this Sunday, something to be expected following Thanksgiving. Yet what they say about "two or three gathered together..." in the Scriptures is true and size is no indicator of grace.
It is an awesome thing to stand before holy gifts and to lead the people of God in worship. Despite what would appear to the untrained or unknowing eye as repetition and ritual there is great power and presence flowing through, in, and with the liturgies of the Church. It is a calm holiness, a peaceful sense of presence, the experience of touching larger things in a moment out of time.
When I was actively seeking out and living in the charismatic movements of protestantism my heart and the hearts of those with me were genuinely seeking. Yet I could not endure the sheer volume, the confusion I saw around me in worship. I would stand, alone, surrounded by voices in languages without comprehension and wonder why I was left out, why the music went on without me.
As I traveled on to Orthodoxy I came to realize that it was not the earthquake or the whirlwind that mattered but rather the still small voice. A heart filled with the noise of the world or replacing that noise for noise with holy intent is still not at rest. In the quiet pacing of words and action larger than the moment and greater than the people completing them is a place where the still small voice can be heard and rest comes to those who seek it.
I am most whole, most complete, most real, when I worship.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
The sun is shining...
and the air is cold as it should be in late November. Somewhere out there people are pushing and shoving for whatever is left on the racks. Not me. Today is a rare day when there is nothing official on the docket. I may or may not leave the house and I may or may not get out of my pajamas. Just depends on how the day unfolds.
God was wise to declare a sabbath for humans. Given our natural propensities we would fill every waking moment with something to do and develop the drugs to keep us awake all the time. Come to think of it we have. Once a week we need to have very little to do, preferably nothing, and let these mortal bodies rest and regain something of what has been lost over the prior week.
So I'm going to sit here for a while. It's the least I can do.
God was wise to declare a sabbath for humans. Given our natural propensities we would fill every waking moment with something to do and develop the drugs to keep us awake all the time. Come to think of it we have. Once a week we need to have very little to do, preferably nothing, and let these mortal bodies rest and regain something of what has been lost over the prior week.
So I'm going to sit here for a while. It's the least I can do.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Thanksgiving Homily...
We live in a culture of cultivated ungratitude. To be discontent with our lot is as American as apple pie. It’s the air we breathe, the environment we live in, and from the time we are children we are programmed to seek out whatever is next, whatever we assume is better, and to shed even the useable things we have for the coming big thing.
There’s a good side to this. Innovations brought into being by people unhappy with the status quo have brought great good to our lives. Would anyone really want a Model “A” Ford for thier everyday car again? That millions of us have never even given polio, a scourge in times past, a single thought is a tribute to those who believed we needed to do better.
But there’s a dark side as well. The kind of discontent that drives innovation can also set us on a perpetual journey, a lifetime of never being happy with what we have or where we are and a discarding of important things that have stood the test of time.
After a lifetime of watching commercials we seem to be never be able to rest, never be able to settle down and enjoy. New cars, new jobs, new people, more of this, more of that, last year’s clothes perfectly good but already out of style, and the TV says you got to have more. They want you to feel this way, the people who produce goods and services. Your boss always wants you to be hungry because then they can drive you farther and faster. The government wants you to consume and acquire so they can tax and spend. The idea is to keep the great pyramid of cards together by everyone buying into the idea that more is better, contentment is laziness, and busy people without time to think about what they have make the best worker bees to feed the hive.
No one in their right mind craves hard times but in these days when things are lean there may also be the still small voice of God calling us to something better. Perhaps God is reminding us that this mad chase we’re is just that, a kind of insanity that robs us of our happiness even as our life is sucked away from us for no good reason.
Hard times shatter our illusions, refocus our lives, and call us to see things in a different way. Their poverty forces us off from the buy, buy, sell, sell, work, work, merry-go-round and gives us a chance to catch our breath and regain our perspective. We see, perhaps only in hard times, the illusion of things, the dark side of the American dream, and realize what can transcend them all. We’re like an alcoholic one day into sobriety, we hurt, but we see the world with eyes clear for the first time in years.
No one wants hard times, difficult days, the threat of poverty and the challenge of sustaining life. But they are hear and wise people, discerning people, people who have come to their senses will see in this a precious opportunity, a call from God to have eyes of gratitude, the awareness and cherishing of all that we have, all that matters, and all that lasts.
And with those eyes wide open we can become, perhaps for the first time, free of the illusions, awake from the long dream, loosed from the meaningless chase our culture sets before us as an ideal life, and truly alive. God grant us the eyes, the heart, the soul of gratitude. Make us aware of all that we have been blessed with. Quiet the rumblings in our heart, the unease of a mind focused on that which matters little.Grant us in this day, a sense of all that we have been given and the many ways you have sustained us and in so doing help us to turn our hearts first to You and in that light see the world anew.
There’s a good side to this. Innovations brought into being by people unhappy with the status quo have brought great good to our lives. Would anyone really want a Model “A” Ford for thier everyday car again? That millions of us have never even given polio, a scourge in times past, a single thought is a tribute to those who believed we needed to do better.
But there’s a dark side as well. The kind of discontent that drives innovation can also set us on a perpetual journey, a lifetime of never being happy with what we have or where we are and a discarding of important things that have stood the test of time.
After a lifetime of watching commercials we seem to be never be able to rest, never be able to settle down and enjoy. New cars, new jobs, new people, more of this, more of that, last year’s clothes perfectly good but already out of style, and the TV says you got to have more. They want you to feel this way, the people who produce goods and services. Your boss always wants you to be hungry because then they can drive you farther and faster. The government wants you to consume and acquire so they can tax and spend. The idea is to keep the great pyramid of cards together by everyone buying into the idea that more is better, contentment is laziness, and busy people without time to think about what they have make the best worker bees to feed the hive.
No one in their right mind craves hard times but in these days when things are lean there may also be the still small voice of God calling us to something better. Perhaps God is reminding us that this mad chase we’re is just that, a kind of insanity that robs us of our happiness even as our life is sucked away from us for no good reason.
Hard times shatter our illusions, refocus our lives, and call us to see things in a different way. Their poverty forces us off from the buy, buy, sell, sell, work, work, merry-go-round and gives us a chance to catch our breath and regain our perspective. We see, perhaps only in hard times, the illusion of things, the dark side of the American dream, and realize what can transcend them all. We’re like an alcoholic one day into sobriety, we hurt, but we see the world with eyes clear for the first time in years.
No one wants hard times, difficult days, the threat of poverty and the challenge of sustaining life. But they are hear and wise people, discerning people, people who have come to their senses will see in this a precious opportunity, a call from God to have eyes of gratitude, the awareness and cherishing of all that we have, all that matters, and all that lasts.
And with those eyes wide open we can become, perhaps for the first time, free of the illusions, awake from the long dream, loosed from the meaningless chase our culture sets before us as an ideal life, and truly alive. God grant us the eyes, the heart, the soul of gratitude. Make us aware of all that we have been blessed with. Quiet the rumblings in our heart, the unease of a mind focused on that which matters little.Grant us in this day, a sense of all that we have been given and the many ways you have sustained us and in so doing help us to turn our hearts first to You and in that light see the world anew.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Bob Dylan jumps the shark...
Yes, it's him. No, it's not a joke or a flashback from some bad 60's acid.
h/t again to Rod Dreher
Paul and Grayson...
heroes today for the little guy by standing up for an audit, finally, of the Federal Reserve. Will it pass through Congress? Who knows? But it's the first hammer against our own Berlin Wall, the wall that protects elite financial and political institutions that shape our lives in ways we can't imagine from public scrutiny. Viva democracy!
H/T to Rod Dreher (see link on this page)
H/T to Rod Dreher (see link on this page)
Thursday, November 19, 2009
One of the interesting things...
about being on Facebook is you really do find out how many people you know and how you're connected with others. I enjoy the chat feature where I can say a quick hello to folks far away. It doesn't beat a face to face, of course, but it will do in the short term.
Your prayers are asked...
for Resa Ellison now in the hospital in Minneapolis, MN with grave complications from H1N1 and pnuemonia. Yesterday the doctors had run out of treatment options and told her family she may not make it through the day. As of now she is still with us but we need a miracle. Pass this on.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
This Sunday's homily in advance...
Sunday, November 21, 2009
Homily
These beautiful days in November are a gift to us. In the normal course of things we would expect grey days, cold rain, snow, and ground frozen hard like stone. But such has not been the case for most of this month. The air is cool but the sun is bright and we’ve been given a reprieve from the inevitable if only for a week or two.
We know from years of living in this area that weather can change in a heartbeat and so people are using these days, this break in the normal climate, to get things done, to complete tasks that normally would be impossible now. Leaves are raked, painting is done, roofs are repaired, roads are being cared for, and the harvest is being brought it. The clock is ticking. One day in the near future we’ll look out our windows and see the snow flying and with it the understanding that everything will have to wait until spring.
It’s wise to be prepared, to have good tires on your car, a furnace that works, food tucked away, money in the bank, and everything in good repair. This would seem to be common sense but in our culture where we live from day to day, paycheck to paycheck, and party to party we often forget this only to learn painful lessons when times get lean.
Yet as wise as it is to be prepared for the ups and downs of life, to live frugally and wisely so we are not caught unaware and vulnerable in the ebbs and flows of time, to rake the leaves and make sure everything is ready before the snow flies, there is a greater preparation, greater but often ignored.
How are we preparing our soul?
The Gospel for this day reminds us that the preparation of things and possessions is without value if not accompanied by an equal or greater desire to store up virtue, faith, and all the needs of the soul. The Gospels tell us that we can possess everything and still lose our soul. We can build bigger barns and still leave life empty of that which matters most. We can have false confidence in what we can acquire and in so doing find ourselves spiritually poor even in the presence of worldly abundance.
Imagine what the world would be like if the Christians inhabiting it would place as much of their lives into their faith as they did their 401k’s. How would things be different if we prepared our souls with the same care we use for our house or car? Could we fathom a culture where people dedicated themselves to holiness with the same passion as their career path? What if we loved God as much as we love our television sets?
I stand convicted of being careful about things earthly and careless with things heavenly. I’m guilty of taking so many parts of my life seriously and leaving God the scraps to work with. I often wonder how I would be different if I prepared to stand before Christ with the same effort I’ve used for my retirement. It’s almost certain that I’ve not taken a fraction of the time I use to practice for an audience as a musician to prepare to one day stand before Christ.
Some day everything I’ve done will be meaningless and everything I’ve acquired will be sold or given to someone else. Only a soul carefully tended with prayer and holy things will remain and yet I feel so unready. In truth many of us are as well.
Yet the mercy of God is beyond our comprehension. One flickering candle of piety in our hearts is met with pure and holy light, one act of virtue with a flood of grace, one moment of repentance with an eternal mercy.
We, you and I, can recall what matters most in the end and change our path, redirect our existence towards that which truly matters, and find the peace we desire here and the salvation we crave for eternity. Seize this day with a holy urgency and be saved.
Homily
These beautiful days in November are a gift to us. In the normal course of things we would expect grey days, cold rain, snow, and ground frozen hard like stone. But such has not been the case for most of this month. The air is cool but the sun is bright and we’ve been given a reprieve from the inevitable if only for a week or two.
We know from years of living in this area that weather can change in a heartbeat and so people are using these days, this break in the normal climate, to get things done, to complete tasks that normally would be impossible now. Leaves are raked, painting is done, roofs are repaired, roads are being cared for, and the harvest is being brought it. The clock is ticking. One day in the near future we’ll look out our windows and see the snow flying and with it the understanding that everything will have to wait until spring.
It’s wise to be prepared, to have good tires on your car, a furnace that works, food tucked away, money in the bank, and everything in good repair. This would seem to be common sense but in our culture where we live from day to day, paycheck to paycheck, and party to party we often forget this only to learn painful lessons when times get lean.
Yet as wise as it is to be prepared for the ups and downs of life, to live frugally and wisely so we are not caught unaware and vulnerable in the ebbs and flows of time, to rake the leaves and make sure everything is ready before the snow flies, there is a greater preparation, greater but often ignored.
How are we preparing our soul?
The Gospel for this day reminds us that the preparation of things and possessions is without value if not accompanied by an equal or greater desire to store up virtue, faith, and all the needs of the soul. The Gospels tell us that we can possess everything and still lose our soul. We can build bigger barns and still leave life empty of that which matters most. We can have false confidence in what we can acquire and in so doing find ourselves spiritually poor even in the presence of worldly abundance.
Imagine what the world would be like if the Christians inhabiting it would place as much of their lives into their faith as they did their 401k’s. How would things be different if we prepared our souls with the same care we use for our house or car? Could we fathom a culture where people dedicated themselves to holiness with the same passion as their career path? What if we loved God as much as we love our television sets?
I stand convicted of being careful about things earthly and careless with things heavenly. I’m guilty of taking so many parts of my life seriously and leaving God the scraps to work with. I often wonder how I would be different if I prepared to stand before Christ with the same effort I’ve used for my retirement. It’s almost certain that I’ve not taken a fraction of the time I use to practice for an audience as a musician to prepare to one day stand before Christ.
Some day everything I’ve done will be meaningless and everything I’ve acquired will be sold or given to someone else. Only a soul carefully tended with prayer and holy things will remain and yet I feel so unready. In truth many of us are as well.
Yet the mercy of God is beyond our comprehension. One flickering candle of piety in our hearts is met with pure and holy light, one act of virtue with a flood of grace, one moment of repentance with an eternal mercy.
We, you and I, can recall what matters most in the end and change our path, redirect our existence towards that which truly matters, and find the peace we desire here and the salvation we crave for eternity. Seize this day with a holy urgency and be saved.
It's been a sunny...
several weeks in November with warm for here days and light streaming in through the windows in the morning. Even as winter is on its way there is a reprieve, a pardon, in it all, a sense that inevitability is delayed in the depth of the season's cold hand being stayed.
I wish I had a window in my office but I take every opportunity to walk between the buildings on my campus and get a taste of these days. Seconds are stored up for withdrawal later when the snow flies and cold winds keep us all indoors like plants in a terrarium. Soon these days, a disaster if they happened south of here, will seem balmy. In other places crops would die and people would shiver in the dark but here in Minnesota 40 degrees and sun is relief.
People always say that life is best lived day by day but we rarely do it. Mostly we plan and scheme and live always for the next day or some aspiration yet to be revealed. Time slips by and we grow too soon old and too late wise. But a sunny day in November is a treasure in and of itself, a reminder to slow down and enjoy the gift. Pity the poor person driving home through the hordes oblivious to the sun on their face.
I wish I had a window in my office but I take every opportunity to walk between the buildings on my campus and get a taste of these days. Seconds are stored up for withdrawal later when the snow flies and cold winds keep us all indoors like plants in a terrarium. Soon these days, a disaster if they happened south of here, will seem balmy. In other places crops would die and people would shiver in the dark but here in Minnesota 40 degrees and sun is relief.
People always say that life is best lived day by day but we rarely do it. Mostly we plan and scheme and live always for the next day or some aspiration yet to be revealed. Time slips by and we grow too soon old and too late wise. But a sunny day in November is a treasure in and of itself, a reminder to slow down and enjoy the gift. Pity the poor person driving home through the hordes oblivious to the sun on their face.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
$250,000 fine for flipping off..
fans at a recent football game.
I did this once when I was a little kid (I didn't know what it meant just that it was something bad you did to people who made you mad) and I got my mouth washed out with soap.
Guess it's inflation.
I did this once when I was a little kid (I didn't know what it meant just that it was something bad you did to people who made you mad) and I got my mouth washed out with soap.
Guess it's inflation.
Monday, November 16, 2009
I couldn't resist...
A man, down on his luck, went into a church which catered to the "uppity". Spotting the man's dirty clothes a deacon, worried about the churches image, went to the man and asked him if he needed help. The man said, "I was praying and the Lord told me to come to this church."
The deacon suggested that the man go pray some more and possibly he might get a different answer. The next Sunday the man returned. The deacon asked, "Did you get a different answer?"
The man replied, "Yes I did. I told the Lord that they don't want me in that church and the Lord said, 'Don't worry about it son; I've been trying to get into that church for years and haven't made it yet."
Saturday, November 14, 2009
I had a bout of sleeplessness...
last night and so I took the time to do a little fix up work on the blog.The search for a header reminded me that I do like church buildings wherever I find them. At times, even to this day, I'll be driving though a town and take a detour when I see a steeple, trying to guess who the church belongs to before I arrive.
There's an aesthetic part about it. I just think churches are interesting. I like the sight of them, the smell of them (Orthodox churches smell best), and the sense by their presence that everything is stable in the world, even when its not and may not even be within the church. Even the word down ones are beautiful in their own way and sometimes a simple one out in the country carries as much magnificence as the edifice on the big city corner.
Now when I see them I think, too, about just having a place to be. I've been on the road for going on five years now and little St. Elias has made big strides. I'm so proud of them. We put in a sink this past week in the sanctuary, not a big thing for most parishes but it was the first time that we've ever, since the early 1900's mind you, had hot and cold running water on the main floor. We have some money in the bank now and we've made major improvements throughout. These are good people and everyday it seems like one more step and we'll cross over to the next level.
Yet time and the economy have taken their toll. It's hard for a small parish to fund a full time priest and in these times its harder still. Jobs, especially for khourias, are essential and in smaller towns the right one is harder to find. It's like a hand is holding things back even as God's hand is in all of it.
And so a steeple here and there reminds me of a settled life yet to come, a town, a parish, the simple blessing of stability and the sense of belonging. Oh well, not yet.
There's an aesthetic part about it. I just think churches are interesting. I like the sight of them, the smell of them (Orthodox churches smell best), and the sense by their presence that everything is stable in the world, even when its not and may not even be within the church. Even the word down ones are beautiful in their own way and sometimes a simple one out in the country carries as much magnificence as the edifice on the big city corner.
Now when I see them I think, too, about just having a place to be. I've been on the road for going on five years now and little St. Elias has made big strides. I'm so proud of them. We put in a sink this past week in the sanctuary, not a big thing for most parishes but it was the first time that we've ever, since the early 1900's mind you, had hot and cold running water on the main floor. We have some money in the bank now and we've made major improvements throughout. These are good people and everyday it seems like one more step and we'll cross over to the next level.
Yet time and the economy have taken their toll. It's hard for a small parish to fund a full time priest and in these times its harder still. Jobs, especially for khourias, are essential and in smaller towns the right one is harder to find. It's like a hand is holding things back even as God's hand is in all of it.
And so a steeple here and there reminds me of a settled life yet to come, a town, a parish, the simple blessing of stability and the sense of belonging. Oh well, not yet.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Oh yes I did...
put up Christmas lights yesterday. The weather was way better than average. I had the day off and a list of chores and added that little project on.
Oh, by the way, the switch is on "off". Just cause I didn't want to put them up in a snowstorm doesn't mean they'll be on any time soon. In Minnesota when you have a good day you think ahead.
Oh, by the way, the switch is on "off". Just cause I didn't want to put them up in a snowstorm doesn't mean they'll be on any time soon. In Minnesota when you have a good day you think ahead.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Better times...
When I was a child the Packers were our heroes. It was the sixties, we were kids crazy about football, and the Packers were on top of the world. I had a Bart Starr jersey I wore until my body didn't fit anymore. It was a different world.
We're all older now and it seems like there's so much more at stake. We scream, yell, get angry. There's too much money on the line. We forget it's a game and life is far more than a game. Enjoy the moment but don't let the moment overwhelm the rest of you.
I'm glad its not the best of seasons for the Packers. No, I don't like the losing, the fact that people might get hurt, or that kind of sinking feeling when other people gloat over your team's hard times. But I hope people learn the lessons of which rough seasons are a reminder. Don't let your happiness ride on the shoulders of others. Enjoy the game, the moments, but don't let a group of men with jerseys be your only great cause, life is more than what happens on Sunday afternoon.
All this comes to mind because yesterday I bought a Bart Starr jersey, a reminder of better times, of different people who played the game and different children who listened on the radio. It's a bigger size, of course, and I've learned more then I knew then, for better or worse. Yet there's still a kid inside and I want that to stay the same, forever.
Friday, November 6, 2009
A warm weekend in November...
means that everything you need to do on the outside of the house gets done in the next few days or languishes untill spring. I'm expecting the neighborhood to be whirring with leaf blowers, last minute painting projects, and people covering things up for the season. Seize the day!
PS My snow blower is already gassed up, clean, ready, and pointed out the garage door should the occasion arise.
PS My snow blower is already gassed up, clean, ready, and pointed out the garage door should the occasion arise.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
The sun is out...
this morning and again its a welcome relief.
When I was a child there was a charm to all of this, the change of seasons, the adventure of early night and the aura of autumn moving into fall. As I get older that charm has passed and now this time of year is often heavy on me, weighing me down, and making me listless and sleepy.
There is much to love if you live in the upper midwest of the United States. People from the coasts scoff at all of this as "flyover country" but if you have a dose or two of the bumper to bumper chase for the money, living around here is like fresh air. I can't imagine there would be enough money to get me to move to New York City or LA.
But winter can be hard and confining and as I get older I realize this and why people live in Florida and Arizona from December through March. And the first few weeks of daylight savings time are the worst of all. The sight of a precious glimmer of light in the morning is paid for by a drive home from work in the dark before supper. Summer's loss is acutely felt. Life and sanity requires that you get out of the house and into the world but sometimes you must force yourself.
The one blessing, perhaps, is that over the years you realize its going to happen and so there's time to prepare. Time to get the sun on your face when it comes. Time to find the people who can help you through until January. Time to plan on how you're going to make it through.
This morning, though, the sun is out and so the blinds are pulled and the windows opened so the precious light can come in. I'll catch as much of it as I can and so will the cats and together we'll store it up for the night ahead.
When I was a child there was a charm to all of this, the change of seasons, the adventure of early night and the aura of autumn moving into fall. As I get older that charm has passed and now this time of year is often heavy on me, weighing me down, and making me listless and sleepy.
There is much to love if you live in the upper midwest of the United States. People from the coasts scoff at all of this as "flyover country" but if you have a dose or two of the bumper to bumper chase for the money, living around here is like fresh air. I can't imagine there would be enough money to get me to move to New York City or LA.
But winter can be hard and confining and as I get older I realize this and why people live in Florida and Arizona from December through March. And the first few weeks of daylight savings time are the worst of all. The sight of a precious glimmer of light in the morning is paid for by a drive home from work in the dark before supper. Summer's loss is acutely felt. Life and sanity requires that you get out of the house and into the world but sometimes you must force yourself.
The one blessing, perhaps, is that over the years you realize its going to happen and so there's time to prepare. Time to get the sun on your face when it comes. Time to find the people who can help you through until January. Time to plan on how you're going to make it through.
This morning, though, the sun is out and so the blinds are pulled and the windows opened so the precious light can come in. I'll catch as much of it as I can and so will the cats and together we'll store it up for the night ahead.
I had an interesting...
dream last night. My wife and I were trying to pack for a trip to Las Vegas for the weekend and suddenly we realized there was no one for services on Sunday. So we decided to make the trip for just one day!
I guess once your a Priest your one in your dreams as well!
I guess once your a Priest your one in your dreams as well!
Monday, November 2, 2009
It's been reported..
that Packer fans were giving the finger to the bus carrying the Vikings to Lambeau field. It's one thing to root for your team, and I'm not a Vikings fan, but its another to be a jackass.
Had my daily dose...
of masochism with a tour of ocanews.org. Am I the only one looking at what's happening in the Antiochian Archdiocese and thinking "Oh my goodness, what's next?"
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
