Opinion

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Written by: Father Leo M. Joseph

Published: 06 January 2012

In 2006 I was visiting Milan and a local friend arranged for a very scholarly friend of his to guide me on an historical tour of this ancient yet bustling northern Italian city.

Now I had been to Milan twice before but never had such a knowledgeable guide with a little Fiat to drive me to all of the out of the way historic sites.

While we visited the ancient fourth century church of St. Eustorgio at the edge of Milan he pointed to an ancient stone sarcophagus-like container that was inscribed to indicate that it contained the bones of the Three Wise Men.

Explaining that their remains were brought to Milan from Constantinople in 343 A.D. by St. Eustorgio, and that it was now empty, he became increasingly animated, arms waving, face reddening, as he described how they were stolen by the Germans and now are kept in Cologne.

If I had not already known the story, I’d have thought that this just happened last week. I thought it best not to mention that I had several times visited the Three Kings in Cologne, whose names, tradition tells us, are Casper, Melchior and Balthasar. I also did not think it would have been helpful for me to tell him that my maternal grandfather was from Cologne!

As it was, back in the late 1990s, I had stopped in Cologne, and visited their magnificent Gothic Cathedral.

The focal point of the cathedral is a gilded, bejeweled and enameled shrine that is believed to contain the relics of the Magi, who Scripture tells us followed a brilliant star from the East to Bethlehem to worship the Christ Child.

Since then, I have had several other opportunities to make this pilgrimage to honor these holy relics that have been venerated there since the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa had them to be transferred from Milan to Cologne in 1164.

On Jan. 6, we along with Christians around the world celebrated the Feast of Epiphany, the beginning of the Epiphany season (it's also celebrated on the first Sunday of January between Jan. 2 and Jan. 8). Even though it is one of the most ancient and important feasts of the Christian calendar, it has all but been forgotten in 21st Century American culture.

In many Christian countries it is not only a church holy day, but a civil holiday. Many customs and traditions have grown up around its celebration over the centuries and it is known by a variety of names.

In most countries of Europe the most popular is The Feast of the Three Holy Kings, and in England and Ireland as Little Christmas or Twelfth Night. (That’s how we got the song, The Twelve Days of Christmas.)

Quite early in the Christian era these Magi or Wise Men were popularly called “Kings,” referring to passages from Psalm 71:10 and Isaiah 60:3-6. The Gospel does not tell us how many they were. Christians in the Orient had an old tradition that there were twelve Magi. The number three seems only to be based on the threefold gift of gold, frankincense, and myrrh; and that they represented the three known races.

(Another story I’ve been told is that the number of three Magi was insisted on by a very ancient Altar Guild who obstinately refused to pack up a dozen figures of Kings and their camels every year!)

The name of this feast, Epiphany, had become almost unintelligible until recent years when the word “epiphany” crept back into our current speech to describe a sudden revelation or realization, as in “I had an epiphany today about...”

And this is quite correct, as Epiphany comes from an ancient Greek word Epiphaneia meaning manifestation, and was used to designate an official state visit of a king or emperor in the Greco-Roman world. The New Testament applied this term to Christ manifesting Himself as our Divine Savior (John 2:11).

The feast of Christ’s “manifestation” on Jan. 6, including His birth, originated in Egypt a century before the Roman celebration of Christ’s nativity on Dec. 25, and was the earliest known celebration of Christmas. In the following century the two observances were kept side by side with the focus of Dec. 25 on Christ’s birth and Jan. 6 His manifestation to the Magi, as well as His Baptism and His first miracle at the wedding in Cana.

The visit of the Magi to worship the Christ Child in Bethlehem has remained the main object the Epiphany celebration in Western Christianity, with the commemoration of Christ’s Baptism by St. John in the River Jordan now observed on the following Sunday.

We mark this by blessing water after the Sermon on that Sunday and then in place of reciting the Nicene Creed, we stand and renew our Baptismal Vows. Then we are sprinkled with the blessed water as a remembrance of our own Baptism.

Thus we embark on the season of Epiphany which concludes on the Sunday before Lent when we celebrate Christ’s Transfiguration, His ultimate manifestation before His Crucifixion, and Resurrection.

Throughout Epiphany we usually sing one of my favorite hymns:

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 at Jordan's stream, Prophet, Priest and King supreme;

and at Cana, wedding guest, in thy Godhead manifest;

manifest in power divine, changing water into wine;

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 ledest them steadfast to Jerusalem

cross and Easter Day attest God in man made manifest.

I wish each of you a Blessed and Joyous Epiphany!

Father Leo M. Joseph, O.S.F., is parish priest of St. John’s Parish in Lakeport, Calif.

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Written by: Philip Murphy

Published: 30 December 2011

The news of the passing of Steve Elias came as a tremendous shock to the many people he had touched here, as all who knew him understood this man was a rare kind of person, a man of incredible talents and equally impressive levels of compassion.

Most of us here in Lake County knew Steve from his work behind a microphone at KPFZ, where he hosted several shows and was such an integral part of the the huge amount of work that took place behind the scenes to keep the station on the air.

But there were also those hundreds of local people he helped with legal issues and the millions of people who were helped by the dozens of books he authored on handling legal matters yourself, and it was for the latter he became a nationally recognized expert in various areas of the law.

Steve helped me with my own legal matters, and always did it without hesitation or expecting anything in return, he was as close to being a "people's lawyer" as one could possibly get as his goal was to at all times level the playing field in a realm where that is seldom the case.

But there was so much more to Steve than just the law, this man had an insatiable appetite for knowledge and was in my estimation the most intelligent, well-informed person I had ever met.

He was a veteran, spoke fluent Chinese, and somehow ended up here far from his starting point in Vermont. He had endured extreme personal hardships of many kinds yet he was always the first to offer someone in need the help they required without ever considering first what was in it for himself.

He had a tough sort of honesty about him but he was at the core a bleeding heart liberal, a description he would never shy away from, and nothing showed his depth of compassion better than his feelings expressed towards his wife Catherine, who he adored like no man I have ever seen care for their spouse. Together they made a team that was as unique as it was impressive, and now our hearts and prayers go out to Catherine and the rest of the Elias family.

It was a great privilege for me to be able to work with Steve and Catherine for several years at KPFZ. I shall always hold those memories close to my heart and cherish them as much as I have with the others who have gone before them, giants like Jim Kovacs, Charlie Kittleson and Bonnie Perkins.

But I think there is no one I will miss as much as my dear friend Steve Elias, a real-live hero who I will always be indebted to for what he did for me and everyone else who knew this gift of a man.

Philip Murphy lives in Finley, Calif.

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Written by: Jim Steele

Published: 23 December 2011

I can hear it now: What are those government people thinking in making me pass a test for a mussel sticker? My boat sits in my driveway most of the year.

You might not say this one, but imagine any other refrain to the myriad of complaints that could be sung. So, what’s the problem to be solved?

We have over 6,000 resident boats registered as located in Lake County. The threat of quagga or zebra mussels getting into any Northern California water body is finally getting through to many of these boaters.

The impact to Lake County’s visitor-based economy would be devastating and many people get that as well. But how to protect the lake and knowing when this protection is necessary has not been effectively communicated.

For example, a resident boater signs an agreement to be rescreened at a participating screening location if they boat outside the county and before they re-launch here.

Lake County resident boater stickers are routinely seen at lakes around California and out of state, but being rescreened is a very rare event. So maybe this approach is not working as many boaters believe that either their boat could do no wrong or they know best.

The local screener is the frontline protector for the lake and they have the information about what to do when certain lakes are visited.

Originally, the thought was for the resident and screener to get in touch if the resident launched out of the county and returned. But, if this rescreening isn’t happening, providing information direct to the boater about an effective boat treatment might be a better approach.

So, how do you make sure everyone knows what they should do, particularly if just one of those 6,000 gets it wrong we all pay? Find out what they know.

The information of this new approach consists of three parts. What’s the potential impact on Lake County, what is risky boating behavior and how do you lower the risk to near nothing?

This information is provided at the screener locations and at the county Web site. To ensure comprehension of the important facts, a short true/false test is provided.

A 100-percent correct answer result is required but the boater can ask the screener questions if any are missed or reread the information for the answer and change a wrong answer. This will provide the assurance that they have the comprehension as a responsible boat captain to get it right.

But be careful of those tricky government types, some of the questions seem true but are incomplete and therefore false. As with other situations in life, partial truth doesn’t help much.

The key to stopping invasive species from hitching a ride on your boat is to keep it on the trailer for a minimum of seven days after it is clean, drained and dry. If a boat does not become dry because of weather, a trailered quarantine for 30 days will do the trick.

Unfortunately not all boats fit the mold for the seven day treatment. We also have to be careful of even those lakes we thought not to be a problem.

Hmmm, why is that? Well, this is the reason for the new approach of providing information that every resident should know.

Armed with information and the certainty that it’s understood, we should have 6,000 resident ambassadors speaking out for the protection of our lake ecology and economy. I hope everyone agrees and becomes part of the solution for protecting Lake County.

For a copy of the information sheet, give Carolyn Ruttan a call at 707-295-0333.

Soon the abbreviated information sheet will be available online at the county Web site but for now visit it and learn even more at www.nomussels.com.

Jim Steele works with the county of Lake in its efforts to prevent the arrival of invasive mussels in local water bodies. He lives in Clearlake Oaks, Calif.