at the Ruby Tuesday class. It just so happened that I had been called upon to share my testimony (for those unfamiliar with the lingo, that means sharing my story of how I came to be a Christian), and, apparently, Kristen was immediately impressed with me. She tells me that she spoke to me after the class, although I don’t remember that. My first recollection of meeting her was the following Wednesday.

At that time, the college/young singles ministry had a “Bible study” on Wednesday nights. I put Bible study in quotes because it was really more of a small-scale worship service. Generally, the service started with a praise band leading the group in song, and then the C/YS minister would give a sermon, followed by an invitation (i.e., come forward to be saved). Among the group of friends I hung out with, we had a tradition of going to Ruby Tuesday every Wednesday afterwards. It also just so happened that the Wednesday after Kristen first saw me at Sunday School was my 21st Birthday.

One of my friends met Kristen at church that night, and invited her to join us for dinner. She sat across from me at the table and worked her way into conversation with me. I have since said that she was the best birthday present I received that year.

We continued to hang out with friends at Ruby Tuesday for a while, until people began to get tired of eating there every week, and started going other places.

As time went on, many things changed. We began dating, eventually left the Baptist church, and converted to Eastern Orthodoxy. Kristen spent most of her time downtown at school, and I graduated from my college, moved out of my parents’ house and in with a friend, and got a job. Three years to the day after we met, I proposed. To do so, I took her on a date that recreated the closest thing to a “first date” we’d had. We went to Waffle House for lunch, and then to a nearby state park we had often hiked at. It was at the park that I proposed. Then, to celebrate our new engagement, we had dinner at Ruby Tuesday. I had forgotten about this, actually, but Kristen reminded me of it the other evening.

A little over 8 months later, we were about to get married. We decided to have our rehearsal dinner somewhere that had been significant to our relationship, and that meant Ruby Tuesday. Unfortunately, because our church was downtown, we couldn’t work it out to have lunch at the restaurant we had met and celebrated our engagement at, so we had to find one closer to the church, but it was still a Ruby Tuesday.

Perhaps this may be part of why we like eating there so often. Perhaps, every time we eat at Ruby Tuesday, we are reminded of these connections the restaurant has with our relationship. Perhaps I’m looking way too much into it. Whatever the reason, I’m sure we’ll continue visiting that restaurant for a long time.

Happy Epiphany/Theophany!

For those who don’t know, in the Eastern Orthodox church, today is the Feast of the Theophany of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in which we commemorate Christ’s Baptism in the Jordan. The word “Theophany” means “appearance/showing of God” [Wikipedia]. The reason this word is applied to this feast is because, at Christ’s Baptism, He was revealed to the Word world [edited 2008-01-07] to be the Son of God:

It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (Mark 1:9-11)

In addition to the proclamation of Christ as the Son of God, the Trinity is also here revealed, as all three Persons are clearly present, as the Troparion (a short hymn) of the Feast explains:

When Thou wast baptized in the Jordan, O Lord, the worship of the Trinity made it’s appearance. For the voice of the Father bore witness to Thee, when He called Thee His beloved Son. And the Spirit in the form of a dove confirmed the truth of the word. O Christ our God Who hast appeared and hast enlightened the world, glory to Thee!

Also, we believe that, by His Baptism in the Jordan, Christ blessed the waters, and so we commemorate this with the Great Blessing of Waters that occurs, usually after Liturgy, on this feast.

For a more detailed description of all this, go here.

Originally, January 6 was not only the celebration of Christ’s Baptism, but also of His birth and the visitation of the Magi. The Feast of the Nativity of Christ (Christmas) became a seperate feast celebrated on Dec 25 later on, for the purpose of offsetting the pagan feast of the Sun. This, of course, led to the traditional 12 days of Christmas, the period between Christmas and the Theophany in which no fasting is allowed (except for the Eve of Theophany, which is prescribed as a strict fast in preparation for the celebration of the Feast).

In the West, by the way, this Feast is called Epiphany, and is primarily the celebration of the Magi’s coming to visit the infant Christ. The idea, as I understand it, is similar, though: Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, the Light of the World, is revealed.

So, to my Western friends, happy Epiphany, and to my Eastern friends, happy Theophany!