Today is the Feast of Epiphany, according to Western
Christians. According to Wikipedia,
the feast day commemorates not only the arrival of the Magi in Bethlehem, but
the “revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ.” I’ll buy the
Magi’s arrival; it’s the manifestation of God part that stretches the date’s
credibility. Not that there is anything wrong with it. It just isn’t for me.
The same Wikipedia page has a link to the page for “Epiphany (feeling).”
Which credits James Joyce for possibly coining the usage of epiphany to mean “an experience of
sudden and striking realization.” His stories in The Dubliners all involve characters coming to some realization
that alters their view of themselves or the world around them. It is
conceivable that large doses of beer and whiskey may have had something to do
with those “striking realizations.” Interestingly, for me, anyway, the author
of this particular page also equates William Burroughs’ Naked Lunch as a
terminology of epiphany, as well. How do Christians feel about having a word so
closely associated with the first big feast day of the year secularly implying
“drug-influenced state(s)” and beer-soaked revelations? Then again, the Magi
brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Frankincense and myrrh are both popular
for use in incense, and we know who burns most of the incense, don’t we? Let’s
just say many of us stop “burning incense” when we get out of college.
Perhaps, in a related vein, back
in 1974, Tom Scholz was burning incense when he had an epiphany in his basement
in 1974, and the song “More Than a Feeling” manifested itself in his mind.
Boston, my favorite band EVER, released the song on their 1976 debut. I am
certainly not trying to equate Tom Scholz with the Son of God. Nor am I
implying that “More Than a Feeling” is a song of anything more than mild
musical significance. It just happens to be where my mind took me on this
particular intellectual exercise.
Maybe more significantly, today is
also the birthday of Jeanne d’Arc, according to some sources. Being an
inveterate skeptic, I suspect that her birthday is more than likely not on
January 6. It just seems too coincidental that the day that the (arguably)
second most famous Christian martyr (sorry John, the Baptist) was born on the
same day as the manifestation of the first most famous martyr as a human being.
Then again, if one negates the manifestation of the Son of God thing (see
paragraph one), Joanie’s birthday is a bit easier to swallow. At any rate, Joan
was a fascinating young woman--most likely delusional, but fascinating
nonetheless. And without her inspiring and tragic tale, we would not have one
of the most beautiful silent films ever (The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)) nor
one of the best-known Smiths songs (“Big Mouth Strikes Again”). Granted one
might argue that the Smiths couldn’t have written that song without the
invention of the Walkman, either. You might also argue that they might have
written the song even without the allusion to Joan (or a Walkman), but that just
wouldn’t be the same song, would it. At any rate, wouldn't it be sad if the Smiths were most well-known simply for "Girlfriend in a Coma." Seriously.
Most unfortunately, however, today
is the final day of Winter Break for kiddos in this neck of the woods.
Tomorrow, we will be back to shaping young minds. And I hope to find more time
to keep up with this blog, albeit with a new focus. Instead of Central Standard's traditional, unfocused, hard to maintain ramble from random thought to random thought, I hope to focus on today's tone of edification
and the loose division of fact and opinion to create a regular discussion of topical
current and historical events. If
anyone has any ideas for topics, leave a shout in the comments.
Thanks for stopping by!
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