Hope, anger and courage
Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are anger and courage; anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain the way they are.—Augustine of Hippo (354-430)
Labels: Augustine of Hippo
Irenic. The word means peaceful. This web log (or blog) exists to create an ongoing, and hopefully peaceful, series of comments on the life of King of Peace Episcopal Church. This is not a closed community. You are highly encouraged to comment on any post or to send your own posts.
Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are anger and courage; anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain the way they are.—Augustine of Hippo (354-430)
Labels: Augustine of Hippo
Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.The Apostle Peter is horrified to hear Jesus talk like this. He says, "God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you."
Labels: Gospel reading
At 8/30/2008 9:47 AM, said…
At 5/24/2013 11:19 AM, said…
It’s a perfect fit to be here at the Church of the Good Shepherd, with the Gospel reading in which Jesus refers to himself as The Good Shepherd, while gathered to ordain Loren Hague to the ministry of shepherd, or pastor, in Christ’s one holy catholic and apostolic church. We have plenty of shepherding images to go around this evening.I went on to explain how Loren is neither a hired hand nor The Good Shepherd and to explain what it means to be a priest. The full text of the sermon is online here: A Good Shepherd.
Yet when Jesus called himself The Good Shepherd, he did so at a time when shepherds were not considered good. Shepherds were held in such low esteem that a shepherd was not allowed to testify in court in the Israel of Jesus’ day. Distrust of shepherds came at least in part as shepherds spent most of their time away from the owner of the sheep. The owner who had no idea how many lambs wear born that year. So shepherds would sell off a sheep or two at bargain prices to make a little extra money for the herding duties. Shepherds were assumed by many to be liars and no better than thieves.
Calling yourself, The Good Shepherd was a little jarring to the ears. “Good Shepherd” being an oxymoron on par with “military intelligence,” “legal ethics,” “Microsoft Works,” or “entertaining sermon.”
Labels: Loren Hague
At 8/30/2008 11:32 AM, Loren said…
Show me your hands.—Fulton Sheen (1885-1979)
Do they have scars from giving?
Show me your feet.
Are they wounded in service?
Show me your heart.
Have you left a place for divine love?
Labels: quotes
DISGRACED pastor Michael Guglielmucci has finally told of fabricating a terminal cancer battle to hide his 16-year obsession with pornography.I don't care to cast stones. He made his claims. He's been forced to tell the truth and will now live with the consequences.
"This is who I am ... I'm addicted to the stuff, it consumes my mind,'' he said of pornography in his first interview on Today Tonight since the story was first revealed on AdelaideNow last week.
"... I'm sick and this is why I had to come up some sort of explanation of what was happening in my body.''
The shame of his addiction manifested itself physically, resulting in him losing his hair and purging his body.
"I don't know how you can fake vomiting all over yourself night after night after night, I'm not that good an actor,'' he said.
To conceal the two-year cancer lie which he hid from his wife and family, he sent phoney emails to his loved ones from non-existent medical practitioners.
"I've been living a lie for a long time,'' he said.
"I've been hiding who I am for so long. "I can honestly say to you that the last two years have been hell for me physically, emotionally, but I never sat down and said ... let's try and fool the world.''
Labels: news item
At 8/27/2008 6:52 AM, said…
In reality, the pastor has a devastating sickness/addiction that is just as bad as alcohol and drug abuse. It consumed him, and when he lied, he was under the influence of his addiction/satan and at his weakest point. Like every addict, he had to hit rock bottom before he could finally face the truth.
He did eventually face the truth about his addiction and confessed his sins. I forgive him. It appears that he suffered great physical and emotional turmoil during this ordeal.Now the pastor, his family, and everybody he lied to are at the point where healing can begin-- with forgiveness.
At 8/27/2008 10:19 AM, said…
I'm not so sure I completely agree with Kelly's comment. It did consume him and when he lied he lied with full knowledge of his actions. This addiction may be a disease but he made these decisions/choices willingly.
His addiction is not the same thing as Satan. To blame it on Satan goes too far plus Satan didn't need his help he was doing a good job on his own of disgracing himself and his so called convictions. To hold him in anything short of full accountability does him a terrible diservice.
Imagine for a second just how far he went to cover his tracks. An oxygen tube? Using God's word to continue his lie. Maybe some jail time would be appropriate.
At 8/27/2008 11:29 AM, said…
Satan does take advantage at our weakest moments,especially when there is addiction. Most addicts do make poor choices and decisions. Look how far an addict will go to lie, steal and cheat to cover and support the addiction.
There are people who are not addicted to anything that lie, steal and cheat too. All sinners make the choice to sin willingly.
Its all sinning. But, the difference is in the sinner who is willing to finally admit to his sins and change for the better.
I'm not saying that justice shouldn't be served. It should. So should forgiveness be served in order to facilitate the healing in all who were hurt by the pastor and his sins.
We have set up a system to send documents by the email, to the addresses you provide, 6 days after the "Rapture" of the Church. This occurs when 3 of our 5 team members scattered around the U.S fail to log in over a 3 day period. Another 3 days are given to fail safe any false triggering of the system.The Better Business Bureau notes that the company is legitimate, but "As with any such offer, it is always best to protect such sensitive information and think hard on which entities you wish to have such personal information."
Labels: End Times
At 8/26/2008 6:35 AM, said…
Big LOL!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry, but its just too early for me to take something like this seriously.
The person who buys into this is assuming they will be included in the rapture and their loved ones will not. Or, if the entire group of friends and loved ones are included in the rapture, then this company has all the financial information "LEFT BEHIND."
You are much nicer than I am Father Frank. This is just too ridiculous for me! :)
At 8/26/2008 8:04 AM, said…
The unthankful heart... discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!—Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887)
Labels: quotes
Compassion is sometimes the fatal capacity for feeling what it is like to live inside somebody else's skin. It is the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too.—Frederick Buechner (1926- )
Labels: quotes
So, in spite of movies to the contrary, Peter really was Rocky I, the first person to have that name. Remember that names and naming were very important in the Hebrew mind—a name was the summary of the existence of the thing named. To change a person’s name—as God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, and Jacob’s name to Israel—was to alter fundamentally that person’s identity, relationships, and mission. To give a person his or her name was, in some way, to shape their destiny.The fulltext of his sermon is online here: We Are Named
It still works that way: to confess Jesus as the Christ is to be changed, it is to be given, by him, a new name—it is to be given identity and mission in relationship to Jesus. That was acted out visibly with Peter—it continues to be true among us. The service of Baptism in our Prayer Book is probably the finest such service the church has used for 1,500 years. But there is one part of the old service, the service in the 1928 Prayer Book, that seems even more appropriate. That was where, immediately before the Baptism itself, the sponsors were asked to “name this child.” (Remember that? [BCP, 1928, p. 279]) This made great and wonderful good sense. When it comes to our true identity, the name of every Christian, like Peter’s name, is given in Baptism as a response to the gift of faith. That’s why our first name is also called our “Christian name.”
And part of our name, part of the identity we receive from the Lord, is the same as Peter’s. He is Rocky I, the first rock of the edifice the Lord (not Peter, but the Lord) is building. That structure is the church. Peter is the first stone of a building, the first called for the new Israel, the first named for a great task. Upon him and the other Apostles, upon their faith and upon their person, Christ builds his church. And so the Lord continues to build it. We are, in this respect, like movie sequels. You are Rocky 5 billion, or whatever—same director, same plot, larger cast. We continue to be called to be who Peter was called to be. Through us, and by us, Christ continues to build his church. Through us, Christ continues to be present to his world.
Labels: Gospel reading
At 8/24/2008 7:05 PM, said…
At 8/24/2008 7:55 PM, King of Peace said…
Today's sermon is online here: Mundane Miracles.
At 8/24/2008 8:21 PM, said…
Labels: YouTube
At 8/22/2008 8:14 AM, said…
Another Challenge: Accepting those random acts of love from others! I must admit, a lot of the time I feel guilty when somebody wants to do something kind for me. I think,"No, I should be the one doing this for you. My life is fine. I don't deserve this."
Well, maybe I don't deserve it. But, the other person deserves their chance to do Jesus' work too. Its a challenge for me to remember that.
Are there any takers who need to perform some random acts of kindness in my yard? I don't see grass anymore--only live oak debris. JUST KIDDING!!!! REALLY!!!
Seriously, Fay has provided us with many opportunities for those acts today! :)Hope y'all fared well through the storm!!!
We should seek to become reservoirs rather than canals. For a canal just allows the water to flow through it, but a reservoir waits until it is filled before overflowing, then it can communicate without loss to itself. In the church today, we have many canals but few reservoirs.—Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)
If we attempt to act and do things for others or for the world, without deepening our own self-understanding, our own freedom, integrity and capacity to love, we will not have anything to give to others. We will communicate nothing but the contagion of our own obsessions, our aggressiveness, our own ego-centred ambitions…—Thomas Merton (1915-1968)
Labels: quotes, Thomas Merton
Labels: prayer
At 8/20/2008 5:23 AM, said…
At 8/20/2008 4:01 PM, Mike said…
One of my favorite blessings.
OK ... here's why I'm really commenting.
On Sept. 25, Episcopalians and others around the world will be participating in World MDG Blogging Day to raise awareness about the MDGs while world leaders are meeting in New York to chart their progress.
I'd love it if you'd consider taking part. We've got more than 100 blogs signed up already ... and that's just after one day!
You can find out more at www.mdgbloggingday.org or on Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/mdgblogday.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions (mkinman@gmail.com)
Thanks for considering this and God bless you.
Christ's peace,
Mike+
Mike Kinman
Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation (www.e4gr.org)
At 8/20/2008 5:53 PM, said…
At 8/20/2008 9:59 PM, said…
What can we learn from the Olympics? Like their predecessors on Mount Olympus, the athletes offer us a larger-than-life narrative that reflects our own struggles. There's are the inspiring stories: Michael Phelps winning his 14th Olympic gold medal, breaking one world record after another. Not bad for a young man with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The women basketball players from Mali, marching in flowing white robes in the opening ceremonies. Yes, they lost to New Zealand hours later, but—coming as they do from a country where women are subject to genital cutting, poor access to education, and domestic violence—their presence alone is amazing.
And then there are those who try too hard: the supposedly teenage tiny Chinese gymnasts who, as the famed former coach Bela Karolyi put it, "look like they are seven and may be still in diapers." Gary Russel Jr., the 20-year-old bantamweight boxer from Maryland, who collapsed in an effort to weigh in at 119 pounds. And all those cyclists on steroids.
So much focus on striving to win always leaves me uneasy. If the last shall be first, I find myself wondering, how do you defend years of training to go for the gold? Most of us know what it means to want to be the best at school or in the office, or to get our way in relationships. These yearnings don't generally bring out our most loving or generous selves. And yet there's something in us that wants to grow, to discover the limits of our talents and sensibilities. How do we tell whether our desires are greedy or life-giving?
In the church we aren't always as helpful as we might be. Often I wonder why the most "spiritual" people—especially women—who come seeking my help have the worst lives. I don't mean that they are the poorest in material terms. Instead, often they seem to believe that being a good Christian means losing in life, especially in relationships. They don't voice their needs and wants. They don't speak their truth.
If I suggest that it's time to focus on themselves, I see them wince. "That sounds...proud," they say. Or "That's not very Christian."
"'Jesus said, 'Love thy neighbor as thyself,' I often tell them. 'You're forgetting about the self part."
When we try to manipulate or muscle others out of our way in order to have power over them, then we're like Olympic athletes on steroids. But reaching out to others in love isn't for anyone who's afraid to dive right in and try their best. It demands the strength and courage and passion to struggle, to stick with a situation and seek understanding, and to speak up for justice and truth. As Ram Dass famously put it, "We must first be a somebody before we are ready to be a nobody." I'm thinking of that as getting in touch with your inner Olympian.
Labels: episcopal cafe
At 8/20/2008 9:52 PM, said…
Labels: baptism, Daudi Ndahana
At 8/18/2008 5:22 PM, said…
At 8/19/2008 6:43 AM, King of Peace said…
Prisca, Felista and Jonathan are at boarding schools where they will be for this whole school year. They will not be able to visit the United States at all during their parents' stay here.
It will be tough for all of them and is part of the sacrifice they are all making for the good of their church which needs Daudi to further his education.
At 8/19/2008 7:19 AM, said…
I believe in the holy, infallible church, of which I regret to say at present I am the only member.—attributed to
Labels: quotes, William Temple
Labels: YouTube
Labels: The Olive Branch
Labels: Gospel reading
At 8/17/2008 6:38 PM, said…
At 8/18/2008 8:31 AM, said…
At 8/18/2008 10:11 AM, King of Peace said…
It won't be online. I try to balance writing sermons out with giving some without a printed text. I will write them out for months at a time and then take a few weeks to give them without notes, to make sure I don't stay too text-bound in terms of the written words of my sermon. It's a way to keep myself fresh. Yesterday I had a couple of notes, but no written out sermon. Just a clear direction and an outline in my head. Sorry.
I remember the title of a book by J.B. Phillips, Your God Is Too Small. If you, denier or believer, have all the answers, you do not know God. God, by my definition — and my definition is as likely to be wrong as anyone else's — is not limited to my logic. The God I can understand is not God.
But I have other questions that need to be answered. They are like Job's, but focused differently: "Have you considered the rhododendron? That mass of flame bursts out again predictably every year and reminds us of the omnipresence of beauty. The daffodils give way to the lilacs and the lilacs to the peonies. Is there a need for all of them? Would the balance of nature be any less balanced if there were no lilacs? Why is the world so filled with beauty, and why are we so moved by its existence? If the presence of evil leads you to question the existence of God, do you not also have to consider the presence of beauty?"
I'm with the questioners in wanting answers but not so confident of human mental capacities that I expect all the answers soon. We are, after all, asking about a Creator, and no answer will be satisfying that looks only at part of the picture. There's more than disasters to account for: Explain to me also, please, the existence of beauty.
Labels: problem of evil
God has been very good to me, for I never dwell upon anything wrong which a person has done, so as to remember it afterwards. If I do remember it, I always see some other virtue in that person.—Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)
Labels: quotes, Teresa of Avila
At 8/14/2008 6:23 AM, said…
Labels: Episcopal Churches
At 8/14/2008 1:23 PM, said…
At 8/14/2008 3:47 PM, King of Peace said…
Pastor Linda McCloud resigned as the Vicar effective the First Sunday after Easter. I took over as priest-in-charge to provide pastoral oversight. Various clergy are filling in each Sunday and the church has continued each Sunday at 10 a.m. through the summer and is now working this fall to attract new folks to the congregation of a couple dozen communicants through direct mail and personal invitation. They are also working with the Diocese of Georgia to hire a new Vicar. I have only been able to be with them once on a Sunday since I took over, but every priest who goes on Sunday reports loving the experience and we have high hopes for the coming months.
peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue
A few days after this interview, Pastor Boyd quietly contacted the family of Matthew Murray, "Would you like to come to the New Life campus … to see the place where your son passed away?"
Overwhelmed with gratitude, Ron and Loretta Murray admitted they had longed for this very thing, but they'd felt they would be invading what they knew had been a tragic and difficult situation for the church. So they had stayed away.
Now they agreed to come. Boyd then asked them if they'd be willing to meet with the Works family. They said they would. He asked the Works, in turn, if they'd be willing to meet with the Murrays. Surprisingly, they also agreed.
Before the meeting, Boyd spent some time alone with the Murray family, retracing the steps of Matthew Murray on the church grounds, up until the place in the hallway where their son passed away. Many tears and hugs were shared as they grieved and prayed together over the tragedy.
Later, in Pastor Boyd's office, David and Marie Works joined the Murrays.
"What happened there in the two hours in my office … was the most significant ministry moment I've experienced, maybe in all of my life," Boyd said. When they first entered the office, the two families embraced. They sat, wept, and cried together, Boyd said, for "I don't know how long."
Then they prayed together. Later Jeanne Assam was invited to join them. When Jeanne, who had undoubtedly saved many lives but had been forced to shoot the Murray's son, walked into the room, "the Murrays embraced her and hugged her and released her from any guilt and remorse. The dad looked at Jeanne and said, 'Please know we're so sorry that you had to do what you did. We're so sorry.'"
We are reminded in the Bible not to repay evil with evil—not to be overcome by evil but to overcome it instead with good. The families involved in these tragic events are showing how to live out their faith by clinging to what is good in the face of unimaginable pain.
"We can talk philosophically about repentance and redemption and going forward with God," Boyd said, "but what I saw in that room in my office was the greatest testimony of forgiveness and redemption that I have ever seen. It was a testimony that God really can restore and redeem."
The mentors visit the volunteers in their own homes, to get a picture of their lives and to give them guidance. The parents are asked to spend 15 minutes each day with their children. The lesbian is ordered to get rid of her explicit pictures and books. The young man and his pregnant girlfriend are given some instruction in the basics of Christianity. The lap-dancing manager is discovered to have more than a passing interest in witchcraft and magic - her books and ceremonial paraphernalia are taken away. The womanising 20-something is persuaded to agree not to 'look lustfully at a girl'.David Waters writes,
I suppose we can't fault TV producers who are trying to make a buck for thinking that Christians are merely people who get straight A's in behavior, or that becoming a Christian means cleaning up your act in three weeks or less.I haven't seen the show and so I don't have a reasoned critique. But I can't imagine wasting my time watching it if it was broadcast here, not least because of the disconnect between reality and reality TV in which actions are not done in a vacuum, but knowingly played to the camera while we all pretend it's how they would act without the impending TV show. That's without bringing up the reality show techniques that ensure the drama needed to boost ratings. I don't blame TV producers for wanting ratings. I just wonder at labeling it "reality." It's like labeling Hostess Twinkies all natural because at some point in distant memory wheat and corn were involved in making the snack.
Even church leaders have a hard time deciding what it means to be a Christian. Some say you become a Christian in an emotional, born-again instant, others say that being a disciple of Christ is a lifelong process of spiritual discipline. Some say it's all about your own personal beliefs, others that it's all about doing for others.
Labels: news item
At 8/11/2008 8:23 AM, said…
Has anyone else ever suffered from eyeball seizures? :)
The first thing that occurred to me when I read this was the odds. 13-4? What are they afraid of? You might say that the 4 are professionals but looking at the resume's of the others it's not like they're amateurs...
Next, I noticed the goal. It's not to convert but to get them to act "more Christian". Just what does that really mean? If acting like a good person was all that was needed, then I know a lot of people who have absolutely no use for Christianity whatsoever. Everyone would agree that they're good people. They don't need anyone to help them "clean up".
Really, though. I think you've got it right, Frank. It's all a show. It has nothing to do with reality. And it's certainly not likely to provoke lasting, meaningful change.
On the other hand, what are the clergy trying to do here? Why did they agree to this? Granting them the benefit of the doubt, I'd say that they're doing the best they can in a last-chance hope to attract some attention to the church. But are they really getting the kind of attention they should be striving for? I have my doubts about that as well.
They're cleaning up people (?) but are they really spreading the Good News? It seems they more likely spreading the stereotype that church is to impose some rules on your behavior and that you can earn your way into God's favor.
"Come on get ready for the ride of your life
Gonna leave long faced religion in a cloud of dust behind
And discover all the new horizons just waiting to be explored
This is what we were created for"
At 6/09/2018 12:33 AM, Adele said…
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Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."Blooming Catus blog offers these thoughts on the passage:
“Do not be afraid.” The scriptures make this announce- ment over and over again. These are usually the first words out of angel’s mouths. Abraham, Moses, Mary, Joseph, shepherds tending their flocks, Paul sitting in a jail cell, the women looking for Christ’s body at Easter and disciples rowing a boat in the strong wind all hear these words. In all, these words occur almost 100 times in the scriptures. Apparently, humans are very fearful creatures and we are in need of faith to function properly in the world....The full text of the reflection is online here: Don't Be Afraid.
Fear comes in many forms, private and public. It knows no ideological boundaries and none of us are ever completely free of it in making decisions. Letting go of fear and facing ourselves is as frightening as the thought and stepping out of our safe boats and walking across the water as if it were dry land. I’m not sure Jesus really expected Peter to walk on water and I certainly don’t expect to walk on water any time soon. I struggle to have faith and to honestly face my fears. But I’m willing to believe that there is life outside the boat, constantly rowing into the wind. I trust in faith that Jesus point the way to the shore. With Jesus near me, the rising seas of my fears will not have me.
Labels: Gospel reading
At 8/09/2008 9:14 AM, said…
There are times our faith is very strong, then at times, we look around us and see what scares us. This is when my faith is questioned, I fear what I cannot control and my faith is almost lost.
If we can for a moment hold on tight to that faith and use it as an anchor to hold us tight. We can get through anything. To be able to hold onto even an ounce of our faith that the Lord will be with us and see us through.
When we take our eyes of the Lord and start looking to the things that are tempting, scaring or controlling us is when we will sink.
At 8/09/2008 9:59 AM, said…
Fear is a natural and instinctive mechanism that we have for physical survival.
Faith is what we nurture for the survival of the soul.
I don't understand why it is so easy to allow fear to overwhelm us and penetrate our souls, and it is so very difficult to cultivate our faith to that extent.
Fear grabs hold of us while we so desperately try to maintain a grip on faith.
At 8/09/2008 1:41 PM, said…
Does God give us difficulties to strengthen our faith or to test it?
We can say to Him, I trust you and have faith that this is happening for a reason. God takes back what he gave me and I still have faith that it was done for a better reason than I can understand.
What is it called when we do not understand but still believe that God will reveal why some day.
This is my question.
I handed my furled umbrella to one of the boys so that I could hold their hands to control them. We walked up the central aisle to join the sparse congregation that ringed the sanctuary, the big Guadalupe mural looming beyond the altar. Suddenly, they scrambled out of my grasp. When I looked back during the first reading, I spotted the crooks sitting on a pew, playing with the umbrella. I was beginning to get angry. If they ran off with my umbrella, how would I get home? Throughout the readings and homily and the Offertory and Consecration, the kids chatted away. I could see their mouths, wide open, moving in never-ending prattle.The full text of the article is online here: Faith and Doubt: Communion. Fr. Akpan is the author of the acclaimed Say You're One of Them.
As I walked back to my seat after receiving Communion, I was unsettled to see that they had slipped into the line going up the aisle. They were very quiet now, their gaze fixed on the golden ciborium as the priest took out the wafer to place on the tongues of the faithful. Occasionally, the boys glanced at the other children in the line and copied their gestures, joining their palms together, bowing their heads. Then they would watch intently the mouth of someone who had just received. Fear gripped my heart—fear that some churchwarden would be incensed by their sacrilege and, as in the church of my youth, drag them outside by the ear; fear that the priest would deny them at the last moment; fear that I might never risk as much for the Body of Christ. I held my breath, already feeling guilty that I had set them up for a possible fall.
As soon as the two boys had received Communion and turned away from the priest, they chewed hastily, with exaggerated movements, their mouths like the mandibles of a spider devouring an insect. Then they lost their composure and hurried out excitedly. After Mass, they returned my umbrella.
At 8/08/2008 6:59 AM, said…
After a recent Holy Week, Paul, one of our pastoral interns, reflected in a small group on an experience he had the previous week. Paul had made a run to the grocery store after our Good Friday worship. While standing in the checkout line he noticed the cover of one of the magazines in the display rack, which featured a very attractive teenage girl. She was well endowed, thin, physically fit, and scantily clad. One the cover were these words: "You can have a body just like this one!"—The Rev. Rick Barger in A New and Right Spirit
Paul said that after being immersed in the church's story in the intensive way that Holy Week immerses us and experiencing how it is that Jesus Christ's death was God's affirmation of the infinite worth of all human beings, this encounter with the magazine's cover message angered him. The cover was from a world that exists in opposition to the church. As the cover begged to invite him into the false promise it offered, he said he was carrying in his soul an image proffered in our worship center that night: the accusers pointing their fingers at Jesus.
Paul worked among our high school youth, which included a particular young lady whose genetic make-up meant that she would always be heavy. She regularly had to endure some dehumanizing bullying at school, and Paul experienced the magazine as a cultural statement of the world pointing its finger at this girl. Outside the church, the world saw a fat teenager who probably had little going for her. Inside the church she had infinite worth and was a leader among our youth.
At 8/07/2008 6:52 AM, said…
When, exactly, did the media cease to become a source that provided objective information? Now, its satan's tool, bombarding us everywhere we go with false images of what we should be and telling lies about what we need to be successful, fullfilled and happy.
Its overwhelming, especially to our youth. Sadly, some would rather die than not be perfect in the eyes of their peers.
What a battle we parents and the Church fight everyday to open their hearts to the truth when our children, in their vulnerability, easily believe the lies over true love.
At 8/07/2008 7:59 AM, said…
At 8/07/2008 10:36 PM, said…
I measure and weigh myself every morning and have since I was about 11 years old.
I have always tried to look better and now, as I am getting older, I find myself trying even harder.
My husband said just last week I need to loose weight now so I can look better for him.
It's not just the media, started with my father and went to my husband.
At 8/08/2008 6:40 AM, said…
Anonymous,
It could be that your father was trying to keep you at a healthy weight and went about it the wrong way, unknowingly damaging your self esteem at a very early age.
As for your husband, the media, in just about every medium, overwhelms us with images of women and its concept of perfection.
You are correct in maintaining weight to stay healthy and active. And, this doesn't mean "skinny". But, to do so to support your husband's idea of perfection is wrong.
Remind your husband that we are ALL created in God's image and His love is unconditional. You are beautiful no matter what!
I would be willing to bet that your husband is no Brad Pitt! :)
Be blessed and be healthy!
Christians who depreciate natural theology because "no one comes to faith through intellectual arguments" are therefore tragically shortsighted. For the value of natural theology extends far beyond one's immediate evangelistic contacts. It is the broader task of Christian apologetics, including natural theology, to help create and sustain a cultural milieu in which the gospel can be heard as an intellectually viable option for thinking men and women. It thereby gives people the intellectual permission to believe when their hearts are moved.I agree that we need to be able to make an account of the faith that is in us in such a way that those who do not believe feel challenged to open their hearts up to first the possibility of and then the reality of their loving creator.
Labels: Atheism, faith, Science and religion
Three in 10 Americans acknowledge feelings of racial prejudice, and yet 9 in 10 say they believe in God. How does racial prejudice reflect on one's religious beliefs?Columnist Cal Thomas writes in reply
If we go to Scripture for the answer to that question, we find "If anyone says 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar." (1 John 4:20) There isn't any wiggle room in that.The Rt. Rev. Jane Holmes Dixon recalls her seminary professor, the Reverend John Wolverton saying, "Racism is a stench in the nostrils of God Almighty." She says,
Truth to tell, I remember few of the Bible stories we were taught to encourage those prejudiced views: something about Ham, one of Noah's sons, and his descendants being condemned to slavery and Paul, the great evangelist, telling Onesimus the runaway slave, to return to his master, Philemon. Mostly, it was not a sin of commission, rather one of omission; we were not taught that all humankind was created in the image of God and there was no explanation of Jesus embracing all who came to Him. Neither do I remember sermons that promulgated racism. I do remember that people of color did not come to my church, and that we laughed at the African American liturgies that we watched through the windows of their churches on Sunday nights. I was taught at home that people of color were less human than we.I certainly find that judging someone based on race is absolutely irreconcilable with all of scripture, including the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. But I don't doubt the polls. I too see that there are folks who are Christian and (while they would not think of themselves as racists in the white-hooded sense of the term) do prejudge people based on the color of their skin. I know that I might, if asked, give myself a clean bill of health on prejudice and still have vestiges of prejudice in my life.
Labels: racism
At 8/06/2008 3:40 AM, said…
We do all pre judge others to a certain extent whether that person is over/underweight or blessed/not blessed with social graces or even stepping out of an expensive car -- some people would label that person "successful" while others would label him/her a "snob." And no one would have uttered the first "good morning" to that person before jumping to a conclusion. As Christians, we are called to be more. While we are more conditioned to not consider skin color so much, we are not as conditioned to consider our thoughts/judgements about the well-heeled visitor in church who might need our kindness as much as the person who is not so well put together that we go out of our way to welcome because we feel more Christian when we do. I enjoyed this blog -- as Christians we have to be aware of our preconceived notions of ALL people regardless of how they appear on the outside.
At 8/06/2008 7:54 AM, averagecandy said…
"your actions are speaking so loudly I can't hear what you're saying" Best quote ever, I'm going to have to remember that for my kids.
My father is what you would call a bigot out loud, but at heart loves all people. I've seen my dad write a check out to cash to help out a black friend, a check he new he couldn't afford, but then turn around and drop N-bombs just because someone cuts him off on the highway. Thankfully I learned early on to recognize a jerk when I see one. Interestingly enough, we have never used the word black around our kids to describe a person, or any other color name. So far it seems like this small change in our vocabulary has had a huge effect, race is a non-issue to my kids. If I accomplish nothing else with my kids, I have accomplished this.I have put two loving kids in the world. My daughter won't have to worry about who she falls in love with like I did. I think that's pretty cool.
At 8/06/2008 8:20 AM, said…
At 8/07/2008 4:41 PM, averagecandy said…
Anon,
I didn't say immediately. I've known my dad for 27 years now, I think it's safe to say I've gotten to know him well enough to say he's a jerk. I'm not prejudiced against any particular group of jerks, I dislike all jerks equally. Prejudice means to dismiss, dislike or to disadvantage someone in advance. I wait until I *know* someone is a jerk to dislike someone. I give everyone a fair shake, and I think anyone who knows me would back me up on that.
At 8/07/2008 8:44 PM, said…
Almighty God, giver of every good gift: Look graciously on your Church, and so guide the minds of those who shall choose a bishop for this Diocese, that we may receive a faithful pastor, who will care for your people and equip us for our ministries; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.peace,
Labels: Bishop Louttit, Diocese of Georgia
Holy God—in this precious hour, we pause and gather to hear your word– to do so, we break from our work responsibilities and from our play fantasies; we move from our fears that overwhelm and from our ambitions that are too strong, Free us in these moments from every distraction, that we may focus to listen, that we may hear, that we may change. Amen—Walter Brueggemann, from Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth
Labels: worship
At 8/02/2008 11:45 AM, Victoria, TSSF said…
I am so proud of Griffin and Kalyn! Not only are they both on Team for this Happening, but they've managed to remain best friends since they met at Honey Creek on June 4, 2000. And as they start their senior year of high school, they have both grown into amazingly talented and responsible young women.
In today’s Gospel we encounter hungry people being met by a suggestion from the disciples that Jesus send them away to get something to eat. But Jesus had something else in mind. Maybe it was his way of saying, “God is good.” But the disciples didn’t know to reply, “All the time.” So Jesus told them not to send the hungry people away but to give them something to eat themselves. He was saying, “You don’t think there is enough for these hungry seekers, but the truth is—there is enough because God will provide....”The full text of his sermon is online here: All the time
This does not mean, of course, that people of faith will have no problems or misery. But it does mean that God will give us the grace and aid to bear the load as we overcome and move through whatever may befall us.
Ours is not a faith of easy answers and unrealistic solutions. Jesus entered life and died on the cross for us, showing us that in whatever we experience, in whatever may trouble us, in whatever distress or threat we feel, we need not fear because God is in it with us. God will lift up in our midst what we need to make it through, because God is good: All the time.
God is not far away and aloof from us. Jesus shows us that God does not stand outside of life, but is right here with us, beside us in our broken and troubled and suffering world. St. Paul reminds us that nothing in existence can ever separate us from the love of God, revealed in Christ.
In whatever crisis or issue we face in life, in whatever trouble may come our way, the power of God’s love will provide what we need. From the midst of the Body of Christ, God will lift up the resources to accomplish his loving purposes, because God is good: All the time.
Labels: Gospel reading
Labels: Happening
1 Comments:
At 8/31/2008 12:31 PM, King of Peace said…
Today's sermon, Burned, but not Consumed, is now online.
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