My sweet euphonious voice

I was on Issues Etc. briefly to discuss my article on being a pallbearer which was on the First Things website.

You can listen here. It is under Wednesday, January 30th.

Not all bits have equal value

I read this on a quotes page. Carl Sagan is/was an well known unbeliever but he is correct here:

All of the books in the world contain no more information than is broadcast as video in a single large American city in a single year. Not all bits have equal value.
- Carl Sagan

Cyril of Alexandria on the Transfiguration

This is long but it is worth reading.

It is Cyril of Alexandria's treatment of the Transfiguration as recorded in Luke. He focuses on the aspect of preparation, Jesus preparing his disciples for combat by displaying to them the glory that is to come.

Those who are skilful in the combat rejoice when the spectators clap their hands, and are roused to a glorious height of courage by the hope of the chaplets of victory: and so those whoso desire it is to be counted worthy of the divine gifts, and who thirst to be made partakers of the hope prepared for the saints, joyfully undergo combats for piety's sake towards Christ, and lead elect lives, not setting store by a thankless indolence, nor indulging in a mean timidity, but rather manfully resisting every temptation, and setting at nought the violence of persecutions, while they count it gain to suffer in His behalf. For they remember that the blessed Paul thus writes, "The sufferings of this present time are not worthy of the glory that is about to be revealed in us."

Observe, therefore, how perfectly beautiful is the method which our Lord Jesus Christ uses here also for the benefit and edification of the holy Apostles. For He had said unto them, "Whosoever will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross every day, and follow Me. For he that will save his life shall lose it; and he that will lose his life for My sake shall find it." The commandment is indeed both for the salvation and honour of the saints, and the cause of the highest glory, and the means of perfect joy: for the choosing to suffer for the sake of Christ is not a thankless duty, but on the contrary makes us sharers in everlasting life, and the glory that is prepared. But as the disciples had not yet obtained power from on high, it probably occasionally happened, that they also fell into human weaknesses, and when thinking over with themselves any such saying as this, may have asked "how does a man deny himself?" or how having lost himself does he find himself again? And what reward will compensate those who thus suffer? Or of what gifts will they be made partakers?

To rescue them therefore from such timid thoughts, and, so to speak, to mould them unto manliness, by begetting in them a desire of the glory about to be bestowed upon them, He says, "I say unto you, there are some of those standing here, who shall not taste of death until they have seen the kingdom of God." Does He mean that the measure of their lives will be so greatly prolonged as even to reach to that time when He will descend from heaven at the. consummation of the world, to bestow upon the saints the kingdom prepared for them? Even this was possible for Him: for He is omnipotent: and there is nothing impossible or difficult to His all-powerful will. But by the kingdom of God He means the sight of the glory in which He will appear at His manifestation to the inhabitants of earth: for He will come in the glory of God the Father, and not in low estate like unto us. How therefore did He make those who had received the promise spectators of a thing so wonderful? He goes up into the mountain taking with Him three chosen disciples: and is transformed to so surpassing and godlike a brightness, that His garments even glittered with rays of fire, and seemed to flash like lightning.

And besides, Moses and Elijah stood at Jesus' side, and spake with one another of His departure, which He was about, it says, to accomplish at Jerusalem: by which is meant the mystery of the dispensation in the flesh; and of His precious suffering upon the cross. For it is also true that the law of Moses, and the word of the holy prophets, foreshewed the mystery of Christ: the one by types and shadows, painting it, so to speak, as in a picture; while the rest in manifold ways declared beforehand, both that in due time He would appear in our likeness, and for the salvation and life of us all, consent to suffer death upon the tree. The standing, therefore, of Moses and Elijah before Him, and their talking with one another, was a sort of representation, excellently displaying our Lord Jesus Christ, as having the law and the prophets for His body guard, as being the Lord of the law and the prophets, and as foreshown in them by those things which in mutual agreement they before proclaimed. For the words of the prophets are not at variance with the teachings of the law. And this I imagine was what Moses the most priestly and Elijah the most distinguished of the prophets were talking of with one another.

But the blessed disciples sleep awhile, as Christ continued long in prayer:----for He performed these human duties as belonging to the dispensation:----and afterwards on awaking they became spectators of changes thus splendid and glorious: and the divine Peter, thinking perchance, that the time of the kingdom of God was even now come, proposes dwellings on the mountain, and says that it is fitting there should be three tabernacles, one for Christ, and the others for the other two, Moses and Elijah: "but he knew not," it says, "what he was saying." For it was not the time of the consummation of the world, nor for the saints to take possession of the hope promised to them; for as Paul says, "He will change our humble body into the likeness of His,----that is, Christ's----glorious body." As therefore the dispensation was still at its commencement, and not yet fulfilled, how would it have been fitting for Christ to have abandoned His love to the world, and have departed from His purpose of suffering in its behalf? For He redeemed all under heaven, by both undergoing death in the flesh, and by abolishing it by the resurrection from the dead. Peter therefore knew not what he said.

But besides the wonderful and ineffable sight of Christ's glory, something else was done, useful and necessary for the confirmation of their faith in Him: and not for the disciples only, but even for us too. For a voice was given forth from the cloud above, as from God the Father, saying: "This is My beloved Son, hear Him. And when there was the voice," it says, "Jesus was found alone." What then will he who is disputatious and disobedient, and whose heart is incurable, say to these things? Lo! Moses is there, and does the Father command the holy apostles to hear him? Had it been His will that they should follow the commandments of Moses, He would have said, I suppose, Obey Moses; keep the law. But this was not what God the Father here said, but in the presence of Moses and the prophets, He commands them rather to hear Him. And that the truth might not be subverted by any, affirming that the Father rather bade them hear Moses, and not Christ the Saviour of us all, the Evangelist has clearly marked it, saying, "When there was the voice, Jesus was found alone." When therefore God the Father, from the cloud overhead, commanded the holy apostles, saying, "Hear Him," Moses was far away, and Elijah too was no longer nigh; but Christ was there alone. Him therefore He commanded them to obey.

For He also is the end of the law and the prophets: for which reason He cried aloud to the multitudes of the Jews: "If ye had believed Moses, ye would have believed Me also: for he wrote of Me." But as they persevered even unto the end in despising the commandment given by most wise Moses, and in rejecting the word of the holy prophets, they have justly been alienated and expelled from those blessings that were promised to their fathers. For "obedience is better than sacrifices, and to hearken than the fat of rams," as the Scripture saith. And thus much then of the Jews: but upon us who have acknowledged the revelation, all these blessings have necessarily been bestowed, by means of and as the gift of the same Christ: by Whom and with Whom, to God the Father be praise and dominion, with the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever. Amen.

Obama for conservatives?

This is a very thoughtful post on the appeal of Barack Obama even to conservatives.

Makes some interesting points.

The Evangelism linebacker

"Get off the floe and go doe to doe!"




Courtesy of the First Things Blog

Thus bread is God's helper

More Luther on the temptation. Here he discusses how God cares for us all the time. Sometimes he does it by using bread or people or the office of the ministry. Sometimes he does it alone. All of it is his doing. Only when he feeds us with bread we cannot see him and we imagine he is not working.


Now that God sustains all mankind by bread, and not by the Word alone, without bread, is done to the end, that he conceals his work in the world in order to exercise believers; just as he commanded the children of Israel to arm themselves and to fight, and yet it was not his pleasure that victory should come through their own sword and deeds; but he himself was to slay their enemies and triumph with their swords and through their deeds. Here it might also be said: The warrior was not victorious through his sword alone, but by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God ... Yet he uses man and the horse, the sword and bow: but not because of the strength and power of man and of the horse, but under the veil and covering of man and the horse he fights and does all. This he proves in that he often did and daily does the same without man and the horse, where there is need and he is not tempted.

Thus he does also with the bread; since it is at hand, he nourishes us. through it and by means of it, so that we do not see it and we think the bread does it; but where it is not at hand, there he nourishes us without the bread, only through the Word, as he does by means of the bread; so that thus bread is God's helper, as Paul says in 1 Cor 3,9: "We are God's fellow workers," that is, through and under our outward ministerial office he gives inwardly his grace, which he also could give and does give indeed without our office; but since the office is at hand, one should not despise it nor tempt God.

Thus God sustains us outwardly by bread; but only inwardly he gives that growth and permanency, which the bread cannot give. And the summary is: All creatures are God's larva and mummery, which he permits to work with him and to help to do everything that he can do and does do otherwise without their cooperation, in order that we may cleave alone to his Word. Thus, if bread is at hand, that we do not therefore trust the more; or if there is no bread present, that we do not therefore despair the more; but use it when it is at hand, and do without it, when there is none; being assured that we shall still live and be sustained at both times by God's Word, whether there be bread or no bread. With such faith one overcomes avarice and temporal care for daily bread in the right way.

You can read the whole sermon here.

There I am in the true school

Luther on the temptation of Christ and the temptation of Christians.


But as to how temptation takes place and how it is overcome, is all very beautifully pictured to us here in Christ.

First, that he is led up into the wilderness, that is, he is left solitary and alone by God, angels and men, by all creatures. What kind of a temptation would it be, if we were not forsaken and stood not alone? It is, however, painful when we do not feel anything that presents its back to us; as for example, that I should support myself and have not a nickel, not a thread, not a twig, and I experience no help from others, and no advice is offered. That means to be led into the desert and to be left alone. There I am in the true school, and I learn what I am, how weak my faith is, how great and rare true faith is, and how deeply unbelief is entrenched in the hearts of all men. But whoever has his purse, cellar and fields full, is not yet led into the desert, neither is he left alone; therefore he is not conscious of temptation.


Secondly, the tempter came forward and attacked Christ with these very same cares of food for the body and with the unbelief in the goodness of God, and said: "If thou art the Son of God, command that these stones become bread," as if he should say: Yes, trust thou in God and bake and cook nothing; only wait patiently until a roasted fowl flies into your mouth; do you now say that you have a God who cares for you; where is now your heavenly Father, who has charge of you? Yea, it seems to me he lets you in a fine condition; eat now and drink from your faith, let us see how you will satisfy your hunger; yea, when you have stones for bread. What a fine Son of God you are! How fatherly he is disposed toward you in that he fails to send you a slice of bread and permits you to be so poor and needy; do you now continue to believe that you are his son and he is your father? With like thoughts he truly attacks all the children of God. And Christ surely felt this temptation, for he was no stock nor
stone; although he was and remained pure and without sin, as we cannot do.

Dude! Analyzed

Here is a delightful article that analyzes the appeal of the "Dude" commercials which I briefly admired in an earlier post.

Language is an endlessly fascinating phenomenon. Here is his analysis of the ways in which the word dude is used:

The admonitory dude: the dude deployed when your buddy won't stop humming "Umbrella" on a long car ride. As in, "Dude, enough."

The interrogative dude: useful for ascertaining whether you've dropped a call. "Dude? Are you still there?"

The deflated dude: the dude of bad news. "Dude. Tom Brady's wearing a boot."

The exclamatory dude: the dude of good news. "Dude! Tom Brady is no longer wearing a boot!"

The sotto voce dude: for classified briefings. "Dude: Here comes that tall drink of water from accounting."

The blissed-out dude: more accurately rendered as duhuhude. The dude issued upon rediscovering a long-lost Dead tape.

A not so dead language

This looks to be a reasonably up to date site that reports the news in Latin.

Here is a bit of a report on the recent stock market panics:

Timor negotiatorum oeconomiam Americanam in recessionem casuram esse excitavit die Lunae maximas clades in foris titulorum mundanis. Fons timoris novissimi praecipue videtur esse praeteritae diei Veneris oratio ad nationem praesidentis Georgii W. Bush, qua oratione ductor US-Americanorum cupivit persuadere mercatoribus oeconomiam USA fundamentis fortibus niti. Ut patet, frustra.

The Street (sesame)

The Uneasy Priest is so right about Sesame Street. It used to be a great show. My undergrad Greek and Latin teacher at Concordia-River Forest (Prof Charles Froehlich, one of the smartest men I have ever known, though he never earned a doctorate) used to go home at lunch and watch the Street. He was, to understate it, not a liberal. The Street used to focus on the basics of reading and math in the coolest, "funnest" way. It is a shell of itself.

The "Unorthodox" Patriarch of Constantinople

Here is a fascinating article on the patriarch of Constantinople from the WSJ. The article paints a scathing picture of an out of touch prelate pandering to Western liberal concerns while his own flock and very survival are at stake in Turkey.

I have no context to evaluate how accurate it is. Any one want to weigh in?

Here are some snippets:

Nonetheless, Bartholomew devotes the bulk of his book to anything but the mortal threat to his own religion in his own country. High on his list of favorite topics, most with only a tangential relationship to Orthodoxy, is the environment. He has won the nickname "the Green Patriarch" for the decade or so he has preached the ecological gospel, largely to liberal secular audiences in the West. "Encountering the Mystery" is in large part a collection of eco-friendly platitudes about global warming ("At stake is not just our ability to live in a sustainable way but our very survival") and globalization, adorned with a bit of theological window-dressing, that today's secular progressives love to read.


On first reading, this exercise in fiddling while the new Rome burns seems pathetic, presenting a picture of a church leader so intimidated by his country's Islamic majority that he cannot speak up for his dwindling flock even as its members are murdered at his doorstep. Bartholomew's book presents an eerie mirror image of the concerns of aging, culturally exhausted, post-Christian Western Europe, happy to blather on at conferences about carbon emissions and diversity but unwilling to confront its own demographic crisis in the face of youthful, rapidly growing and culturally antagonistic Muslim populations. The suicide of the West meets the homicide of the East.

My little town

Living as I do in a very small North Carolina town (Catawba) on the very far exurbs of Charlotte, I appreciated this article by R. R. Reno on living in Omaha. I have become quite fond of this little place and the congregation here as he is fond of Omaha. His observations on the place you live and the wish to live elsewhere and the attitudes others have to your home hit the mark.

Here is a great couple of sentences on how the wish for "diversity" often ends up meaning homogeneity:

Instead, in conversation they’ll say that Omaha lacks “diversity,” by which they mean a critical mass of other people who think as they do about politics and morality. They condemn Omaha as provincial, but what they are really saying is that the city is not progressive. In their minds, Berkeley or Boulder are ideal, all the more so because they so completely combine homogeneity with progressive self-congratulation.

First Things article

First Things is carrying an article I wrote on being a pallbearer on their front page today. You can read it here.

Sister and Me

My wife has developed quite the successful little business: Sister and Me. She makes handbags and many other items in our home and sells them in shops here in NC as well as in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and elsewhere. She is now stepping out into the online world. You can look at and purchase her "stuff" here. There is a new widget on the side bar of this blog just in the left hand column which shows some of her products.

Ladies, you will not disappointed. Guys, buy your wife something for Valentines Day. Always a good move.

God intervened in person

Indeed there is a mystery: “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness; God was manifested in the flesh.” But this mystery was a revelation; the true character of God had been disclosed in the Incarnation. God was so much and so intimately concerned with the destiny of man (and precisely with the destiny of every one of “the little ones”) as to intervene in person in the chaos and misery of the lost life. The divine providence therefore is not merely an omnipotent ruling of the universe from an august distance by the divine majesty, but a kenosis, a “self-humiliation” of the God of glory. There is a personal relationship between God and man.

Fr Georges Florovsky. Bible, Church, Tradition, p. 13.

HT: Biblicalia

That the soul too may fatten on God

Tertullian on the union of body and soul and parenthetically on baptism and the Eucharist.

The flesh, then, is washed, so that the soul may be made clean. The flesh is anointed, so that the soul may be dedicated to holiness. The flesh is signed, so that the soul too may be fortified. The flesh is shaded with the imposition of hands, so that the soul too may be illuminated by the Spirit. The flesh feeds on the Body and Blood of Christ, so that the soul too may fatten on God. They cannot, then, be separated in their reward, when they are united in their works.

Tertullian's The Resurrection of the Dead [8,2] A.D. 208-212.

Online here

Science as moral authority

The author argues that science has become an enforcer of behavior not just a deliverer of information.

Today, it frequently seems as if scientific authority is replacing religious and moral authority, and in the process being transformed into a dogma. At first sight, it appears that science has the last word on all the important questions of our time. Science is no longer confined to the laboratory. Parents are advised to adopt this or that child-rearing technique on the grounds that ‘the research’ has shown what is best for kids. Scientific studies are frequently used to instruct people on how to conduct their relationships and family life, and on what food they should eat, how much alcohol they should drink, how frequently they can expose their skin to the sun, and even how they should have sex. Virtually every aspect of human life is discussed in scientific terms, and justified with reference to a piece of research or by appealing to the judgment of experts.

...

The formidable influence of scientific authority can be seen in the way that environmentalists now rely on science to back up their arguments. Not long ago, in the 1970s and 80s, leading environmentalists insisted that science was undemocratic, that it was responsible for many of the problems facing the planet. Now, in public at least, their hostility towards science has given way to their embrace and endorsement of science. Today, the environmental lobby depends on the legitimation provided by scientific evidence and expertise. In their public performances, environmentalists frequently use the science in a dogmatic fashion. ‘The scientists have spoken’, says one British-based campaign group, in an updated version of the religious phrase: ‘This is the Word of the Lord.’ ‘This is what the science says we must do’, many greens claim, before adding that the debate about global warming is ‘finished’.


Hat tip: Arts and Letters Daily

Time to face the strange changes

Watch until the end ... worth a giggle.

An imperfect Christ

This is very good defense and analysis of the Harry Potter books against those Christians who insist on criticizing them. S. M. Hutchens authored it on the Mere Comments website.

A taste:

The Rowling fantasy, for those who are able to see it, is a very typical moral tale of the Judeo-Christian west: it is the story (I have said elsewhere that this is the only real Story there is) of the hidden prince born in troubled obscurity, who finds it in himself to love good and oppose evil, and who, aided by a rather motley lot of companions, destroys at the forfeit of his life the kingdom of the Evil One, finally coming into his own and living happily ever after. It is the story of the Gospel; it is our story. To love it is to love the story of Christ and his church. Harry Potter is an imperfect Christ, to be sure, but what reasonable person would confuse the thing itself with its image?

NY Times on the ecumenical movement

Here is an article in the NY Times on the ecumenical movement and the push for church unity. More, it is about why such a push has lost steam.

Concordia University-Austin is moving

This story may be of interest to some.

Concordia University in Austin Texas is moving. The local Austin paper ran this story about the history and place of the old Concordia campus.

The First Church of the Grand High Exalted Mystic Vague

Antony Sacramone, LCMS contributor at First Things, weighs in on the ELCA seeking full communion with the United Methodist Church.

Delightfully so with a full quiver of invective. As this bit demonstrates:

Why not merge the churches and be done with it—they’re already bleeding more members than a mohel convention. Why not create one great American mainline Protestant denomination—called the First Church of the Grand High Exalted Mystic Vague—where all are welcome, because all are one, and between self and nonself exists only an unpaid student loan.

Urban ruin

I can scarcely imagine a more fitting image for the ruin that can overtake a city than this one. It is a textbook warehouse in Detroit that I gather was once an impressive building on its own apart from the books it housed. Thousands of rotting volumes intended to encourage, uplift and deepen the civic life of a city through its children now left to decay. The photo stands for so much that can go wrong: economy, government family, schools, architecture and more.

Here is the photo set on flickr with more pics.

And a Hat tip to Boing Boing

Newspaper on Confession and Absolution

The Columbus Dispatch ran this article on confession making a comeback. Terry Cripe, district president of the Ohio District of the LCMS, is featured. He rightly emphasizes that the central aspect of confession is absolution. The LCMS is making a push for confession and absolution.

"You have not sinned, but I have"

More Luther on John 1:29:

For how amazing it is that the Son of God becomes my servant, that He humbles Himself so, that He cumbers Himself with my misery and sin, yes, with the sin and the death of the entire world! He says to me: "You are no longer a sinner, but I am. I am your substitute. You have not sinned, but I have. The entire world is in sin. However, you are not in sin; but I am. All your sins are to rest on Me and not on you." No one can comprehend this. In yonder life our eyes will feast forever on this love of God. And who would not gladly die for Christ's sake? The Son of Man performs the basest and filthiest work. He does not don some beggar's torn garment or old trousers, nor does He wash us as a mother washes a child; but He bears our sin, death, and hell, our misery of body and soul. Whenever the devil declares: "You are a sinner!" Christ interposes: "I will reverse the order; I will be a sinner, and you are to go scotfree." Who can thank our God enough for this mercy?

Luther's Works, vol. 22, page 167.

The greater the filth and stench of our sins, the more He befriends us

An excerpt from a great few pages of commentary by Luther on John 1:29: "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."

In view of this, St. John, by his testimony or sermon, shows us Another upon whom God the Father has laid our sins, namely, Christ the Lord. The Law lays them upon me, but God takes them from me and lays them upon this Lamb. There they fit very well, far better than on me. God wishes to say to us: "I see how the sin oppresses you. You would have to collapse under its heavy burden. But I shall relieve and rid you of the load — when the Law convicts you of, and condemns you for your sin — and from sheer mercy I shall place the weight of your sin on this Lamb, which will bear them."

May you ever cherish and treasure this thought. Christ is made a servant of sin, yea, a bearer of sin, and the lowliest and most despised person. He destroys all sin by Himself and says: "I came not to be served but to serve" (Matt. 20:28). There is no greater bondage than that of sin; and there is no greater service than that displayed by the Son of God, who becomes the servant of all, no matter how poor, wretched, or despised they may be, and bears their sins.

It would be spectacular and amazing, prompting all the world to open ears and eyes, mouth and nose in uncomprehending wonderment, if some king's son were to appear in a beggar's home to nurse him in his illness, wash off his filth, and do everything else the beggar would have to do. Would this not be profound humility? Any spectator or any beneficiary of this honor would feel impelled to admit that he had seen or experienced something unusual and extraordinary, something magnificent.

But what is a king or an emperor compared with the Son of God? Furthermore, what is a beggar's filth or stench compared with the filth of sin which is ours by nature, stinking a hundred thousand times worse and looking infinitely more repulsive to God than any foul matter found in a hospital? And yet the love of the Son of God for us is of such magnitude that the greater the filth and stench of our sins, the more He befriends us, the more He cleanses us, relieving us of all our misery and of the burden of all our sins and placing them upon His own back. All the holiness of the monks stinks in comparison with this service of Christ, the fact that the beloved Lamb, the great man, yes, the Son of the Exalted Majesty, descends from heaven serve me.

Luther's Works, vol. 22, p 166.

Facebook is dead?

I am on Facebook. I have been on for about a year. It was rousing fun. I still enjoy it but am on it rarely these days. First of all because I am, sometimes regrettably, grown up and have a job and family, both of which I try to stay in contact with every now and again.

I stay on Facebook because some old friends are there with whom I would not be in contact anywhere else so that much is good.

But this article does a humorous job of ridiculing it and outlining why it is not as much fun as it once was.

Now the article does have a bit of that attitude of "I'm cooler than you". It is that thought that if Facebook is on "60 Minutes" than I am against it because I am cooler than the masses. However, the ads and proliferation of "apps" has really driven the experience downhill. What was the whole zombie thing anyway?

Rebels Eating Tortillas

The Library of Congress has its own Flickr page. Impressive. More than that, it is amazing if you are curious about American history and enjoy photography. You can access it here.

The photo is one I found entitled, "Rebels Eating Tortillas" (didn't the Allman Brothers put out an album with that name?) which is reason enough to look at it.
Plus, there is a little guy in the back giving a peculiar hand gesture.

Thy blows are filled with love

Pastor William Weedon, who posts more often than is humanly possible, shared this nice sentence from Ephrem the Syrian.

Thy blows are filled with love. Thy punishment burns with compassion. In accordance with Thy love, even when Thou punishest Thou strivest only for good. -- St. Ephrem the Syrian, *A Spiritual Psalter* #124

Old Churches

I don't know about you but this always makes me sad: old churches being converted into apartments or stores. Something about the thoughts of prayers and hymns and sacaments which hallowed those walls and now the form of the structure is there but the insides ring with foreign sounds. It is like a false advertisement. You see the church but but there is no service no higher things. I imagine the stories of the people who attended these churches, the stories of the congregations themselves and what happened that they closed.

It is a "sigh" moment. A disappointment.

Here are two stories about this: one in Get Religion and the other in the Chicago Tribune.

"Displaying the marks of his wounds"

Another instructive story from the life of Martin of Tours:

For, on a certain day, prayer having been previously offered, and the fiend himself being surrounded by a purple light, in order that he might the more easily deceive people by the brilliance of the splendor assumed, clothed also in a royal robe, and with a crown of precious stones and gold encircling his head, his shoes too being inlaid with gold, while he presented a tranquil countenance, and a generally rejoicing aspect, so that no such thought as that he was the devil might be entertained--he stood by the side of Martin as he was praying in his cell. The saint being dazzled by his first appearance, both preserved a long and deep silence. This was first broken by the devil, who said: "Acknowledge, Martin, who it is that you behold. I am Christ; and being just about to descend to earth, I wished first to manifest myself to thee." When Martin kept silence on hearing these words, and gave no answer whatever, the devil dared to repeat his audacious declaration: "Martin, why do you hesitate to believe, when you see? I am Christ."

Then Martin, the Spirit revealing the truth to him, that he might understand it was the devil, and not God, replied as follows: "The Lord Jesus did not predict that he would come clothed in purple, and with a glittering crown upon his head. I will not believe that Christ has come, unless he appears with that appearance and form in which he suffered, and openly displaying the marks of his wounds upon the cross." On hearing these words, the devil vanished like smoke, and filled the cell with such a disgusting smell, that he left unmistakable evidences of his real character.

From the life of Saint Martin

A famous episode from the life of Saint Martin of Tours:

At a certain period, when he had nothing except his arms and his simple military dress, in the middle of winter, a winter which had shown itself more severe than ordinary, so that the extreme cold was proving fatal to many, he happened to meet at the gate of the city of Amiens, a poor man destitute of clothing. He was entreating those that passed by to have compassion upon him, but all passed the wretched man without notice, when Martin, that man full of God, recognized that a being to whom others showed no pity, was, in that respect, left to him. Yet, what should he do? He had nothing except the cloak in which he was clad, for he had already parted with the rest of his garments for similar purposes. Taking, therefore, his sword with which he was girt, he divided his cloak into two equal parts, and gave one part to the poor man, while he again clothed himself with the remainder. Upon this, some of the by-standers laughed, because he was now an unsightly object, and stood out as but partly dressed. Many, however, who were of sounder understanding, groaned deeply because they themselves had done nothing similar. They especially felt this, because, being possessed of more than Martin, they could have clothed the poor man without reducing themselves to nakedness. In the following night, when Martin had resigned himself to sleep, he had a vision of Christ arrayed in that part of his cloak with which he had clothed the poor man. He contemplated the Lord with the greatest attention, and was told to own as his the robe which he had given. Ere long, he heard Jesus saying with a clear voice to the multitude of angels standing round -- "Martin, who is still but a catechumen, clothed me with this robe."

The Lord, truly mindful of his own words (who had said when on earth -- "Inasmuch as ye have done these things to one of the least of these, ye have done them unto me"), declared that he himself had been clothed in that poor man; and to confirm the testimony he bore to so good a deed, he condescended to show him himself in that very dress which the poor man had received. After this vision the sainted man was not puffed up with human glory, but, acknowledging the goodness of God in what had been done, and being now of the age of twenty years, he hastened to receive baptism. He did not, however, all at once, retire from military service, yielding to the entreaties of his tribune, whom he admitted to be his familiar tent-companion. For the tribune promised that, after the period of his office had expired, he too would retire from the world. Martin, kept back by the expectation of this event, continued, although but in name, to act the part of a soldier, for nearly two years after he had received baptism.

Sulpitius Severus, Life of Martin

Indeed, baptism IS a big deal

Indeed, baptism IS a big deal.

Dude

This commercial makes me laugh. It is a waste of time but amusing.

Having fun with the mark of the beast

This article has some fun with the mark of the beast. Humorous.

My favorites:

$656.66 Wal-Mart Price of the Beast (next week $646.66!)
1010011010 Binary Number of the Beast
666-I BMW of the Beast

Finnish Lutherans and the ordination of women

Here is an article on a Finnish Lutheran group which refuses women pastors. The group is beginning to do its own baptism much to the chagrin of the state church.

Stuff I listen to

This LastFM thing will keep track of what you listen to. I don't know why I am sharing this other than a strange compulsion to let folks know what useless rock music I listen to. Blogging is, to be sure, a very egocentric activity. I like sharing me!

So here it is. I don't know how Tom T. Hall got so high on the list, maybe some one is hijacking my computer. I do rememner a beer song he once sang, one of my father's favorites. It was called "I like Beer". I don't have that song. One line was "it makes me a jolly good fellow" and rhymed with "mellow".

It went on to compare the various effects of different forms of alcohol:
"Whiskeys too rough, champagne costs too much, and vodka puts my mouth in gear"

So, there you have it.





Well, I thought the embedded thing would scroll all the "artists" but it doesn't. Here is the rest of the list. I know you couldn't wait.

Material Issue

The Long Ryders

The Replacements

Joan Jett

The Outnumbered

The Rolling Stones

Gene Vincent

Ramones

Johnny Cash

The Louvin Brothers

Flamin' Groovies

John Lennon

The Exploding Hearts

Big Joe Turner

Old 's 97's

Fountains of Wayne

The Shins

Masonics

Jerry Lee Lewis

Charlie Burton

R.E.M.

Elvis Presley

Hank Williams

The La's

The Clash

Pete Townshend

The Feelies

The Decemberists

The Flaming Lips

Carla Thomas

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

The Carter Family

Buzzcocks

Teenage Fanclub

Otis Redding

The Hi-Risers

Southern Culture on the Skids

Barracudas, The

Eddie Cochran

Creedence Clearwater Revival

John Fogerty

"Evangelical" or "evangelical"

Here is an interesting commentary on politics and being "Evangelical" or "evangelical". The author is Herbert Chilstrom, former bishop of the ELCA. He has some interesting thoughts, some I agree with, some I dont.

Two notes on higher education

1. First Things has R. R. Reno dissecting the new curriculum at Harvard. His analysis shows that the goal of the curriculum is not gaining meaning or understanding but the various ways in which meaning is produced. Postmodernism.

Some quick quotes:

It’s not what Shakespeare says that matters; it’s his role as factory that produces meaning.

Here again the ideas and the arguments that the authors give are not the focus. Instead, students are encouraged to put works “in context—to see how social, political, and economic, and cross-cultural conditions shape the production and reception of ideas and works of art.”

But even here the emphasis falls on becoming aware of hidden assumptions, learning how to live with people whose “value systems” differ, and acquiring the critical detachment necessary for students to “choose for themselves what principles will guide them.”



2. Mere Comments comments on the new course at the University of Michigan: "How to Be Gay".

A Mighty Fortress

Here is a nice rendition of "A Mighty Fortress" by the St. Olaf Choir. Beautiful.

It is a pretty good slide show also. I have no idea who many of the figures are that are shown. Intriguing. One could play "Name that old guy with some connection to the Reformation". I would lose.

Grace has more power than nature

Perhaps you will say, "I see something else, how is it that you assert that I receive the Body of Christ?" And this is the point which remains for us to prove. And what evidence shall we make use of? Let us prove that this is not what nature made, but what the blessing consecrated, and the power of blessing is greater than that of nature, because by blessing nature itself is changed.

Moses was holding a rod, he cast it down and it became a serpent. Again, he took hold of the tail of the serpent and it returned to the nature of a rod. You see that by virtue of the prophetic office there were two changes, of the nature both of the serpent and of the rod.

The streams of Egypt were running with a pure flow of water; of a sudden from the veins of the sources blood began to burst forth, and none could drink of the river. Again, at the prophet's prayer the blood ceased, and the nature of water returned.

The people of the Hebrews were shut in on every side, hemmed in on the one hand by the Egyptians, on the other by the sea; Moses lifted up his rod, the water divided and hardened like walls, and a way for the feet appeared between the waves. The Jordan being turned back, returned, contrary to nature, to the source of its stream.
Is it not clear that the nature of the waves of the sea and of the river stream was changed?

The people of the fathers thirsted, Moses touched the rock, and water flowed out of the rock. Did not grace work a result contrary to nature, so that the rock poured forth water, which by nature it did not contain? Marah was a most bitter stream, so that the thirsting people could not drink. Moses cast wood into the water, and the water lost its bitterness, which grace of a sudden tempered.

In the time of Elisha the prophet one of the sons of the prophets lost the head from his axe, which sank. He who had lost the iron asked Elisha, who cast in a piece of wood and the iron swam. This, too, we clearly recognize as having happened contrary to nature, for iron is of heavier nature than water.

We observe, then, that grace has more power than nature, and yet so far we have only spoken of the grace of a prophet's blessing. But if the blessing of man had such power as to change nature, what are we to say of that divine consecration where the very words of the Lord and Saviour operate?

For that sacrament which you receive is made what it is by the word of Christ. But if the word of Elijah had such power as to bring down fire from heaven, shall not the word of Christ have power to change the nature of the elements? You read concerning the making of the whole world: "He spoke and they were made, He commanded and they were created." Shall not the word of Christ, which was able to make out of nothing that which was not, be able to change things which already are into what they were not? For it is not less to give a new nature to things than to change them.

But why make use of arguments? Let us use the examples He gives, and by the example of the Incarnation prove the truth of the mystery. Did the course of nature proceed as usual when the Lord Jesus was born of Mary? If we look to the usual course, a woman ordinarily conceives after connection with a man. And this body which we make is that which was born of the Virgin. Why do you seek the order of nature in the Body of Christ, seeing that the Lord Jesus Himself was born of a Virgin, not according to nature? It is the true Flesh of Christ which crucified and buried, this is then truly the Sacrament of His Body.

The Lord Jesus Himself proclaims: "This is My Body." Before the blessing of the heavenly words another nature is spoken of, after the consecration the Body is signified. He Himself speaks of His blood. Before the consecration it has another name, after it is called blood. And you say, Amen, that is, It is true. Let the heart within confess what the mouth utters, let the soul feel what the voice speaks.

Ambrose On the Mysteries, 9:50-54, NPNF, Second Series, vol. 10, 338-339.

Elvis is Everywhere

Today is the birthday of Elvis Presley. I am so fascinated by Elvis.

Here is a song that I think is one of his best though not one of his more well known. The first few sounds from his voice just knock me out. What a great performance. The video is just a montage but listen to the song. Wow.




The next video illustrates the other reason I am fascinated with Elvis: the craziness and quasi-religiousness that surrounds him.

This is a hilarious song and video: Elvis is Everywhere.

Oil: Supply and demand

Here is rare post about economics on this blog.

This is a common sense explanation of rising oil prices. No, John Edwards, its not corporate greed. No, its not a conspiracy.

It is simple supply and demand. A good read.

So it goes for archers in 1199 ...

For fun, I am reading Winston Churchill's history of Britain. I've wanted for some time to read up on England and this is a great read. He is a wonderful writer and gives a nice breezy but intelligent tone to his work.

I adore this last paragraph on Richard the Lionheart. The concluding sentence (which is the end of a rather long chapter) is a great surprise. It made me jump a bit and laugh out loud. Read the whole thing. It is worth it.


In 1199, when the difficulties of raising revenue for the endless war were at their height, good news was brought to King Richard. It was said there had been dug up near the castle of Chaluz, on the lands of one of his French vassals, a treasure of wonderful quality; a group of golden images of an emperor, his wife, sons and daughters, seated round a table, also of gold, had been unearthed. The King claimed this treasure as lord paramount. The lord of Chaluz resisted the demand, and the King laid siege to his small, weak castle. On the third day, as he rode daringly, near the wall. confident in his hard-tried luck, a bolt from a crossbow struck him in the left shoulder by the neck. The wound, already deep, was aggravated by the necessary cutting out of the arrow-head. Gangrene set in, and Coeur de Lion knew that he must pay a soldier’s debt. He prepared for death with fortitude and calm, and in accordance with the principles he had followed. He arranged his affairs, he divided his personal belongings among his friends or bequeathed them to charity. He declared John to be his heir, and made all present swear fealty to him. He ordered the archer who had shot the fatal bolt, and who was now a prisoner, to be brought before him. He pardoned him, and made him a gift of money. For seven years he had not confessed for fear of being compelled to be reconiled to Philip, but now he received the offices of the Church with sincere and exemplary piety, and died in the forty-second year of his age on April 6, 1199, worthy, by the consent of all men, to sit with King Arthur and Roland and other heroes of martial romance at some Eternal round Table, which we trust the Creator of the Universe in His comprehension will not have forgotten to provide.

The archer was flayed alive.





Isn't that great! Richard pardons him and then ... he is flayed alive!

What is in the cup is that which flowed from His side

More Chrysostom on the Eucharist:

"'The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not communion of the Blood of Christ?' Very trustworthily and awesomely does he say it. For what he is saying is this: 'What is in the cup is that which flowed from His side, and we partake of it.' He called it a cup of blessing because when we hold it in our hands that is how we praise Him in song, wondering and astonished at His indescribable Gift, blessing Him because of His having poured out this very Gift so that we might not remain in error, and not only for His having poured out It out, but also for His sharing It with all of us."
-"Homilies on the First Letter to the Corinthians" [24,1] ca. 392 A.D.

Like lions breathing fire

This is a remarkable passage from Chrysostom on the Eucharist. It is a "wow" selection. He is commenting on John 6.


We become one Body, and "members of His flesh and of His bones." ... In order then that we may become this not by love only, but in very deed, let us be blended into that flesh. This is effected by the food which He has freely given us, desiring to show the love which He has for us. On this account He has mixed up Himself with us; He has kneaded up His body with ours, that we might be a certain One Thing, like a body joined to a head.

For this belongs to them who love strongly ... Wherefore this also Christ has done, to lead us to a closer friendship, and to show His love for us; He has given to those who desire Him not only to see Him, but even to touch, and eat Him, and fix their teeth in His flesh, and to embrace Him, and satisfy all their love.

Let us then return from that table like lions breathing fire, having become terrible to the devil; thinking on our Head, and on the love which He has shown for us. Parents often entrust their offspring to others to feed; "but I," says He, "do not so, I feed you with My own flesh, desiring that you all be nobly born, and holding forth to you good hopes for the future. For He who gives out Himself to you here, much more will do so hereafter. I have willed to become your Brother, for your sake I shared in flesh and blood, and in turn I give out to you the flesh and the blood by which I became your kinsman." This blood causes the image of our King to be fresh within us, produces beauty unspeakable, permits not the nobleness of our souls to waste away, watering it continually, and nourishing it.

The blood derived from our food becomes not at once blood, but something else; while this does not so, but straightway waters our souls, and works in them some mighty power. This blood, if rightly taken, drives away devils, and keeps them afar off from us, while it calls to us Angels and the Lord of Angels. For wherever they see the Lord's blood, devils flee, and Angels run together.

This blood poured forth washed clean all the world; many wise sayings did the blessed Paul utter concerning it in the Epistle to the Hebrews. This blood cleansed the secret place, and the Holy of Holies. And if the type of it had such great power in the temple of the Hebrews, and in the midst of Egypt, when smeared on the door-posts, much more the reality. This blood sanctified the golden altar; without it the high priest dared not enter into the secret place. This blood consecrated priests, this in types cleansed sins. But if it had such power in the types, if death so shuddered at the shadow, tell me how would it not have dreaded the very reality? This blood is the salvation of our souls, by this the soul is washed, by this is beautiful, by this is inflamed, this causes our understanding to be more bright than fire, and our soul more beaming than gold; this blood was poured forth, and made heaven accessible.


Homily 46 on the Gospel of John, NPNF First Series, vol. 14, p.166.

Mary, a disciple of Christ

But look here, my brothers and sisters, concentrate more, I beg you, on what follows, concentrate more on what Christ the Lord said as he stretched out his hand over his disciples: This is my mother and these are my brothers; and whoever does the will of my Father who sent me, that person is a brother to me and a sister and a mother (Mt 12:49-50). Didn't the Virgin Mary do the will of the Father? I mean, she believed by faith, she conceived by faith, she was chosen to be the one from whom salvation in the very midst of the human race would be born for us, she was created by Christ before Christ was created in her. Yes, of course, holy Mary did the will of the Father. And therefore it means more for Mary to have been a disciple of Christ than to have been the mother of Christ. It means more for her, an altogether greater blessing, to have been Christ's disciple than to have been Christ's mother. That is why Mary was blessed, because even before she gave him birth, she bore her teacher in her womb.

Just see if it isn't as I say. While the Lord was passing by, performing divine miracles, with the crowds following him, a woman said: Fortunate is the womb that bore you. And how did the Lord answer, to show that good fortune is not really to be sought in mere family ties? Rather blessed are those who hear the word of God and keepit (Lk 11:27-28). So that is why Mary, too, is blessed, because she heard the word of God and kept it. She kept truth safe in her mind even better than she kept flesh safe in her womb. Christ is truth, Christ is flesh; Christ as truth was in Mary's mind, Christ as flesh in Mary's womb; that which is in the mind is greater than what is carried in the womb.

Mary is holy, Mary is blessed, but the Church is something better than the Virgin Mary. Why? Because Mary is part of the Church, a holy member, a quite exceptional member, the supremely wonderful member, but still a member of the whole body. That being so, it follows that the body is something greater than the member. The Lord is the head, and the whole Christ is head and body. How shall I put it? We have a divine head, we have God as our head."

St. Augustine, Sermon 72/A, 7

What evangelism isn't

A thought provoking article on the Christianity Today website:
A couple of snippets:

Evangelism isn't personal testimony:

One of the classic testimonies was given by a blind man Jesus healed. When he was questioned after Jesus healed him, he responded, "Whether he [Jesus] is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!" (John 9:25). The man disregarded the menacing threats of those more honored and respected than he in order to give this verbal witness to the power of God. It's a wonderful, powerful testimony, but it's not evangelism. There is no gospel in it. The man didn't even know who Jesus was.

An account of a changed life is wonderful and inspiring thing, but it's the gospel of Jesus Christ that explains what it's all about and how it happened.


Evangelism isn't counting the results of evangelism:

Finally, one of the most common and dangerous mistakes in evangelism is to misinterpret the results of evangelism—the conversion of unbelievers—for evangelism itself, which is the simple telling of the gospel message. Who can deny that much modern evangelism has become emotionally manipulative, seeking simply to cause a momentary decision of the sinner's will, yet neglecting the biblical idea that conversion is the result of the supernatural, gracious act of God toward the sinner?

When we are involved in a program in which converts are quickly counted, decisions are more likely pressed, and evangelism is gauged by its immediately obvious effect, we are involved in undermining real evangelism and real churches.

A Sacred Infancy: Christ loves childhood

Leo the great on Epiphany:

When the brightness of a new star had led three wise men to worship Jesus, they did not see him ruling over demons, not raising the dead, not restoring sight to the blind or mobility to the lame or speech to the dumb, nor in any action of divine power. They saw him, rather, as a Child - silent, at rest, placed in the care of his Mother - in a situation where there appeared no indication of power.

From this lowliness, however, a great miracle was presented. Consequently, the mere sight of that Sacred Infancy to which God the Son of God had adapted himself was bringing to their eyes a preaching that would be imparted to their ears. What the sound of his voice was not yet presenting, the activity of sight was teaching them. For the entire victory of the Savior, the one that overcame the devil and the world, began in humility and ended in humility. Its appointed time began under persecution and ended under persecution. Neither the endurance of suffering was lacking to the child, nor the gentleness of a child to the one who would suffer. For, the Only-Begotten Son of God undertook by a single inclination of his majesty both the will to be born as a human being and the ability to be killed by human beings.

Almighty God, therefore, made our extremely bad situation good" through his unique lowliness and "destroyed death" along with the author "of death." He did not refuse anything that his persecutors brought down on him. In obedience to the Father, he bore the cruelties of violent men with the meekest docility. How humble we ought to be, then, how patient, we who, when we meet with any distress, never undergo anything we do not deserve! "Who will boast that they have a pure heart or that they are clean from sin?" (Prov. 20,9). Blessed John says, "If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us." (1Jn. 1, 8)

Who will be found so free from guilt that they have not in themselves anything for justice to condemn or mercy to forgive? Consequently, dearly beloved, the whole learning of Christian wisdom consists not in abundance of words, not in cleverness at disputing, not in desire for praise and glory, but in a true and willing humility. This is what the Lord Jesus Christ chose and taught from within the womb of his Mother right up to his torment on the cross - by enduring everything with fortitude. When the disciples, as the Evangelist says, arguing among themselves as to "which one of them would be greater in the kingdom of heaven, [Jesus] called a little child and stood him in their midst and said: 'Amen, I say to you, unless you change yourselves and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever, therefore, humble themselves like this child will be the greater in the kingdom of heaven."

Christ loves the Childhood that he first took up in both soul and body. Christ loves childhood, the teacher of humility, the rule of innocence, the image of gentleness. Christ loves childhood, to which he directs the characters of older people, to which he brings back old age. Those whom he would raise up to an eternal kingdom he disposes to follow his own example.

St. Leo the Great, Sermon 37, Epiphany, 2 – 3.

OMG !

Here is an interesting look at the phrase "Oh my God" in popular culture. Other wise known as OMG.

Stanley Hauerwas says it it is no big deal, akin to a lament Psalm ( a bit of a stretch if you ask me ... Lament psalms are deeply felt prayers to a living God to whom the authors relate in faith. OMG is a throwaway expletive. ):

Stanley Hauerwas, a religion professor at Duke Divinity School, takes a different slant. He has been known to liberally salt his everyday speech with profanities. Lingua Franca magazine once called him "a foul-mouthed theologian." He says that when he hears people say, "Oh my God," "it's a cry not of profanity or vulgarity. It usually has the grammar of a lament. You'd have to outlaw the Psalms if you wanted to do away with laments."