Happy Periheloin!

Happy Periheloin everyone! If you don't know what that is, it's the fancy term astronomers use to describe the day the Earth is closest to the sun. Derived from Greek peri means near, and helios meaning sun hence Periheloin. Today (January 4th) on Periheloin, the earth is about 147.5 million km away from the Sun. (At the greatest separation, the two are about 152.6 million km apart - which will occur this year on July 4.)

Pretty sky with snow covered trees below

Great view of Mt. Susitna

It has been relatively cold, and cloudy for the past 3 weeks but today the sun made a brilliant appearance for the day nearest to earth. Unfortunately, I did not have my fancy camera with me but I still managed to snap some pictures on my cell phone of the beautiful sunset and hues of pink, red, and orange across the sky casting quite a show atop the snow covered peaks of the mountains nearby.

I was also glad to see that we have reached a heatwave. It got up to 0˚F today! This is the warmest it's been in a week as it dropped to an astonishing -26˚F earlier this week. The forecast looks like we should see warmer temperatures--I say "warmer" because we are talking 0˚F to 10˚F--but this is still MUCH warmer than the past week. It's amazing how warm 0˚F feels.

With all the talk of the sun getting so close to Earth I was thinking about the a homonym of the sun and that is The SON, Jesus Christ. With Christmas over it seems people soon forget the season as the presents are opened and decorations come down. Christmas is my ABSOLUTE favorite time of the year. I love it so much I listen to Christmas music starting in July. My excitement for Christmas starts long before December and continues long into spring. For me it helps me connect to Christ, to relieve and be reminded of His birth year round.

Today, January 4th, the world literally today is the closest to the sun as it will be all year. But what about the metaphorical world, the people who are in the world and their relation to the SON? The day of Christmas may be complete but the we are still in celebration. The Twelve Days of Christmas, which are usually counted from the evening of December 25th until the morning of January 6th, are still in full swing leading up to Epiphany. Epiphany is the climax of the Advent/Christmas Season!

From the eyes of me, a poor sinful being, the world seems terribly broken, and the people in it seem flawed and far away from the SON. War, poverty, politics, drugs, natural disasters, the list goes on and on, and yet the SON is the One who brings peace, comfort, and mercy. The SON is not far from the world but actually left His heavenly home to come INTO the world. This I know as I have been told, and know from a verse I learned when I was very young. It is popular yet speaks the truth so well...

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

The term epiphany means "to show" or "to make known" or even "to reveal." The season of Epiphany and the celebration of Christmas continues on. Just as the Sun sheds light to all the world so God sent his SON to reveal the promise of hope, peace, and be the light of the world a light brighter than the sun itself.

While the sun may go through the natural motions of closer and farther away, the SON, Jesus Christ, is a constant and unchanging presence. He is right their with you, all you have to do is open your eyes, and open your heart. So how close are you to the SON today?