Real men find Church too girly
Swords instead of flowers? What, are "real men" ten-years-old?
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
The Second Sunday In Lent
This week Abram receives his inheritance, Paul receives his imitations, and Jesus de-triangulates some communication from Herod. All this plus what I learned about making something that isn't into something that is at the fishing expo.
The lections may be found here.
[Above is a photo of two sides of a Herodian coin.]
Medical Update
While the Friday storm disrupted the initial appointment, it appears that surgery may not be necessary. Plus, I now have a much more fashionable cane.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
About Cancellations
In December, I was asked if we were going to have the Christmas Pageant, since the weather was awful that day. We held it and it was great.
Last week, I was asked if we were going to hold the Shrove Tuesday pancake dinner, since the weather was awful that day. We held it and it was great.
Today, I'm being asked if we will hold the Biblical Archeology class Thursday night, since the weather may or may not be awful.
Are you discerning a pattern?
It will be held in the parish hall on Thursday beginning at 7pm. If you prefer not to travel on a stormy night, no worries, as much of the information will be repeated during the remainder of the course. If you can't make it, I'll see you next week at the same day and time.
[In northeastern Ohio, we learned that if we canceled things due to bad weather we would have to hold all of our Christmas and Lenten events between late May and mid-Sept. It's best just to follow the calendar and work with what we have.]
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
I Was Googlerized
A few weeks ago I was looking for an icon of Sts. Timothy and Titus to highlight the posting about their feast day. In addition to icons, our friends at Google directed me towards this fellow, a "space scientist" with an interesting name.
I actually think he looks like a space scientist. Me, I always wanted to be a rocket surgeon.
I actually think he looks like a space scientist. Me, I always wanted to be a rocket surgeon.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
The First Sunday In Lent
This week the Israelites learn what to share with God, the Romans learn that words mean something, and Jesus provides some "learnin'" for the devil. All this plus the beguiling George Clooney and demonic Bluetooth.
The lections may be found here.
The Rite Of Christian Burial
The Burial Office will be read for Isobel Teater at Christ Church on Wednesday, March 3rd at 11am.
Give to the departed eternal rest
Let light perpetual shine upon them.
May her soul, and the souls of all the departed,
through the mercy of God,
Rest in peace.
Give to the departed eternal rest
Let light perpetual shine upon them.
May her soul, and the souls of all the departed,
through the mercy of God,
Rest in peace.
Lenten Wave #3
The Windhover
by Gerard Manley Hopkins
To Christ our Lord
I CAUGHT this morning morning’s minion, king-
dom of daylight’s dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding
Of the rolling level underneath him steady air, and striding
High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing
In his ecstasy! then off, off forth on swing, 5
As a skate’s heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend: the hurl and gliding
Rebuffed the big wind. My heart in hiding
Stirred for a bird,—the achieve of; the mastery of the thing!
Brute beauty and valour and act, oh, air, pride, plume, here
Buckle! AND the fire that breaks from thee then, a billion 10
Times told lovelier, more dangerous, O my chevalier!
No wonder of it: shéer plód makes plough down sillion
Shine, and blue-bleak embers, ah my dear,
Fall, gall themselves, and gash gold-vermillion.
Hopkins was one of the most interesting of the English-language poets of the early 20th century, chiefly for his word choice, lyrical verses, and use of punctuation to set off the meter. It is thought that his familiarity with the Welsh language is what influenced the poetic application of the English. What also makes him interesting is that he is actually a late 19th century poet, but most of his poetry wasn't discovered and popularized until forty years later. He was also a Roman Catholic priest of the Jesuit order.
The Windhover is simply about observing a kestrel hawk in flight; with the narrative shifting to allusions of the Resurrection the poet marks how what appears to be common may reveal beauty. Whether it is a familiar bird in flight, the sludge that polishes brass, or dead embers dropping from red hot wood, the common will always reveal the uncommon; or a simple rabbi will become the knight, or chevalier, through whom the human race may live in beauty.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Friday Photo[s]: Japanese Rice Field Art
Farmers create these large displays using no ink, paint, or dye. Instead, different colored rice plants are precisely arranged in the paddy fields. As summer progresses and the plants shoot up, the detailed artwork emerges.
Lenten Wave #2
“Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone-we find it with another.” - Thomas Merton
Back when I taught Comparative Religion to students at a boarding school, Buddhism was a popular form of spirituality. There were a number of books that used the Buddhist perspective as their framework, the themes were becoming common in popular entertainment, and many of the returning graduates would speak warmly of their college conversion to something they described as Buddhism.
None of it was really Buddhist, of course, just the veneer of a religion, enough to satisfy the transient spiritual curiosities of young people. When we were in the final weeks our course, and looking at the commonalities between all religions, many of my students were visibly disappointed to realize that all religions speak of community as the ideal forum for spiritual inquest. A couple resisted the idea altogether. What made ersatz Buddhism so attractive to them was that it looked like something that was entirely personal; entirely individual. It served as a spiritual barrier between themselves and the rest of the world.
Thomas Merton, a Roman Catholic monk who studied with Buddhist monks, knew more than anyone else in the 20th century about the commonalities between the two, and wrote extensively of it. As a hermit, he also knew the limitations of solitude. As scripture makes clear repeatedly, and as Merton saw through his own experience, what Jesus offered was a radical redefinition of community. The Newer Covenant, in all of its glory and responsibility, was dependent on the mutuality of its adherents. Certainly, we may learn more of God by learning more of others. Just as certainly, we may find more portions of the Kingdom in our own existence if we work together, especially with those with whom we have little in common.
Back when I taught Comparative Religion to students at a boarding school, Buddhism was a popular form of spirituality. There were a number of books that used the Buddhist perspective as their framework, the themes were becoming common in popular entertainment, and many of the returning graduates would speak warmly of their college conversion to something they described as Buddhism.
None of it was really Buddhist, of course, just the veneer of a religion, enough to satisfy the transient spiritual curiosities of young people. When we were in the final weeks our course, and looking at the commonalities between all religions, many of my students were visibly disappointed to realize that all religions speak of community as the ideal forum for spiritual inquest. A couple resisted the idea altogether. What made ersatz Buddhism so attractive to them was that it looked like something that was entirely personal; entirely individual. It served as a spiritual barrier between themselves and the rest of the world.
Thomas Merton, a Roman Catholic monk who studied with Buddhist monks, knew more than anyone else in the 20th century about the commonalities between the two, and wrote extensively of it. As a hermit, he also knew the limitations of solitude. As scripture makes clear repeatedly, and as Merton saw through his own experience, what Jesus offered was a radical redefinition of community. The Newer Covenant, in all of its glory and responsibility, was dependent on the mutuality of its adherents. Certainly, we may learn more of God by learning more of others. Just as certainly, we may find more portions of the Kingdom in our own existence if we work together, especially with those with whom we have little in common.
Hey, It's Not Just Romans Who Do This, Newspeople
Sky New presenter Kay Burley was forced to make an on-air apology after mistaking a Roman Catholic symbol on American vice president Joe Biden's forehead for a 'large bruise'.
Best quote: "Later Miss Burley admitted: 'I know I'm a very bad Catholic. I know I should know that today is Ash Wednesday and that's why he'd got ash across his forehead. I've said three Hail Marys, everything is going to be fine.'"
Apparently, she has a rather weak grasp on what the "Hail Mary" is about, too. I'm not sure "lapsed" is the most accurate adjective to describe her spiritual understanding.
Best quote: "Later Miss Burley admitted: 'I know I'm a very bad Catholic. I know I should know that today is Ash Wednesday and that's why he'd got ash across his forehead. I've said three Hail Marys, everything is going to be fine.'"
Apparently, she has a rather weak grasp on what the "Hail Mary" is about, too. I'm not sure "lapsed" is the most accurate adjective to describe her spiritual understanding.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Lenten Series: Biblical Archaeology
This series offers an overview of the history, techniques, important sites, discoveries, and future expectations in the field. Our particular interest is in examining how continued discoveries are helping to refine our understanding of sacred literature and the earliest Christian Church. We will include in our discussion the leading personalities of archaeology as well as gauge recent knowledge granted through new developments in genetic and marine archaeology.
The courses will be offered at 7pm on Thursday evenings beginning on February 25th and continuing until March 25th. The outline of our discussions is provided below.
Session #1:
Prophetic Dreams, Bandits, and Mummies
An overview of the science of archaeology, both its traditional techniques and those developed in the technological age. Of course, no study of this field is complete without an appreciation of the original “amateur archaeologists” [aka explorers, soldiers, crooks, thieves, pirates, and con-men] who were the first to appreciate what could be learned about the past with nothing more than the application of a shovel [or firearm]. We will also appreciate the unique, and sometimes controversial, relationship between Biblical archaeology and other disciplines within the field.
Session #2:
Pillars of the Arcane
Much of what we know and understand about scripture, beyond the work of translators and etymologists, is gleaned from the work of Sir Leonard Woolley, Max Mallowan, Kathleen Kenyon, and William F. Albright, who took the discipline away from the treasure hunters of "crypto-archaeology" and coordinated it with the scientific approach developed by the early Egyptologists. We will also view maps and a list of discoveries of Biblical places, not to mention visit the increasingly technological world of diggers and squints.
Session #3:
The Great Discoveries
A review of the major discoveries of the past two hundred years that have either reconciled or challenged Biblical beliefs.
Session #4:
The Recent Discoveries
A review of the latest events and discoveries, including those not yet made as of the writing of this post.
The courses will be offered at 7pm on Thursday evenings beginning on February 25th and continuing until March 25th. The outline of our discussions is provided below.
Session #1:
Prophetic Dreams, Bandits, and Mummies
An overview of the science of archaeology, both its traditional techniques and those developed in the technological age. Of course, no study of this field is complete without an appreciation of the original “amateur archaeologists” [aka explorers, soldiers, crooks, thieves, pirates, and con-men] who were the first to appreciate what could be learned about the past with nothing more than the application of a shovel [or firearm]. We will also appreciate the unique, and sometimes controversial, relationship between Biblical archaeology and other disciplines within the field.
Session #2:
Pillars of the Arcane
Much of what we know and understand about scripture, beyond the work of translators and etymologists, is gleaned from the work of Sir Leonard Woolley, Max Mallowan, Kathleen Kenyon, and William F. Albright, who took the discipline away from the treasure hunters of "crypto-archaeology" and coordinated it with the scientific approach developed by the early Egyptologists. We will also view maps and a list of discoveries of Biblical places, not to mention visit the increasingly technological world of diggers and squints.
Session #3:
The Great Discoveries
A review of the major discoveries of the past two hundred years that have either reconciled or challenged Biblical beliefs.
Session #4:
The Recent Discoveries
A review of the latest events and discoveries, including those not yet made as of the writing of this post.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)