The Arrow's Path

I picked up a book at the local library a few weeks. It was number 3 of 3 I checked out that day. It was a last minute while waiting for my daughter to pick out her books kind of grab. From the cover of it (it had a rather dated cover), I was dubious but for whatever reason caught my attention. They say never judge a book by its cover, but I think that's hogwash. I very seldomly enjoy books that don't have a good binding or cover artwork. If the artwork is flake, then the book usually is too. The name of the book was Nagasaki: Life After Nuclear War by Susan Southard . The cover had this real 80's looking panorama of modern Japan in yellow letters. It was kitschy looking, but like I said, it piqued my interest. I don't know why I grabbed it, as it had the vibe of "heavy handed anti-war hippie" panache written all over it. I usually don't go in for that sort of thing, particularly since I had another book I had really wanted to start reading in the pile, ...

25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” 27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” 28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” 29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem Tennessee mountain holler to Jericho Alabama, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest Protestant minister happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite Community Organizer, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ...

There have been some interesting culture events that have happened over the weekend. There was a political rally in Charlottesville, Virginia that ended in a crazy person running over a bunch of pedestrians, killing one and injuring several. The rally was under the banner of "Unite the Right" and was sponsored by various groups that the media/political intelligentsia have labelled the "alt-right"-which I am not exactly sure what that terms means exactly. It is sort of an omnibus boogeyman term for everyone in the supposed "alternative right" in the country that seems to encompass neo-Confederates, Neo-Nazis, Southern Nationalists, the Klan, and any other assorted racist goons, regardless of type or ideology. Having grown up in a Southern county that is historically very economically depressed and had for many years an active Klan presence (they used to have a lodge building at the county seat and march during parades and such), I have been amused at the ...

I would also be remiss if I did not comment on the Gospel reading for Sunday . It is also a very powerful reading of the storm on the sea of Galilee. Jesus comes walking up to them on the water, and the disciples, which on the surface seems somewhat hilarious, think he's a ghost on the water. This is not, however, an unreasonable assumption on the disciples part, however. I was amazed when I was in Galilee. We got to go on a boat out on the Sea of Galilee. There are very steep extinct volcanoes that on on the northern end of the Sea of Galilee. Volcanic rock is black in color. So, these black mountains in the background reflecting off the water is very creepy indeed. I was out on the water on a fairly clear, summer day, but even then, it was a weird feeling, like these dark mountains hovering in the distance. I can only imagine during a rain storm what a truly dark and foreboding place that must be. To get a small taste of sailing on the Sea of Galilee, here is a little video ...

Some really great passages are presents in the Sunday lectionary this week. One of my favorite Old Testament passages has Elijah, having fled from Ahab, hiding out in a cave in a mountain. In a wonderfully vivid but minimalist story telling, Elijah is visited by wind, storm, earthquake, and fire...all the good primal elements. The catch line is "And God was not in the fire" or "God was not in the wind. God is found in the what is sometimes translated as a 'small whispering sound.' The words in Hebrew are  דַקָּֽה׃   דְּמָמָ֥ה  ק֖וֹל, literally 'a still small voice.'  The term can mean silence, but a voice has to make some sort of sound, so translators are usually at a loss as to how exactly to translate the it correctly. Some translations do say "the sound of sheer silence" but the word voice/sound is clearly also used. It's intentionally ambiguous. Regardless of whatever Elijah was hearing, the point is he heard God from this sound o...

So, sinister tall guys wearing Hawaiian shirts while holding bouquets of flowers in mason jars get really strange looks in lobbies.

Sunday is the Feast of the Transfiguration. This is one of those Gospel stories that makes modern Protestants and others in the "historical Jesus" debate really go bonkers if they view Jesus as little more than a nice guy moral exemplar. If you have issues with the Trinity in any real sense other than as some weird theological abstraction, then this also makes you a bit twitchy. For those who think the Early church made Jesus more "divine" as time went on, then this story really gets you going. Imagining Jesus in his true form apart from his humanity is a bit troubling if we picture Jesus as just a nice guy who died tragically or as some misguided rabbi floating here, there, and everywhere. I am including here some pictures I took from the top of the Mount of the Transfiguration. You interestingly have to pile in at the bottom of the mountain in buses run by Muslims who jobs are to ferret tourists up and down the mountain. It's quite the gut wrenching windi...

Good stuff to listen to if you have a car ride coming up...