We are a small Episcopal Church on the banks of the Rappahannock in Port Royal, Virginia. We acknowledge that we gather on the traditional land of the first people of Port Royal, the Nandtaughtacund, and we respect and honor with gratitude the land itself, the legacy of the ancestors, and the life of the Rappahannock Tribe. Our mission statement is to do God’s Will in all that we do.

2024 Sun Jan 7

Journey of the Magi (1459)

Source

“Benozzo Gozzoli created Journey of the Magi for the Medici family in Italy in 1459. The Medici were members of a Florentine confraternity that celebrated the journey of the magi to Bethlehem every five years by parading the streets of Florence.

“The Medici often commissioned artworks depicting the magi to display their association with the confraternity. The landscape in the painting resembles Florence, and includes castles and villas owned by the Medici family. Some of the prominent figures in the painting are portraits of Medici family members, such as Piero the Gouty (on the white horse at the left, leading the procession), Cosimo (riding the donkey behind Piero), Piero’s children, Guiliano and Lorenzo, and Benozzo himself. The Florentines in the procession can be identified by their red costumes. The landscape is repetitive, unifying the composition and giving the painting a tapestry-like effect. Tapestries were prestigious commodities in renaissance Europe. Benozzo successfully combines the patterning of tapestries with a Florentine interest in broad panoramic landscapes, strongly modeled figures, animals seen in perspective, and attention to detail in this painting. ”

6th Century Mosaic exposes the Magi

From The Visual Commentary on Scripture
by Timothy Verdon

“As a subject in art, the Adoration of the Magi illustrates the events described in Matthew 2:1–12 and elaborated in the liturgical festivity known by the Greek name of ‘Epiphany’ or ‘Manifestation’. The central meaning of the Adoration for Christians is in fact articulated in 1 Timothy 3:16, which says that Christ, the Messiah promised to the Jews, was also ‘proclaimed to the gentiles, believed throughout the world’.

“Matthew’s Gospel was written for a Jewish public, and his account of Wise Men ‘from the east’ bringing gifts to honour the child whose ‘star’ they had seen rise realizes Isaiah’s words to the Chosen People: ‘The nations will come to your light and kings to your dawning brightness’ (60:3 NJB).

“A sixth-century mosaic in the church of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo at Ravenna suggests this inter-cultural message, showing the Magi clothed in garments that would have looked exotic to a Western audience, wearing ‘Phrygian’ (Anatolian) caps, and advancing with their gifts among palm trees. The mosaic, which gives the Wise Men’s traditional names—Balthasar, Melchior, Gaspar—, is part of a larger programme, and visitors to Sant’Apollinare see the Magi approaching figures of Mary and the baby Jesus, in reference to Matthew’s statement that, when the star they followed halted, they finally saw the Child and his mother (Matthew 2:10–11).

“Behind the Magi in the Ravenna mosaic, we see a procession of female martyrs who also advance toward Christ. These evoke a further meaning attributed to this event by Christian theologians. One of the gifts brought by the Magi, myrrh, was an unguent used to embalm the dead, and Christ’s manifestation to all nations was thus seen to include the mystery of his death: an interpretation legitimated by Matthew’s insistence on King Herod’s attempt to eliminate the baby Jesus, killing all infants of the same age (Matthew 2:13–16). The women martyrs following the Magi in the mosaic had shared Christ’s death.

Sunday’s Links, Jan. 7, 2024

Sunday Links, Jan. 7, 2024, First Sunday after the Epiphany, Jesus’ Baptism

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  • YouTube St. Peter’s Page for viewing services
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  • Location – 823 Water Street, P. O. Box 399, Port Royal, Virginia 22535

  • Lectionary, First Sunday after the Epiphany, Jan 7
  • Servers, First Sunday after the Epiphany, Jan 7
    Lector: Elizabeth Heimbach
    Chalice Bearer: Elizabeth Heimbach
    Altar Cleanup: Andrea Pogue
  • Wed., Jan 10, Ecumenical Bible Study, Parish House, 10am-12pm  Reading Lectionary for Second Sunday after the Epiphany
  • Thurs., Jan 11, Vestry, Parish House, 2pm

  • Jan., 2024 newsletter

  • All articles for Sunday, Jan 7, 2024

    • “A Case for Love”, a Movie for Our Time

    On January 23, 2024, there will be a one night showing of a new movie entitled “A Case for Love“.  The movie originated in 2019, prior to the pandemic by a team led by Brian Ide, a film director in California. 

    Watch the trailer

    Get tickets – $12.75 or $9.50 seniors. Paragon theatre in Fredericksburg, 4pm and 7pm shows.

    Link to Film Website.

    The movie may be a good tie-in to our 2024 theme. St. Peter’s has a 2024 theme of  “ Walk in Love” with 4 distinct seasons. The movie will be shown during one of those seasons, Epiphany, with a title of “Walk in the Light”. Light has been viewed as  a metaphor for righteousness and goodness.   As Bishop Curry writes in his book Love is the Way  “Love as an action is the only thing that has ever changed the world for the better..” “Love is a commitment to seek the good and to work for the good and welfare of others.”

    Ide writes about how the movie idea came to him  “Recently, I had grown more and more troubled by the increasing divisive state of our culture, and found myself contemplating, “What can I do to help?”

    “While that led to many considerations, at the end of the day, all I really knew how to do well is make movies. Combining this glaring need with my skills, I went about the task of making this documentary —to give voice to my own thoughts as well as many others around the country.

    “Bishop Michael Curry, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, inspired the film’s focus as he offered a solution to what ails us: “Love.” Specifically, “Unselfish Love.”

    “As Bishop Curry wrote in his latest book, “When love is the way, the earth will be a sanctuary. When love is the way, we will lay our swords and shields down by the riverside to study war no more. When love is the way, there’s plenty of room for all of God’s children. When love is the way, we actually treat each other, well, like we are actually family.”

    “Could the answer to society’s problems really be that simple and actually within the grasp of each of us?  This film presents what I observed and encountered while criss-crossing back and forth across the U.S.,  in search of the answer. Viewers must decide for themselves, and if their answer is “yes,” they will hopefully be inspired to live—intentionally—more selflessly and become part of the solution, making their  own case for love

    “In the documentary, our film team travels the U.S. searching for people living their lives selflessly and interviews them about how that way of living affects others and themselves. We also interview random people on the street, discussing where they’ve witnessed unselfish love and where they’ve seen its absence. We also learn what well-known figures, including Pete Buttigieg, Al Roker, Sam Waterston, John Danforth, Becca Stevens, Jon Meacham, Russell Moore, Kelly Brown Douglas, and Jim Clyburn, have to say about the topic. Finally, Bishop Michael Curry places all we’ve seen into context.

    “Subjects explored: Racial Justice, Sexual Identity, Military Service, Foster Care, Politics, Sexual Trafficking, Disability, Loss of Loved Ones, Refugees, Volunteering, Food Justice and more.

    “What’s the verdict on “A Case for Love“? Is unselfish love the antidote to what ails us? Join us January 23, 2024 and decide for yourself!

    “The film will be shown on one night in about 1,000 locations. The closest location to us is Paragon movie theatre in Fredericksburg. There are two times – 4pm, 7pm. The film is about 2 hours. The admission is $12.75 adult and seniors $9.50.”

    Read more