Today In Christian History

March 3, 1263: French cardinal, Hugh of St. Cher, dies. He reputedly compiled the first Bible concordance and was the first person to divide the Old and New Testaments into chapters.

March 3, 1547: At the Seventh Session of the Council of Trent, the Roman Catholic church defines its theology of the sacraments. Arguing that seven sacraments are necessary for salvation—Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Orders, and Matrimony—the council rejected the teaching of most Protestants that only two were required: Baptism and the Lord's Supper.

Adult Series for Lent, 2011

Adult Forum, Lent [Plus] 2011

As promised at the parish’s annual meeting, this Lent [plus one Thursday in Epiphany] we will present a variety of topics for exploration and discussion. All of these sessions will be held on Thursdays, beginning at 7pm and lasting for no more than one hour.

Thursday, March 3rd – Biblical Archaeology: The Newest Discoveries
[and new information about some of the older discoveries.]

A return to the subject of our popular 2010 Lenten program, we will examine some of the new discoveries made in the past year, re-visit some familiar sites that are favored by new theories about significance, construction, and cultural relevance, and take a closer look at the once-mythical city of Ubar.

Thursday, March 10th - Biblical Archaeology, Continued

Thursday, March 17th – No Series offering, as this is the Feast of St. Padraic.

Thursday, March 24th – Middle Eastern Christianity: The Copts, The Syriac, The Melkite, and The Armenian.

While we are familiar with Western Christianity, and perhaps less so with the Eastern Orthodox Church, there are a number of Christian sects in the Middle East that are of great antiquity and, like our own Celtic tradition, pre-date the Church of Rome, having resisted historic animosity, marginalization, and violence into the 21st century. We will examine their history as one would a time capsule, to see what early Christianity valued in its prayers and songs, and look also at what may be revealed about our own tradition and its development from this common source.

Thursday, March 31st – Christian Themes in Art, Music, and Literature

From the Catacombs to the WPA artists of the American Depression, from Gregorian chant to its juxtaposition with paganism in the opera of Richard Wagner, and from the early Passion Plays to Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Christian themes have presented themselves for artistic inspiration and interpretation. In a frolic across time and cultures, we will look at and listen to some of the deepest expressions of yearning, quest, and redemption experienced by artists and their audiences.

Thursday, April 7th - Art and Music, Continued

Thursday, April 14th - will serve either as a substitute for any cancellations due to poor weather or if we should, in our enthusiasm, overrun any of the previous topics.

Interesting Decision By The Supreme Court

I may get some tatty e-mail concerning what I'm about to say [in fact, some of my former students have already written to me about this], but it was a decision that ultimately protects even those of us from mainstream congregations, especially in regards to our right to engage in political discourse.

Personally, I think the Westboro Baptist Church about the most distasteful collection of puzzlewits ever to be organized under the remarkably broad umbrella of American Protestantism.  However,  I point to this rather eloquent quotation from the decision:

Speech is powerful. It can stir people to action, move them to tears of both joy and sorrow, and—as it did here—inflict great pain. On the facts before us, we cannot react to that pain by punishing the speaker. As a Nation we have chosen a different course—to protect even hurtful speech on public issues to ensure that we do not stifle public debate. That choice requires that we shield Westboro from tort liability for its picketing in this case.

During my lifetime, the Episcopal Church has spoken controversially about the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement, the feminist movement, nuclear proliferation,  gay rights, and has issued opinions in every conceivable forum.  It is common for the Presiding Bishop to write letters of concern to the President of the US and members of both the Supreme Court and the Congress.  In some congregations, it is not unusual on a Sunday to hear of the preacher's political ideology and how closely it resembles Jesus' imagined attitudes about American social experience.  Despite the veneer of spirituality, these are political statements.  To limit such statements, if legally engaged, from an organization with which one strongly disagrees would open the door to limit political speech from all churches and religious organizations, including those with whom one is in agreement.

I suppose this is why the vote was 8-1.

For Those Who May Think That Christian Martyrdom Is Some Distant Experience Of The Past

Mr Bhatti, the country's only Christian federal cabinet minister, was gunned down as he was being driven to work through the capital Islamabad yesterday morning and died on the way to hospital.

The Feast Of Chad

Chad was the bishop of Lichfield [the one in England without the "t"; not the one in Connecticut where the "t" stands for "touchy"].  Chad is best known for settling a potentially schismatic issue during the period of controversy following the Synod of Whitby in 663.  In Whitby, it had been determined by the British Church that the Celtic tradition would be surrendered in favor of that of the Church of Rome.  This did not rest well with everyone, including a couple of the bishops who had consecrated Chad.  Because they were non-conformists, Chad's installation as the Archbishop of York was held to be irregular and, instead of cracking the greater church in two over the issue, Chad humbly resigned the See of York.  His consolation prize was Lichfield.

And what a consolation it was, at least for those whom he served.  Chad is recognized as the "icon" of the peripatetic bishop: he was in constant motion baptizing, confirming, teaching, preaching and celebrating.  He did so on foot, because he did not wish to spend diocesan funds on a horse [the Archbishop of Canterbury gave him one as a gift, eventually].  Because of this familiarity, he was widely beloved by those of Lichfield whom he served.  This is even more remarkable when one considers that Chad served for only two and one-half years, before succumbing to exhaustion.  [Imagine, a time when bishops visited all their parishes not to have meetings, but to engage in the sacramental rites and abide simply with their flocks through meals and common fellowship.  "You may say I'm a dreamer,..."]

Chad died on this day in 672.  Subsequently, countless chapels and other structures in what was once Mercia [and is now the English Midlands of Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire] were named for him.

Almighty God, for the peace of the Church your servant Chad relinquished cheerfully the honors that had been thrust upon him, only to be rewarded with equal responsibility: Keep us, we pray, from thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought to think, and ready at all times to step aside for others, that the cause of Christ may be advanced; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Today In Christian History

March 2, 1415: At the Council of Constance, convened to end the Great Schism—during which three men claimed to be pope—John XXIII (one of the men) abdicated. Ironically, John himself had convened the council the previous year convinced that he would emerge victorious. Now he feared for his life and fled the city in disguise. It didn't work: he was brought back, condemned, and deposed. The council eventually healed the schism.

March 2, 1791: Founder of Methodism John Wesley, an Anglican priest, dies in London.

March 2, 1938: Lutheran pastor Martin Niemoller, one of the founders of Germany's "Confessing Church," is sentenced to seven months in prison for opposing Hitler. "First they came for the socialists and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist," he said. "Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. They they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me."

Now, In The Spirit Of Gomes, Let Me Inject A Little Controversy

“Identification of Christian social ethics with specific partisan proposals that clearly are not the only ones that may be characterized as Christian and as morally acceptable comes close to the original New Testament meaning of heresy.”

Please read the whole thing.

An Obituary Of Note

Rev. Peter J. Gomes dies at 68

He was a mighty preacher and one of the few to whom I could have listened all day.

Today In Christian History

March 1, 589 (traditional date): David of Wales, whose ascetic path of restraint earned him regard as the patron saint of that country, dies. His final words were, "Be joyful, brothers and sisters. Keep your faith and do the little things that you have seen and heard from me".

Almighty God, you called your servant David to be a faithful and wise steward of your mysteries for the people of Wales: Mercifully grant that, following his purity of life and zeal for the Gospel of Christ, we may with him receive our heavenly reward; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Obituaries Of Note

Despite a separation of half-a-century, it seems that two historic eras are now fading away:

Frank Buckles, Last World War I Doughboy, Is Dead at 110

and

’60s Muse Dies

Thanks To The Church School Kids

I'm not sure everyone heard about this, but the boys and girls, and young men and women, of our church school sent Valentine's Day cards to members of the Marine Corps' 1st Battalion/4th Marines, currently stationed in California and preparing for deployment overseas.  Also included were phone cards which will enable the Marines to call home, even from some ordinarily desolate areas.

They're good kids and I'm proud to serve them as rector.

[The dragon which appears on the patch above harks back to the days when the 1/4 Marines were known as the "China Marines", as that was where they were stationed from 1927 until 1941, until they were deployed to defend the Philippines in the early days of US involvement in WWII.  In recent years, they have been heavily involved in Iraq.]

An Update From New Zealand

Christ Church Cathedral in Christchurch, New Zealand, which was significantly damaged in the recent earthquake [see a before and after photo here], will have to be razed and re-built. 

Always a symbol, now one of loss, cathedral to be rebuilt, Christchurch mayor says

The Eighth Sunday After Epiphany

This week Isaiah speaks of the eternal bond between God and the chosen, Paul refines our role as stewards, and Jesus reminds us that the Kingdom lives in the hear and now.  All this plus explaining what an "air mail letter" is to a 23-year-old.

The lections may be found here.

A Request From The Rector

As I mentioned on Sunday, please keep Jack Rowland, our music director, in your prayers.  There will be a brief prayer service for healing offered tomorrow at Christ Church shortly after Noon.

O Father of mercies and God of all comfort, our only help in
time of need: We humbly beseech thee to behold, visit, and
relieve thy sick servant Jack for whom our prayers are desired.
Look upon him with the eyes of thy mercy; comfort him with
a sense of thy goodness; preserve him from the temptations
of the enemy; and give him patience under his affliction. In
thy good time, restore him to health, and enable him to lead
the residue of his life in thy fear, and to thy glory; and grant
that finally he may dwell with thee in life everlasting; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

My Brother-in-Law Will Be Happy To Hear This

"Redneck" Is Actually Considered A Religion

A Prayer For New Zealanders

God of mercy, comfort those who are grieving, give peace to those who have died and protect those who are working to save lives. Strengthen the Christchurch community for the long period of recovery and healing ahead. Help us to support them through prayer and compassion. Amen.

If so moved, Episcopal Relief and Development is accepting online donations for relief efforts.  Remember, this is the organization that presented us with a plaque last year for our work with their Haitian relief efforts.  One hundred percent of all donations is used for relief rather than shared with administrative costs.  Their website may be found at this link.
 
Above are before and after photos of our cathedral in Christchurch, New Zealand.  Appropriately, it is Christ Church Cathedral.

Today In Christian History

February 23, 155 (traditional date): Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna, is martyred. Reportedly a disciple of the Apostle John, at age 86 he was taken to be burned at the stake. "You try to frighten me with fire that burns for an hour and forget the fire of hell that never burns out," he said. The flames, legend says, would not touch him, and when he was run through with a sword, his blood put the fire out.

February 23, 303: Diocletian begins his "Great Persecution," issuing edicts that call for church buildings to be destroyed, sacred writings burned, Christians to lose civil rights, and clergy to be imprisoned and forced to sacrifice. The following year he went even further, ordering all people to sacrifice on pain of death.

February 23, 1455 (traditional date): Johannes Gutenberg publishes the Bible, the first book ever printed on a press with movable type.

An Obituary Of Note

Chuck Allen, Who Championed Surfing and Snowboarding, Dies at 74

Most important, he founded the National Scholastic Surfing Association.

Wow, The Federal Budget Really Is Tight

Clinton: US to allocate $150 to help Egypt recover

I Knew It!

Pilots, boaters adjust to shift in magnetic north

Today In Christian History

February 21, 1109: Anselm, the Archbishop of Canterbury recognized as the "founder of Scholasticism," dies. One of the most profound thinkers of the Middle Ages, his treatise Why Did God Become Man was the greatest medieval treatise on the atonement. He is also known for his ontological argument for the existence of God.

February 21, 1142: Medieval French philosopher, teacher, and theologian Peter Abelard dies. Abelard made his most important contribution in establishing a critical methodology for theology. Irritated with some of the unreasoning pietism of other monks, he wrote Yes and No, compiling the (sometimes conflicting) sayings of the Bible and church fathers on various controversial subjects.
February 21, 1173: Pope Alexander III canonizes Thomas Becket three years after the Archbishop of Canterbury's martyrdom at the hands of King Henry II's knights.

February 21, 1801: John Henry Newman, Anglican leader of the Oxford Movement, is born in London. The movement sought to reform the Church of England in a "high church" direction, but Newman left the church in 1845 to become a Catholic—a choice he explained in his Apologia pro Vita Sua (1864).

February 21, 1945: Eric Liddell, the Scottish Olympian whose story is told in the film Chariots of Fire, dies of a brain tumor. In 1925, he had joined the staff of the Anglo-Chinese Christian College in Tientsin, China (his birthplace). He was captured by the Japanese in 1942 and died just before his scheduled release.

This Is Probably Not A Good Sign

Egyptian Christians Enraged Over Court Acquittal in Christmas Eve Massacre

This Week's Jesus Sighting

Jesus Christ appears on rocking chair

Archaeological News

Cairo Teen Finds Looted Pharaoh Akhenaton Statue

The Seventh Sunday After The Epiphany

I'm terribly late with this today, so I beg forgiveness.

This week we hear the Leviticus version of The Law, Paul warns of the errant craftiness of human leaders [like any of us don't know that by now], and Jesus takes that which people have heard and fulfils it in their presence.  All this plus when the waves change and how scientists just don't get it.

The lections may be found here.

Today In Christian History

February 18, 1546: German reformer Martin Luther dies in Eisleben.

February 18, 1564: Michelangelo Buonarroti, the Italian Renaissance artist whose works include the frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, dies.

February 18, 1678: Puritan preacher John Bunyan publishes The Pilgrim's Progress. The allegorical tale, which describes Bunyan's own conversion process, begins, "I saw a man clothed with rags … a book in his hand and a great burden upon his back".

February 18, 1688: Quakers in Germantown, Pennsylvania, issue America's first formal protest of slavery.

An Update On Haiti

Remaining murals leaving Haitian cathedral's walls

The Feast Of Cyril And Methodius

While most people think of St. Valentine today, on the Episcopal Church's calendar we remember Sts. Cyril and Methodius, remarkable brothers who were priests, missionaries, and the creators of the Slavic language.  It's a good story, and well renedered at this link.

This Was Too Long To Fit On A Birthday Card

Besides, it would embarrass her.  So, you can read it instead:

Surfers know something about Valentine’s Day or, as it is known around our house, The Feast of St. Valentine. Valentine was an irregular saint, to be sure, dropped from the Roman martyrology for reasons that still seem unclear, but then I’ve never really understood the politics of canonization. But for all of the candy hearts and increasingly expensive greeting cards, there is something that happens in his octave that is the portent for all good things to come. Namely, in mid-February, the shape of the waves begins to change.

There will be many who will dispute this, but those would be people who limit their understanding of nature to the sciences of meteorology or physics or astronomy. Some of us still use the ancient art, so liminal as to be pre-verbal, of rud a bheithsa dúchas agat to understand tides and gravity. We so often watch the waves, are so often immersed in them, observant of their nature and their potential for transport, that, in a crude translation from the Celtic above, “their nature is in our blood”. We know that the waves have changed and that winter’s power is diminishing and, even if we should suffer still more snow and ice, it will be of shorter lease and far less strength. In short, we’re through the worst of it.

That’s the first, and least important thing, that I note on this day. The second is that it’s my wife’s birthday. While I’ve always been thankful that it falls on a memorable date, so that I don’t become like a grotesque situation comedy husband who forgets his wife’s birthday, I am particularly pleased that it is an event that carries far more importance and relativity than what may be expressed in an abstract Valentine. While I am the one socially bound to offer her a gift, today I also recognize a gift that I receive from her. Not only is her love as constant as that of the Almighty’s, but I have come to particularly appreciate the grace she displays when she fulfills the duties of her call to ordained ministry. There are times when I cannot fathom how she does it.

We were just married when Jenni became the first woman hired by a tony parish in Connecticut; later, upon the departure of the rector, she became the acting rector of the parish. Again, this was a first for the congregation and one that was not well received by all of them. In the 1980’s, there were still too many who believed that ordained ministry was not something for women. Those who held this prejudice were of both genders, I might add. Thus, every decision she made, every action in which she engaged, was strongly scrutinized. Despite that, she prevailed in ensuring that the parish prospered, the giving increased, a new assistant was hired [one who would later be a candidate for bishop], a lovely and appropriate memorial garden was built, a complicated wedding arranged by the more-complicated Martha Stewart was celebrated, and the burial office was read both for a U.S. congressman and for the teenage son of the senior warden, tragically killed in a terrible auto accident. The scrutiny relaxed after these events, especially since they were all squeezed into twelve months. Clearly, she could do the job.

She was then called to be the rector of a parish in the Berkshires. Again, the first ordained woman ever to celebrate the Eucharist and, again, the subject of scrutiny. A few people left the church upon hearing the news of a female rector; others came to see if they could find something, anything, about which to complain for the remainder of her tenure. The couple in the pew in front of me on her first Sunday muttered during the length of the liturgy about the inappropriateness of a woman behind the altar until, somewhere in the middle of the Eucharistic prayer, I told them both, in the name of our Lord and Savior, to shut the hell up. It didn’t matter as the parish prospered, new things were done, infants and adults baptized, couples married, and the faithful bid to the reaches of the Kingdom. When Jenni suffered a brain aneurysm while in the pulpit, and the best the doctors could hope for was a partial recovery of speech and motor function, with one physician even suggesting that giving her last rites “would not be inappropriate”, the treasurer of the parish held a meeting to convince the vestry to reduce her position to part-time. As he stated, her brain damage was actually good news for the budget. While this would have reduced me to a near-murderous rage, or at least a life-long Celtic grudge, Jenni’s response was to recover fully and return to work on a full-time basis. After six months, it was as if the aneurysm had never occurred. I seem to recall the treasurer moved out of town later that year.  I seem to recall helping him.

She has been in yet another parish for the past fourteen years. Again, the first woman and, well, you know the rest by now. Even after nearly thirty years of service in the Episcopal Church, there are some strains of narrow-mindedness that resist time, change, and reason. She still deals with the antics of those for whom sourness is the chief feature of their relationship with a parish. I was amused to hear that a male member of her vestry wanted to chair the vestry meeting the other day, as he believed that he could do so more efficiently than she, mainly by ignoring the Canons and eliminating any spiritual reference from the assembly. With her permission, he did so. The meeting took over two hours. I could have reminded him that my wife has been running vestry meetings since he was a pimply whelp, but that would not have permitted him to realize how well the words “hoist” and “petard” work together in a sentence. Well, history generates through people and their experiences, and some folks cannot be blamed for the simplistic provincialism that doesn’t permit them to see what is manifest in my wife’s long and eventful service in the Church.  Sometimes small towns in Connecticut seem a lot like small towns in the Ozarks.  Except with a country club, of course.

It is my lot as a husband to permit these petty sufferings to attract my attention, but Jenni never seems to regard them as anything other than unimportant portions of the curious responsibility to which we have been called by God. For her the job is about those who pray in strength and weakness, who fight the good fight, who keep the faith; for her it is the infant lofted above the font, the children who work the Epiphany puppets, the couple who kneel before the altar at their nuptials, the kind and good man for whom the burial office is read. Every congregation will bear those who have been rendered sour by their inability to truly hear the Word of God, even when it is revealed again and again through the positive life of a parish. But congregations, and clergy, live by the good works of the muscular Christians who ennoble parishes and invite all to come before the altar, even those who seem the least able or willing to comprehend it.

So, on her birthday, I thank Jenni for always presenting me with examples as to how to be a good priest; one who strives in grace and truth, one who sees the good inherent in any human undertaking, who suffers fools gladly, and who locks each day in prayerful intention. I also thank her for her love, without which I would never have known the good life we enjoy, the great achievements we have experienced, or the simple, plain fun that has marked our common life and our mutual service to God.

The Best Obituary I've Read In Some Time

Key quotes:  "Mr. Baumgartner had lived a long and passionate life dedicated to rambunctious performances and dairy products.", and "Baumgartner was prodigious with the movement of manure from an early age, and exercising these and other talents, earned recognition for his National 4-H Grand Champion Dairy Heifer, Clementine's Ramona....", and, finally, "Baumgartner disliked vegetables his whole life. Despite consuming more than 2,000 pounds of butter, he never suffered from any kind of heart disease. His last meal was ice cream."

Please read the whole wonderful obit here.  Oh, and he invented Heath Bar ice cream, to which I owe him much good favor.  I think I'll eat some for breakfast to memorialize his passing.

The Feast Of St. Valentine

An irregular saint, to be sure, but read this and also this.

The Sixth Sunday After The Epiphany

This week we learn of the power of choice from Ecclesiasticus, Paul corrects the Corinthians as we hear the beginnings of what will be behind all problems in Christendom for the next two millennia, and Jesus continues to expand on how the Law is to be fulfilled not just by him, but by those who choose to live by it.  All this plus why titles are cheap.

The lections may be found here.  [Lectors please note: we have chosen the Ecclesiasticus as our first reading, rather than the Deuteronomy.]

Click the map above to see an enlarged view of Paul's journeys.

Today In Christian History: 'Shots' Mather, Stark Will, And An Early C-SPAN moment

February 12, 1663: Congregational minister Cotton Mather is born in Boston. The most celebrated New England writer of his day, he was a scientist (whose work included early studies of inoculation), one of the founders of Yale University, and pastor of Boston's Second Church (just as his father, Increase Mather, had been). He also wrote Wonders of the Invisible World, a description of the Salem witch trials.

February 12, 1834: German theologian and philosopher Friedrich Schleiermacher dies. He made religion a matter of the will, defining it as feeling an absolute dependence on God in works including On Religion: Speeches to Its Cultured Despisers (1799).

February 12, 1865: Presbyterian minister and militant abolitionist Henry Highland Garnet becomes the first African-American to address the U.S. House of Representatives.

Archaeological News

Yale, Peru University Sign Deal To Return Incan Artifacts

A New Hero For All Aging Watermen

64-Year-Old Kayaker Completes Trans-Atlantic Voyage

Today In Christian History: Friends, Peasants, and Il Duce

February 11, 1790: The Society of Friends (Quakers) presents a petition to Congress calling for the abolition of slavery.

February 11, 1858: Bernadette Soubirous, a 14-year-old peasant from Lourdes, France, experiences her first vision of the Virgin Mary. By July she had 18 similar visions.

February 11, 1929: The Lateran Treaty is signed by Mussolini and the Holy See, recognizing Vatican City as a sovereign state. At a mere 109 acres, it became the smallest nation in the world.

[Information courtesy of Christianity Today.]

Today In Christian History: A Shipwreck, A Sailor's Widow, And Naked Anabaptists

February 10, 60 (traditional date): The Apostle Paul is shipwrecked at Malta.

February 10, 1535: A dozen Anabaptists run stark naked through the streets of Amsterdam. Such strange actions, usually by Melchoirite Anabaptists, led to the group's ridicule by Protestants and Catholics alike. Former Catholic priest Menno Simons (1496?-1561) was finally able to bring the group into a nonresistant, discipled, and disciplined vision.

February 10, 1751: John Wesley suffers a fall on the ice-covered London Bridge and is carried to the home of Mary Vazeille, a sailor's widow. Within a week, the two were married—with disastrous results. The unhappy couple spent so little time together that, in 1771, Wesley recorded this in his journal: "I came to London and was informed that my wife died on Monday. This evening she was buried, though I was not informed of it".

[Information courtesy of Christianity Today.]

Today In Christian History: An Existential Martyr; A Devout Author [No, Really]

February 9, 249 (traditional date): According to Dionysius (died c. 264), bishop of Alexandria, on this date, Roman officials "seized that marvelous aged virgin Apolloinia, broke out all her teeth with blows on her jaws, and piling up a bonfire before the city, threatened to burn her alive if she refused to recite with them their blasphemous sayings. But she asked for a brief delay and without flinching leapt into the fire and was consumed".

February 9, 1881: Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky dies. A devout Russian Orthodox Christian, the author of Crime and Punishment (1866) and The Brothers Karamazov (1880) once wrote "If someone proved to me that Christ is outside the truth, and that in reality the truth were outside of Christ, then I should prefer to remain with Christ rather than with the truth.

[Information courtesy of Christianity Today.]

A Sacramental App?

Church Approves 'Confession' App for iPhone

Perhaps A Strongly Worded Letter From The Presiding Bishop Is Forthcoming

One-legged Afghan Red Cross worker set to be hanged after converting to Christianity

and

Who will defend Mideast Christians?

The Fifth Sunday After The Epiphany

This week we get what may be the first "shout out" from Isaiah, some words from the "anti-lofty" Paul, and Jesus giving us a 1st Century version of "slam poetry", albeit in a less self-centered manner. 

The lections may be found here.

[Sorry this is so late, but it was a long and slippery day.]

If You Wonder Why Churches Don't Have Super Bowl Parties...

...here you go.

The Feast Of Cornelius

Cornelius the Centurion is referred to in chapters 10 and 11 of the Acts of the Apostles. He was the first gentile of whom we know to be converted to Christianity. His conversion by Peter causes the apostle to issue one of the most remarkable statements in the history of world religion and marks the point when Christianity begins its significant theological departure from Judaism in its practice of evangelism: "Truly I see that God shows no partiality." In other words, Christianity exists not for one single culture or geographic location, but is open to all regardless.

[A centurion was a soldier who was in charge of approximately 100 troops. The modern equivalent would be a captain in the U.S. Army or Marine Corps.  In fact, I'm told that the word "captain" is descended from the Latin.]

O God, by your Spirit you called Cornelius the Centurion to be the first Christian among the Gentiles; Grant to your Church such a ready will to go where you send and to do what you command, that under your guidance it may welcome all who turn to you in love and faith, and proclaim the Gospel to all nations; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

About The February Parish Newsletter,..

...we've had a brief delay in publication due to the weather [You've noticed that, have you?  It's the thing outside.]  We should be able to publish shortly.  Anyone desiring information about lay ministers' or lectors' schedules may feel free to call the office.

The Feast Of The Presentation [Or Candlemas}

"The Feast of the Presentation, often called Candlemas, commemorates the purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the presentation of Christ in the temple, which took place 40 days after his birth as Jewish law required. According to Mosaic law, a mother who had given birth to a boy was considered unclean for seven days. Also, she was to remain 33 days "in the blood of her purification." Luke tells us, quoting Exodus 13:2,12, that Mary and Joseph took Jesus to Jerusalem because every firstborn child was to be dedicated to the Lord. They also went to sacrifice a pair of doves or two young pigeons, showing that Mary and Joseph were poor. Once in the temple, Jesus was purified by the prayer of Simeon, in the presence of Anna the prophetess. Simeon, upon seeing the Messiah, gave thanks to the Lord, singing a hymn now called the Nunc Dimittis:

Lord, now you let your servant go in peace,
your word has been fulfilled:
My own eyes have seen the salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of every people:
a light to reveal you to the nations
and the glory of your people Israel.

Simeon told Mary, "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against, (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed." Simeon thus foreshadowed the crucifixion and the sorrows of Mary at seeing the death of her Son."

More may be read at this site.

The Feast Of Bridget

Bridget (aka Brigid, Bride, or Bridey) of Kildare was born around 450 into a Druid family, and was the daughter of Dubhthach, the official poet to the king, a position of considerable social importance and political influence. At an early age, inspired by the sermons of St. Padraic [or Patrick], she decided to become a Christian and eventually took vows as a nun. With a group of like-minded women, she established a convent at Kildare. Bridget was later joined by a community of monks, as pre-Roman Celtic Christian evangelism [there's that word, again] was based on coeducational monastic houses. [Celtic monks and nuns did not include chastity as one of their holy vows and, as such, were permitted to live together in community, marry, and procreate. Roman Christianity, which would become the standard in the British Isles a century of so after the death of Bridget, would forbid such normal and sacramental relations between ascetic men and women.]

Kildare was a pagan shrine where a sacred fire was perpetually burning, and Bridget and her nuns, instead of extinguishing the fire, maintained it with a Christian interpretation. This was the evangelical practice of the era as Druidism gave way to Christianity with rare opposition, as the Druids understood their own beliefs were of a transient nature, recognizing in Christianity a completion of their beliefs.

As an abbess, Bridget participated in several Irish councils, and her influence on the policies of the Church in Ireland was immeasurable. She is thought to have died in the year 525. On the Irish calendar, this is the first day of spring, thus this date was assigned as her feast since her name, in both the druidic and Christian traditions, represents new beginnings.

Above is a cross made of rushes, called a "Bridget's cross", as she once wove such a devotional for a dying man.

I find her official Episcopal Church collect to be prosaic, but here it is:

Everliving God, we rejoice today in the fellowship of your blessed servant Brigid, and give you thanks for her life of devoted service. Inspire us with life and light, and give us perseverance to serve you all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

A Prayer For Moderate Weather

Almighty and ever-merciful God, we beseech you, of your great mercy, to restrain the excessive snow with which we have had to contend, to give us strength to resist exasperation, and grant relief and hope to those whose homes and property have been damaged or destroyed. Remind us of your ever-present grace in all things, how to be good neighbors to those in need, and generous in the acceptance of aid offered by others. Grant this, we pray, through our Mediator and Advocate, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

- an homage to one of the most famous prayers for good weather, as authored by Msgr. James H. O'Neill, albeit rendered in more peaceful circumstance.

Today's "No-Prize" Answers

"No-Prize" Answer #1:
Mozart was featured in the music offered during today's 10am Celebration of the Holy Eucharist because his 255th birthday was celebrated on Thursday of this week.

"No-Prize" Answer #2:
The Rector, currently enjoying laryngitis, sounded most like the character "Choo-Choo" featured in the Hanna-Barbara cartoon "Top Cat".  [You have to be at least the Rector's age to get that reference, and even then....]

The Fourth Sunday After Epiphany

This week Micah relates the importance of meaning behind action, Paul tells us the reason God chose those whom He did, and Jesus offers up our statement of belief.  As far as the sermon is concerned, that depends on whether or not I can still speak tomorrow, but we will touch upon who the "Bleeze" is for whom we once had a banquet.

The lections may be found here.

The Feast Of Thomas Aquinas

It seems hard to believe now, but there was a time, specifically in the 13th century, when the works of Aristotle had fallen out of common usage and were unstudied in the universities of Europe. Thanks to the Muslim scholars of Arabia and Spain, who were enamored of Aristotle's natural philosophy [Islam and its relationship with Western thought has really changed since then, eh?], Aristotle was ready for re-discovery when Thomas of Acquin, a Dominican monk of no small intellect, published a series of works re-presenting Aristotelian thought to his contemporaries and matching it with the theological framework of medieval Christianity. [It is helpful to remember, despite what trendy secularists would have one believe, that Christianity created the university model that educates the Western world to this day; not to mention also enabling scientific method to develop.]

As one with degrees in both philosophy and theology, I can testify to the continued influence of Aquinas in both fields. In fact, his popularity in secular philosophy continues to grow. All subsequent Western philosophy is in reaction to Aquinas's works. There is no greater figure in history whose accomplishments so strongly stand in the face of the errant belief that there is, or should be, a separation between theology, philosophy, and science.

Perhaps his most interesting contribution to human thought is through the field of natural theology. In an overly succinct definition, natural theology is the study of God as known not through sudden revelation, but through the application of observation and reason.

I would encourage readers to follow the links for more information. I will leave with this piquant quotation from G.K. Chesterton, the Catholic writer [and creator of the literary detective "Fr. Brown"] as to Aquinas's ecclesial abilities and ambition:

"His experiences included well-attested cases of levitation in ecstasy; and the Blessed Virgin appeared to him, comforting him with the welcome news that he would never be a Bishop."

He died on this day in the year 1274.

Money Well Spent, I'm Sure

Canadian woman first to graduate with Beatles degree

He Certainly Will When All Of This Snow Melts

Noah getting closer to action

Jesus Sighting [With Bonus Virgin Mary]

It's been awhile but, yes, there are still people finding images of the Christ in their food:

Image of Virgin Mary, Baby Jesus appears on tortilla

The Feast Of John Chrysostom, Bishop Of Antioch And Constantinople

John was called Chrysostom (which means "Golden Mouth") because of his eloquence. He was a priest of Antioch known as an outstanding preacher. So much so that congregations were warned not to carry large sums of money when they went to hear him speak, since pickpockets found it easy to rob his listeners as they were too intent on his words to notice. His sermons were mostly unadorned expositions of Holy Scripture emphasizing literal meaning, even though the style in Alexandria in his day tended to the allegorical.

He loved the city and people of Antioch and they loved him. However, he became so famous that the Empress at Constantinople decided that she must have him for her court preacher, so she had him kidnapped and brought to Constantinople and there made bishop.* This was a failure all around. His sermons against corruption in high places earned him powerful enemies (including the Empress), and he was sent into exile, where he died in the year 407.

O God, you gave your servant John Chrysostom grace eloquently to proclaim your righteousness in the great congregation, and fearlessly to bear reproach for the honor of your Name: Mercifully grant to all bishops and pastors such excellence in preaching, and faithfulness in ministering your Word, that your people may be partakers with them of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

[*Yes, he had to be kidnapped to be made a bishop, so reluctant was he for the office.  This may mean that he is the one person in Christian history who actually should have been a bishop.]

What Used To Be Called "Yankee Ingenuity"

Cash-Strapped Bergen, N.J. To Fight Snow With ‘Pickle Juice’

The Feast Of Sts. Timothy and Titus

From the Universe Bulletin [a Roman publication known for its scholarship]:

"St. Timothy has been regarded by some as the "angel of the church of Ephesus", [Revelation 2:1-17]. According to the ancient Roman martyrology he died Bishop of Ephesus. The Bollandists (24 Jan.) give two lives of St. Timothy, one ascribed to Polycrates (an early Bishop of Ephesus, and a contemporary of St. Irenæus) and the other by Metaphrastes, which is merely an expansion of the former. The first states that during the Neronian persecution St. John arrived at Ephesus, where he lived with St. Timothy until he was exiled to Patmos under Domitian. Timothy continued Bishop of Ephesus until, when he was over eighty years of age, he was mortally beaten by the pagans. According to early tradition Titus continued after St. Paul's death as Archbishop of Crete, and died there when he was over ninety."

Almighty God, you called Timothy and Titus to be evangelists and teachers, and made them strong to endure hardship: Strengthen us to stand fast in adversity, and to live godly and righteous lives in this present time, that with sure confidence we may look for our blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Oops!

Two British pensioners landed in hospital in southern Germany after their car's global positioning system directed them to drive into a church.

Something Else George Clooney And I Have In Common, Part II

George Clooney would never want to be president

Two Rites In One?

Funeral homes find new life by hosting other events

"The idea of getting married in a funeral home wasn't much of a hurdle to overcome," says Paulita Flores, 21.

The Seven Corporal Works of Mercy

To feed the hungry
To give drink to the thirsty
To clothe the naked
To shelter the homeless
To visit the sick
To visit the imprisoned
To bury the dead

Post-Annual Meeting Thanks

A marvelous annual meeting resulting in a great vestry for the coming year. Many thanks to those of you who have served so marvelously and well; and thanks to Judith, Jim, and Christine who will serve as parish leaders for the coming year.

Thanks to T.D., Peter, Betty, Dwayne, Jeanne, and Jim for their work in the kitchen, and Dona for the great breakfast.  Thanks to Barbara, who has served Christ Church so often and so well.  [And Kurtis for helping his grandfather and Peter and Jim set up the parish house.]

Also, thanks to Carol, who has re-organized the parish office, and Meg, who has done so much to enable our finances to be transparent and reconciled.

We are remarkably blessed at having so many willing volunteers.

The Annual Meeting Is This Sunday

Remember that we have one service this Sunday at 9:30, followed by the once-a-year meeting of the parish to elect a new vestry and approve this year's budget.  Not to mention, breakfast [or brunch] with the combined 8am and 10am congregations.  It's like one of those special comic books that combined all of the characters from Marvel Comics with those of DC comics.

Above is a meeting of the vestry.

I Was Wondering When This Would Start...I Mean, End

Hawaii Senate ends daily chamber prayers

Occasionally, I Miss My Days As A School Teacher...

...and then I read stories like these and I am reminded that, while the Episcopal Church has its own brand of institutional lunacy, there is a certain splendor to how schools manage to make problems for themselves:

Boy sent home from school for wearing Steelers jersey

"A 13-year-old student at Tacoma's Truman Middle School just wanted to show his team spirit when he wore a Pittsburgh Steelers jersey to his school's Seahawks appreciation day on Friday.  But school administrators sent [the student] home, saying his choice of clothing was inappropriate...."

Not to be outdone, in Charlotte, if you wish to eat lunch with your child, you may, as long as you follow the process:

"Parents who want to eat with their kids in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools cafeterias are expected to register as volunteers and get a criminal-background check - which comes with daily monitoring for new violations."

Something Else George Clooney And I Have In Common

George Clooney contracts malaria following trip to Sudan

Reports For The Annual Meeting

The following reports will be needed for the Christ Church Annual Meeting, to be held this Sunday.  The deadline for reports is 5pm on Thursday.  [I know, I'm a slave driver.]

Altar Guild Treasurer’s Annual Report

Christian Education Report for 2010

Auction Committee Report  [to be delivered as an oral presentation]

Music at Christ Church in 2010 [to be delivered as an oral presentation]

Altar Guild Annual Report for 2010 [to be delivered as an oral presentation]

Treasurer’s Report for 2010

Trinity Church Budget for 2011

Buildings and Grounds Report for 2010

Wardens Report for 2010

Draft Minutes of the Annual Meeting for 2009 [from 1/2010]

Communicants of Christ Church, 2010

Outreach Activities for 2010

Eddie Would Go*

And so would I if I had the time and wherewithal, anything to get away from this weather.

Waimea Bay calls the big surf day

[*In reference to a sermon preached at Christ Church some months ago.]

Study: Many college students not learning to think critically

The study's authors also found that large numbers of students didn't enroll in courses requiring substantial work. In a typical semester, a third of students took no courses with more than 40 pages of reading per week. Half didn't take a single course in which they wrote more than 20 pages over the semester.

Not to say "I told you so" to some faculty and administrators at a boarding school where I was once employed, but I saw this coming fifteen years ago.  When I attempted to address it, I was informed that my perspective was "dated" and "disharmonious to contemporary thought".  I would suggest that the inability to  think critically would create something more socially alarming than disharmony.

The Office Is Closed Today

Today's weather in
Albuquerque: 55 degrees and mostly sunny.
Huntington Beach, California: 75 degrees and sunny.
Waimea, Hawaii: 78 degrees and partly cloudy.
St. John, USVI: 81 with some morning showers.

Oops!

EU student calendar includes Hindu, Jewish and Muslim holidays but omits Christian holidays

This Week In History

January 16, 1543: British Parliament prohibits any "women or artificer's prentices, journeymen, servingmen of the degree of yeoman, or under, husbandmen or labourers to read the New Testament in English."

January 16, 1604: Puritan John Rainolds suggests " . . . that there might bee a newe translation of the Bible, as consonant as can be to the original Hebrew and Greek." England's King James I granted his approval the following day, leading to the 1611 publication of the Authorized (King James) version of the Bible.

January 16, 1920: Largely the result of Christian activists, the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution goes into effect, prohibiting the sale of alcohol. Thirteen years later, Congress repeals the prohibition.

January 17, 356 (traditional date): Antony of Egypt, regarded as the founder of Christian monasticism, dies at age 105. Committed to a life of solitude and absolute poverty, he took two companions with him into the desert when he knew his death was near. They were ordered to bury him without a marker so that his body would never become an object of reverence.

January 17, 1377: Gregory XI moves the papal see from Avignon (where it had been for 72 years) back to Rome. However, when he died the next year, two men (one in Rome, the other in Avignon) both claimed to succeed him, creating a schism.

January 17, 1525: The Zurich City Council arranges a public debate on the subject of infant baptism, which Ulrich Zwingli mandated but Conrad Grebel and Felix Manz (among others) opposed on the grounds that baptism symbolizes a believer's commitment to Christ. Grebel and Manz were defeated and eventually killed for their views.

January 18, 1562: The counter-reformation Council of Trent reconvenes after a 10-year break caused by the revolt of Protestant princes against Emperor Charles V. During the break, all hope of reconciliation between Catholics and Protestants had vanished.

January 18, 1815: Konstantin von Tischendorf, the biblical critic known for discovering and deciphering the "Codex Sinaiticus" (a fifth-century manuscript of Paul's epistles), is born in Germany.

January 18, 1830: Baptism of Tauta'ahau Tupou. King of Tonga by a western missionary. Beginning of a strongly missionary Christian Kingdom.

January 19, 1086: Canute the Great, the king of Denmark, is killed by his subjects. Though Denmark was already nominally Christian when he became king, he went to great lengths to revitalize the faith. He built and restored churches and monasteries and created laws protecting the clergy. But his "new order," which included higher taxes and mandatory tithes, led to a revolt. Canute was reportedly killed in church while celebrating Mass, and he was declared a martyr and saint in 1101.

January 19, 1649: England's King Charles I, a devout Anglican with Catholic sympathies who staunchly defended the "divine right of kings" while oppressing the Puritans, is executed after being convicted of treason under a Puritan-influenced Parliament.

January 20, 1569: Miles Coverdale, publisher of the first printed English Bible and the man who completed William Tyndale's translation of the Old Testament, dies at 81.

January 20, 1918: Following the Bolshevik Revolution, all church property in Russia is confiscated and all religious instruction in schools abolished.

January 21, 1549: In the first of four Acts of Uniformity, the British Parliament requires all Anglican public services to exclusively use of The Book of Common Prayer.

January 21, 1621: Pilgrims leave the Mayflower and gather on shore at Plymouth, Massachusetts, for their first religious service in America.

January 22, 304 (traditional date): Vincent of Saragossa, one of the most famous martyrs of the early church, is killed. Starved, racked, roasted on a gridiron, thrown into prison, and set in stocks, he refused to sacrifice. According to Augustine, his fame extended everywhere in the Roman Empire and "wherever the name of Christ was known".

I Sense Vengence

"Accidental” Headbutt by Dog Sends Martha Stewart to Emergency Room

I'm Glad This Kind Of Stuff Doesn't Bother Just Me

Polamalu’s faith, religion, spirituality, whatever

Really, New York Times?  “...three-inch framed photos of the Virgin Mary and Jesus.”  Those famous Orthodox "photos" that were part of The Great Schism?  You know, where the term "photo-noclasts" comes from.  Is there really no editor at the NYT who knows what an icon is?

A Couple Of Christians Get In Trouble With The Law For Fulfilling Gospel Teaching

And no, it's not anytime in the 1st through 4th centuries.  It's this year in Houston:

City puts a stop to homeless outreach

In my less charitable moments, I'm almost prepared to believe that there are people who think that government must provide for all needs and that religion is an unnecessary competitor. 

Oh, dear.  Now someone, probably a colleague, will say I'm a "tea-partier" or something.  Especially when I observe that the The Coalition for the Homeless is a secular advocacy group that contributes to political candidates and also receives public funding. 

I see a letter from the bishop's office in my future....

The Second Sunday After The Epiphany

This week we hear of John as he reveals a powerful cultural symbol. Also, the much awaited Theology of Skeeball.

The lections may be found here.

Yes!

Surfers in Alaska ride waves for an astonishing five miles

Climate Change: What Can't It Do?

Climate change contributed to rise and fall of Roman empire

Maybe The Scariest Poll Ever,..

...especially if you're an American citizen who is also a person of faith:

Elected Officials Flunk Constitution Quiz

The part I find the most alarming is in this result:

"Just 15 percent answered correctly that the phrase "wall of separation" appears in Thomas Jefferson's letters -- not in the U.S. Constitution -- compared with 19 percent of the general public."

The "wall of separation" is what most people nowadays refer to as the separation of church and state.  As I have informed countless students in myriad classrooms, it's not in the Constitution.  Now, I expect students, who have participated in strongly programmed school curricula, not to know much about American historical fact, but I do wish those who put themselves before the public as representatives worthy of support and votes knew this.

By all means, folks, read this document in public as often as you want and please listen to the words.

Has Anyone Seen The Columbarium?

It's out there somewhere, I know it.  [Click to enlarge].

Some Reading For A Snow Day

When Atheists Are Angry at God

The Office Will Be Closed Today

For reasons that, I think, are obvious.

This Week In History

January 12, 1167: Aelred, the Anglo-Saxon abbot who became one of the Middle Ages' best-known devotional writers, dies.

January 13, 367 (traditional date): Hilary of Poitiers, the leading orthodox church father during Arianism's heyday, dies. His writings about the Trinity and his organization of anti-Arian allies were influential in fighting the heresy but did not have their full effect until after his death.

January 14, 1529: Spanish diplomat and writer Juan de Valdes publishes his "Dialogue on Christian Doctrine," which paved the way for Protestant ideas in Spain.

January 14, 1875: Theologian, medical missionary, organist, musical historian, and winner of the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize Albert Schweitzer is born. His Quest of the Historical Jesus (1906) is considered a foundational work on that subject.

January 15, 345 (traditional date): Paul of Thebes, traditionally considered the first Christian hermit and an inspiration for Antony of Egypt and later Christian monasticism, dies.

January 15, 1535: Henry VIII declares himself head of the English Church [actually he declared himself "defender of the faith"; that's a little different from being "head of the English Church." - ed.].

January 15, 1697: Massachusetts citizens observe a day of fasting and repentance for the Salem witch trials of 1692, in which 19 suspected witches were hanged and more than 150 imprisoned. The day was declared "That so all of God's people may offer up fervent supplications unto him, that all iniquity may be put away, which hath stirred God's holy jealousy against this land; that he would show us what we know not, and help us, wherein we have done amiss, to do so no more".

January 15, 1844: The University of Notre Dame, America's premiere Roman Catholic institution of higher learning, is chartered in South Bend, Indiana.

January 15, 1929: Baptist minister Martin Luther King, Jr., America's most visible civil rights leader from 1955 until his assassination in 1968, is born in Atlanta.

Information courtesy of Christianity Today

Archaeological News [No, Not Really]

Residents in Cypress are on alert after a man has been seen running around the area dressed as a mummy.

Suddenly, Ecumenism Looks A Little More Possible

Egypt's Muslims attend Coptic Christmas mass, serving as "human shields"

Christ Church In The Deep Mid-Winter

The Church Is Open

As of 7:30 this morning, the church walkways and parking lots were cleared, which is kind of a pity because I wanted to shred some with my new snowboard. 

Anyway, anyone who wishes to come by the church today may do so without concern about passage.

The First Sunday After The Epiphany

The baptismal season [that is, the season that recognizes re-birth as it parallels Jesus' birth] continues this Sunday. In the Gospel, Jesus seeks to be baptized, as did many, by his cousin, John.

And, in the Acts of the Apostles, Peter makes an observation that will perhaps be the most climactic of his ministry and ours.

The lections may be found here.

All Of Tonight's Events Have Been Cancelled

Of course, we had nothing scheduled for tonight anyway, but....  Excitingly, I'm watching Weller's Bridge Road being closed as my afternoon entertainment.

Above is a blizzard aftermath in Cleveland when I was a child.  Even though it was on a weekday, a "snow day" wasn't called.  We just didn't do that back then.  One of those wires did mildly electrocute one of our neighbors, however.  From that day forward, his nickname was "Sparky".

My Home Town Turns Up Trumps

Homeless Ohio man with golden voice gets job offer from Cleveland Cavaliers

Two Quotations

1.  The first is from a twenty-something man named Larry, who stated, "Organized religion just causes trouble.  I believe in my own God."  [What makes me think that his God is named "Larry"?]

2.  The second is from a student at the Lower School at Rumsey Hall: "Last night, I had a dream that I was a skelton."  I would have asked him if he were named "Red" in the dream, but that reference is 34 years older than the student.  Then he told me that Jesus came to him in the dream and made sure he wasn't a "skelton" anymore.  In fact, because of Jesus, "No one would ever have to be a skelton again."

Perhaps meaningful religious thought skips a generation.

Coffee Hour

I neglected to mention on Sunday that the Coffee Hour sign-up sheet for January and February is posted in the parish house.

Also, we need someone for this week as, with the busy holidays, no one thought to volunteer for this rewarding exercise in Christian service.  Please let me know if you're interested.

[Wow, that was quick!  We're all set for this Sunday, but please check the list for open Sundays in January and February.]

At Sundown, Christmas Becomes Epiphany

"We keep our Holy Day adored with three miracles: to-day a star led the Magi to the crib, to-day wine was made from water at the marriage, to-day in Jordan Christ willed to be baptized by John to save us." - T.S. Eliot

In the early 1960’s my mother and father received their first credit card. “Diner’s Club”, if I remember correctly. The first big-ticket item that they bought was a new mattress and set of box springs. It was from a local merchant who was also experimenting with this brave new world of credit cards and had just begun to offer telephone sales. The system was not yet perfect, however.

On the day the order was to arrive, at shortly after nine o’clock in the morning, a delivery truck, complete with a friendly, uniformed and bow-tied deliveryman, brought the mattress and box springs into the house. The sale was complete and my parents happy with their purchase. My father went to work and my mother, sister and I left to visit my grandparents. However, according to the story told by our neighbors, about thirty minutes later, another mattress and box springs arrived with another friendly, uniformed deliveryman who left the items on our back porch. Later still, a third set arrived, this time delivered by the first, and rather puzzled, driver.

By late afternoon, when we returned home, the purchase of a single mattress and box springs set had blossomed into fourteen mattresses and box springs. Our back porch looked like a flophouse. The story was picked up by the local newspaper [Fourteen Mattresses Delivered: Area Family Baffled] and made us into minor celebrities for a day. Even with the publicity, it took about two weeks for everything to get straightened out and for the credit card agency to delete the charges for the thirteen extra mattress sets. Naturally, I enjoyed the entire experience. From having my elementary school classmates stop by the house to see what was rapidly becoming the ninth wonder of, if not the world, at least the east side of Cleveland, to savoring the endless possibilities for building forts and other obstacles of childhood fun when there are thirteen mattresses stacked up around the house.

I am reminded of this endless series of unexpected gifts as we have come to the end of our great expectations for Christmas and are beginning to, once again, settle into our routine practice. The trees and decorations begin to disappear; the presents are settled into drawers, toy chests, or armoire. Even our spiritual selves begin to return to normal, with the high expectations for Christmas replaced with the approaching and altered expectations of Lent.

Between those two seasons rests that of Epiphany. Epiphany is celebrated for a variety of reasons, not the least of which in recognition of how the gift of the Incarnation, presented to us during Christmas, continues to be received with an incrementally increasing bounty. We may have ordered our spiritual “mattress” for Christmas, and received that which we expected, but Epiphany is the season in which the gift, like that seemingly infinite series of mattresses and box springs, begins to develop and deliver. And, as with much that is spiritual, it is delivered whether we are ready or not.

In Epiphany, the Magi will arrive to present to Jesus gifts that reflect his task and its majesty; Jesus will also be named in the Temple in Jerusalem and receive the blessing of the priest Simeon, securing his role for the future. He will be baptized by John in the Jordan River and experience the Holy Spirit in its descent upon him. At a wedding in Cana, Jesus will perform his first miracle. Significantly, the miracle will be that of change. While his birth began the liberation of those who were to follow him, it is these events that enrich and refine his developing ministry and aid us in our continuing pilgrimage. While Jesus’ birth is that for which we waited and prepared, it is its unfolding realization that we celebrate in the season of Epiphany.

This, then, becomes the moment of our Epiphany, too, when we notice what has been delivered when we least expected it, often through humble and quiet circumstance. For, as James Joyce wrote, “The moment the focus is reached the object is epiphanised. It is just in this epiphany I find…the supreme quality of beauty.”

'Cause He's On Another Show, Right?

USS Enterprise Captain Relieved Of Command

[I saw a reference to this on the news last night.  The reporter was breathless about the fact that Navy personnel were using "vulgar language".  Sailors swear?  Who knew?  When I was done laughing, I was going to call the TV station and tell them record the conversations of Episcopal monks sometime.]

Something For Budding Guitarists [Or Anyone, Really]

5 Easy Beatles Songs to Play on Guitar

I Was Never Good With Fractions Either

Pontiac police looking for Fifth Third bank robber

The Universe Has Thoughts?

Universe may have more stars than thought

This Week In History

January 2, 1921: Pittsburgh radio station KDKA broadcasts the first religious program over the airwaves: a vesper service of Calvary Episcopal Church. The senior pastor, unimpressed by the landmark broadcast, didn't even participate in the service, leaving his junior associate to conduct it. The two KDKA engineers (one Jewish, the other Catholic), were asked to dress in choir robes to be less obtrusive. Today religious broadcasting is a multi-billion dollar industry. [To be fair, the "senior pastor", or rector, wasn't on duty that night. The office of Evensong was traditionally that of the Curate, or "junior associate". I know this because I spoke once with one of the clergy who was on the staff at the time. He also told me that the fellows from KDKA kept blowing fuses and starting small fires in the choir loft. -ed.]

January 3, 1521: Pope Leo X creates a bull of excommunication for Martin Luther that would have deprived him of civil rights and protection, but before its execution, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V allows Luther the opportunity to recant his beliefs at the Diet of Worms. When Luther instead affirms his beliefs, the bull is carried out.

January 3, 1892: Literature professor J.R.R. Tolkien, author of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and a devout Catholic, is born in Bloemfontein, South Africa.

January 4, 1581: James Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh, Ireland, is born. Famous for a chronology of the Bible that was repeatedly printed in King James Versions, he was so highly esteemed that Oliver Cromwell gave him a state funeral and had him buried in Westminster Abbey.

January 4, 1965: T.S. Eliot, the most influential English writer in the twentieth century and a devout Christian who wove his religious convictions into his work, dies. [An Episcopalian of the high-church tradition, I might add.]

January 5, 1066: Edward the Confessor, the only English king ever canonized a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, dies. Builder of Westminster Abbey, he was buried there January 6.

January 5, 1527: Swiss Anabaptist reformer Felix Manz is drowned in punishment for preaching adult baptism, becoming the first Protestant martyred by other Protestants.

January 5, 1964: Roman Catholic Pope Paul VI and Greek Orthodox Patriarch Athenagoras meet in Jerusalem, the first meeting of the two offices since 1439, more than half a millennium before.

January 6, 548: The Jerusalem church observes Christmas on this date for the last time as the Western church moves to celebrating the birth of Jesus on December 25.

January 6, 1832: French artist Gustave Dore, known for his drawings and lithographs for the Bible, Dante's Inferno, and other works, is born in Strasbourg, France.

January 6, 1850: Charles Spurgeon, who would become one of the greatest preachers of all time, converts to Christianity after receiving a vision, "not a vision to my eyes, but to my heart. I saw what a Savior Christ was," he wrote, "I can never tell you how it was, but I no sooner saw Whom I was to believe than I also understood what it was to believe, and I did believe in one moment".

January 6, 1884: Augustinian monk Gregor Mendel, founder of the science of genetics, dies.*

January 6, 1412 (traditional date): Joan of Arc, the French peasant mystic Christian who became a national heroine and her country's patron saint, is born.

[*For those who think that Christianity is historically anti-science, I draw your attention to Brother Gregor, the father of modern genetics, and also to the devout Sir Isaac Newton, who I think had something to do with physics (just kidding, Dad), and St. Basil, the originator of hospital laboratories.]

[Selections courtesy of Christianity Today.]

The Second Sunday After Christmas

This week [and, yes, it's still Christmas], Jeremiah bids us to sing and listen, Paul writes a sensitive missive to Ephesus, and the Joseph trilogy concludes.  All this and what the heck are the "unusual dreams" they keep referring to on some commercial for a pharmacological product?

The lections may be found here.