The Arrow's Path

Apparently, the last surviving US veteran of World War I died last night . He was 110 years old and joined the army when he was just 16. Being something of an amateur historian on World War I, I find the idea that there was someone who was in WWI to still be alive to be fascinating in itself. Just think how much the world has changed since that man was born in 1901. Basically every facet of life is radically different today. In the year he was born: Lightbulbs had just been invented. Queen Victoria dies. The American League declared itself a "Major League." President William McKinley was assasinated. The first Nobel prize was awarded. Marconi sends the first trans-Atlantic radio signal. If that doesn't blow your mind, here is some further food for thought about what happened in this man's lifetime since 1901: Functional automobiles and airplannes that run on gasoline largely come into existence. The entire rise and fall of Soviet Communism in Russia. Pen...

But let's be clear about what Jesus is not saying. He is not saying that we are not to be stewards of God's blessings. Jesus is not saying that we shouldn't be concerned with paying our bills or making sure our families are provided for. Eh...whatever will be will be. Blessed Be... Jesus is actually saying the exact opposite, "Let's be realists and let's be honest: most days are troubling and troublesome in one way or another. Things are not perfect. Life is not calm. The pace of our working life is not some vision of an eternal Sabbath. Some days we wonder how we'll make ends meet. Some nights we flop into bed and to our chagrin we realize we went the whole day have not sought God at all because we've been too busy worrying. Today has enough bad stuff as it is, Jesus said, and each of us knows deep in our bones that a truer word was never spoken. Nevertheless, Jesus says, those are the same days when you can trust that your heavenly Father is well ...

Brilliant. 

Contact Fr. Tim on his blog. 

Overheard at a Brookings business this afternoon: Salesman: "Can I help you?" Archer: "Yes, I have a 2 o'clock appointment with a 'Ryan.' " Salesman: "Do you know his last name?" Archer: "Uh...no. He just said to ask for Ryan." Salesman: "Well, we have more than one...I'll check. What's your name?" Archer: "Uh...Ryan." Salesman: "Well, this is simply too many dudes named Ryan." Archer: "I agree..."

Very sad images from the Earthquake in New Zealand, particularly of Christ Church Cathedral . Interestingly, there are few prayers for recovery from Natural Disasters in the Book of Common Prayer. The Diocese of Perth, Australia had this one on their website : "O God our Rock, in Christ you have given us an inheritance that cannot be shaken: look in mercy on the people of Christchurch,   as they recover from the earthquake. Bring your help and strength to all whose home or livelihood    has been damaged or destroyed. Give wisdom to engineers, planners and emergency workers    as they seek to make buildings safe and restore essential services. Send your Spirit of care and community to all the people of the city, so that they may work together with courage compassion, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen."

For today's feast, I have created three video podcasts on Polycarp, bishop and martyr. The first is a 6 minute introduction on whom Polycarp was and why he is important: The following two blog entries include the Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians and the Martyrdom of Polycarp, both from the mid-2nd Century. Blessed Saint Polycarp: Pray for Us!

Here is a reading of Polycarp's Epistle to the Philippians (run time: 12 and half minutes):

(Run time: 20 minutes)

Coming Tomorrow: Polycarpalooza!

The following is an interesting illustration by an Eastern Orthodox priest laying out what he calls the Protestant vs. Orthodox view of Salvation. I think that is a bit broad. Some Protestant denominations don't hold to those doctrines. I actually think this is more of an Orthodox vs. Protestants-who-hold-to-doctrines-such-as- Penal-Substitutionary-Atonement . (Please note this Wikipedia article is incorrect on a couple of things; one of which is labelling Christus Victor theory as a Substitutionary Atonement doctrine, which is technically incorrect.) That having been said, I like the illustration. While there are some more Calvinist-leaning Anglicans who might object, I think most Anglicans who hold to strong Incarnational theology would not object to the Orthodox view of Salvation as presented in this manner. Perhaps this might make a good Sunday school or Children's Sermon illustration for you. Food for thought. (Hat tip: Orthodixie blog )

I try to steer clear of politics on this blog. This is not because I dislike politics or political thought or because I am uninformed or have no opinions on politics. I simply remain unconvinced that one can have an open ended discussion on politics (particularly on the internet) without at least one party devolving into shouts and  ad hominem  attacks. Two people can have different political opinions or beliefs, and that does not make the other person a  de facto  idiot, bleeding heart pinko, or Fascist. People just cannot seem to discuss politics in a civil tone of voice anymore, and that is what I cannot stand. There is a major difference between polemics and politics, and there is a major different between substantive debate and a sound byte. This is also why I avoid political discussions like the plague. While I avoid taking sides on hobby horse political issues, I do occasionally touch on a political subject when I can discuss the Religious implic...

Since the weather limited my rip roaring sermon on Leviticus , the next time it comes up on the Lectionary will be in 2017. The 7th Sunday after the Epiphany, Year A (which is the only Sunday a Leviticus reading is read) in 2014 is preempted by an extremely early Ash Wednesday and Lenten season. I guess my Friday morning will be sermon writing free on February 17th, 2017. Of course if the world ends in December 2012 due to the Mayan calendar apocalypse, then all my Fridays will be sermon writing free thereafter.

I just walked from the rectory to the church building and back. I was covered in icy snow by the time I got back to the rectory. I checked the National Weather Service, and we are also under a blizzard warning for most of the day. I am officially canceling our Sunday service today. Please stay home and be safe. No one needs to be out driving in this weather. You may, of course, say Morning Prayer at home. You can find everything you need here to say Morning Prayer here . The Sunday Lectionary readings are here . I have also been requested to announce that the Boy Scout Spaghetti feed will be postponed until a later date...possibly Feb. 27 (next Sunday), though that has not been set in stone. Stay home and stay safe!

"The world has many poor in spirit, but not in the right way; and many who mourn, but over money matters and loss of children; and many who are meek, but in the face of impure passions; and many who hunger and thirst, but to rob another's goods and to profit unjustly. And there are many who are merciful, but to the body and to its comforts; and clean of heart, but out of vanity; and peacemakers, but who subject the soul to the flesh; and many who suffer persecution, but because they are disorderly; many who are reproached, but for shameful sins. Instead, only those are blessed who do and suffer these things for Christ and following his example. For what reason? "Because theirs is the kingdom of heaven," and "they shall see God," and so forth. So that it is not because they do and suffer these things that they are blessed (since those just mentioned do the same), but because they do and suffer them for Christ and following his example. - St. Maximus the Co...

"Mornin' Sam..." "Mornin' Ralph...have a good day." "It's too close to quittin' time, Ralph...let's pick it up in the morning."

Just a heads up to my readers: next week on Wednesday, which is the Feast Day of St. Polycarp, there is going to be a Polycarpalooza here on this blog. I have three video podcasts ready to roll. It should be a hoot. Until then...

There is apparently not a prayer specifically for Vestries in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. There are ones for the Parish and a Church meeting/council. I did not know that.

At least one religious order, the Dominican sisters of St. Cecilia  (whom you can see have an awesome website), is one of the fastest growing orders in the country. My hometown news in Knoxville did this article and video here  on a convent (which is a satellite of the Nashville based Roman Catholic order) that is excellent. The particular sisters now teach at my High school alma mater  (which is the one place from which I have graduated to which I would voluntarily consider donating money.) The video clip  caught my attention for several reasons. All the nuns pictured are quite young. (Many religious orders and convents have mostly aging members.) The video also does a great job of capturing the spirit of joy and simplicity that monasticism (and Christianity in general) at its best captures. Also of note is the little throw away line in the clip about the nuns being the first time the students saw a nun in an actual habit. The guidance counselor when I was a s...

Canon Andrew White, who is the Anglican vicar of Baghdad and a personal acquaintance of mine, noted in a Facebook update the other day that Christians in Iraq were beginning the Fast of Jonah. This was a new one on me. I had never heard of such a thing. I queried him as to what that was, and he directed me to this page , which has a good English explanation. Ironically, it is from a Coptic Orthodox church in...you'll never guess this...Greenville, South Carolina! This triggered a recollection of mine that the Coptic church (largely Egyptian in origin) had started several Coptic mission churches in the American South in the last ten years that have been fairly successful. They have certainly built a Coptic church in Tennessee near Nashville that is truly gorgeous. The Coptic Church follow the first four ecumenical councils, at which point they and several other churches known as Oriental Orthodox (as opposed to Eastern Orthodox) broke away from other parts of Christianity...

Here is a rather interesting blog article on CNN.com about Baby Boomers entering seminary . My class at Seabury was something of an exception with the majority of my classmates under 35. At Westcott House in the Church of England when I was there, there certainly were not any boomers that I recall, with the exception of maybe one or two. Certainly, there were plenty of Boomers in other classes in the Episcopal Church seminaries though. I think this is partly the end result of (at least in the Episcopal church) the thinking of those in the Ordination process discernment committees for several years starting in the late '80's that seminarians needed some "real life experience" before going to seminary. This was largely a disaster because young people who were discouraged or turned away until they reached "riper years" (as it says in the adult baptism rite in the1662 Book of Common Prayer), moved on either to secular jobs or to other denominations or ministri...

At this point in her life, I am convinced my daughter is going to be a veterinarian one day. She loves animals, books about animals, and making animal sounds. We discovered on our Roku internet streamer a "Moremi Lions Channel," which our daughter loves. (It is truly amazing what you can live stream off the internet.) This was apparently the brainchild of a group of South Africans called Earth-Touch . According to their blog, the group " of slightly peculiar people from very different walks of life were brought together by a shared goal: to spread enthusiasm for nature and wildlife as far and wide as the online realm would allow.  And so the Earth-Touch blog was born." Apparently, one of their projects was to film a certain pride of the Lions in Moremi, Botswana , over a period of three years. The final film project, which wrapped in late 2010, produced a series of High Defintion video podcasts of the Lions of Moremi . Each clip is about 8 to 15 minutes. The ...

Today is the Feast Day of Saints Cyril and Methodius, saints honored in both Eastern and Western Christianity for their work as missionaries among the Slavs in the mid AD 800s.  The two were brothers and ordained priests in the Byzantine Church in Constantinople, where Cyril had served as the librarian at Hagia Sophia. Methodios, the elder brother, had spent ten years as an officer among the Slavs in Macedonia.  When the Khazar king requested Christian Missionaries from Emperor Michael, the Emperor commanded that these brothers be found and sent. They went and converted a great number of people, starting with the king and many of the nobles.  Returning to Constantinople, they compiled the Cyrillic alphabet in order to translate the Liturgy into Slavonic. They were later invited to Moravia , where they continued their evangelistic work and defended the use of the vernacular in the Liturgy. They were eventually even invited to Rome by the Pope. Cyril...

How many clergy actually uttered the word "Divorce" in the sermon this morning when the gospel text was this ? I am willing to guess it wasn't that many.

Dilbert pegged reality today.  Brilliant.

We make a ladder of our vices, if we trample those same vices underfoot. -St. Augustine of Hippo

Curious picture on the cover of SSJE's Cowley Magazine .

Interesting article here about the Church's relationship to those involved in business. I find it interesting that the author assumes that many people presume that the Church has historically frowned upon commerce and business or the corporate world in general. Certainly with the ascendancy of leftover hippies to many positions of power in many mainline American churches, I think that is ironically true of American mainline Protestant churches. That wasn't the case centuries ago when the "Protestant work ethic" largely fueled much of the industrial and capitalist revolutions beginning with mercantilism and the like. Certainly, a strand of Calvinism emphasized the necessity of hard work as a component of a person's calling and worldly success as a sign of Divine Providence.  Martin Luther also posited that worldly work was an individual's duty to benefit the common good. The Catholic tradition likewise has threads that value labor. Benedictine philosophy...

Since Fr Tim and I have been on the subject of State Legislative bills, I offer the following information to anyone interested. I am on the Brookings Historic Preservation Commission and we are tracking the following bill currently (the following  information was forwarded me  from the State Historian's Office): HB1248 – Tourism tax bill – This bill directly impacts the operations of the State Historical Society and is critical for us to pass. While historic preservation will face a cut in our general funds, this should have minimal impact on operations. It will likely come from our travel and supplies budget, which we can make up with federal funds. Without HB1248, however, historic preservation could face a larger general funds cut or be forced to shift more of our federal funds to personal services and away from projects like surveys, nominations, historic contexts, or training workshops. The House State Affairs committee is scheduled to hear HB 1248 on Monday, F...

Cathedral of the Assumption, Moscow .

I've made 4 apple pies from scratch. Y'all better come!

Yeah, that's the top of the porch. Guess I'll have to go out on Tauntaun...

and the commercials were borderline raunchy, but the actual Super Bowl game itself was good. For once, there was not a team I disliked in the Super Bowl, so I really had no dog in the fight. I was able to just sit back and watch the play calling. I found it to be an interesting study in halves. Green Bay pretty much dominated the first half, with the exception of the Steeler touchdown right before halftime. With the 2nd half, you got the feeling the momentum shifted and Pittsburgh was just a big play away from taking over the game. Ironically, that never actually happened. The Steelers kept getting close, but then something stupid would happen like a fumble, and the Packers would pad their lead a bit. Pittsburgh just never quite took control. They got close several times but never quite pulled it out of the fire. My general prediction held true: the magic number was 30. If Green Bay could score at least 30 points, they would win; if not, they would lose. Green Bay scored 31 and won...

I've been reading predictions online of football experts (celebrities like Donald Trump and Ed Asner don't count). It appears the actual football experts are about even on picking one side or the other for winning the Super Bowl (you know, that funny little football scrimmage that comes on in between the commercials.) If you factor in the entire ESPN writers staff, Green Bay might have a slight edge in the predictions, but its pretty much 50/50 among the experts as far as I can tell. In other news, some fiery place must have frozen over as Deion "Prime Time" Sanders got elected to the NFL hall of fame .

who actually watches the Superbowl for the Football game itself.

"So there is a good that can make you good, and there is a good with which you can do good. The good that makes you good is God, for only the one who is always good can make people good. In order that you, therefore, may be good, call on God. There is, however, another good with which you can do good, anything, that is, that you may have. It is gold, it is silver, it is good, not such that can make you good but such that you can do good with. "You have gold, you have silver, and you are lusting for gold, and you are lusting for silver. You have it, and you are lusting for it, you are full, and you are still thirsty. It is a disease you have, not prosperity. There are people with a disease that makes them full of moisture and yet always thirsty: they are full of moisture and are always thirsty for moisture! So how can you enjoy your prosperity when your list for money suggests a bad case of dropsy? "So you have gold, it is good; you have something to do good with but no...

Get Fuzzy was pretty good today .

Google does it again .

The organist at my former parish has finished his doctorate in music. The full text download of his dissertation is here . From Kurt's description: " Missa Prolationem is a setting of the traditional Latin Ordinary mass text that seeks to explore counterpoint in the context of metric problems." Now the cool part which is the performance of the mass setting  is here . It is worth a listen. Nice Job, Kurt!

As I discussed in my previous newsletter article, the Church is currently in an unusually long period of ordinary time that we call Epiphany. This period of the church year focuses on searching for the meaning of Christ's manifestation in our lives. Christ is often made manifest in our midst, though we often fail to perceive Him or fully understand or appreciate what he is up to at the time. As of January 30th, this parish had its Annual Meeting. The "take home" message that I hope was conveyed both in the Rector's Charge during the Sunday sermon and also in the Annual Meeting itself was the theme of looking at what Christ has done and is doing in our midst at this parish. I believe we have been blessed and will be blessed with both opportunities and challenges in the coming year. In the past year we have had significant growth in the number of children attending the Wednesday church school. Likewise, we have had to implement and staff a parish nursery for the gro...

I Deny the Resurrection from Peter Rollins on Vimeo .

The following is a message I just received from Canon Andrew White, the Anglican Vicar of Baghdad: " We are in a crisis throughout the Middle East. We can look at things politically or spiritually. My work is both the political and the Spiritual but today I want to concentrate on the Spiritual. For a long while now I have spoken of the significance of the end of Isaiah 19. Today that passage seems more significant than ever. As over a million people gather in Cairo. It is a people who number in biblical proportions. If the Old Testament was being written today this gathering of opposition would be mentioned. Theologians would in years to come say that there were really not that many people. The fact is that today it is on camera. It cannot be denied. As hundreds of thousands gather the fear and ripple of these masses can be felt in the surrounding countries. So far this crisis has hit Tunis, Yemen, Lebanon and Egypt. Today the crisis has moved to Jordan. The King has sacked the ...

I found this neat little story about the Egyptian crisis and the Anglican Cycle of Prayer here on the ENS . Prayer connects people with other people, not just with God.