There Is No Other Stream

Evangel's favorite Narnia passage and one of mine too....

Jill, a young girl, has been transported to another world, and nears a stream to satisfy her thirst—but sees a lion, a lion that frightens her. And then, the lion speaks: “If you’re thirsty, you may drink.”

Anyway, she had seen its lips move this time, and the voice was not like a man’s. It was deeper, wilder, and stronger; a sort of heavy, golden voice. It did not make her any less frightened than she had been before, but it made her frightened in rather a different way.
“Are you not thirsty?” said the lion.
“I’m dying of thirst,” said Jill.
“Then drink,” said the lion.
“May I—could I—would you mind going away while I do?” said Jill.
The Lion answered this only by a look and a very low growl. And as Jill gazed at its motionless bulk, she realized that she might as well have asked the whole mountain to move aside for her convenience.
The delicious rippling noise of the stream was driving her nearly frantic.
“Will you promise not to—do anything to me, if I do come?” said Jill.
“I make no promise,” said the Lion.
Jill was so thirsty now that, without noticing it, she had come a step nearer.
“Do you eat girls?” she said.
“I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms,” said the Lion. It didn’t say this as if it were boasting, nor as if it were sorry, nor as if it were angry. It just said it.
“I daren’t come and drink,” said Jill.
“Then you will die of thirst,” said the Lion.
“Oh dear!” said Jill, coming another step nearer. “I suppose I must go and look for another stream then.”
“There is no other stream,” said the Lion.

—C. S. Lewis, The Silver Chair

Shallow Small Group Bible Study

"When things get too deep, people drown." H/T Evangel

He Is Risen

Make no mistake: if He rose at all

it was as His body;

if the cells’ dissolution did not reverse, the molecules

reknit, the amino acids rekindle,

the Church will fall.

 

It was not as the flowers,

each soft Spring recurrent;

it was not as His Spirit in the mouths and fuddled

eyes of the eleven apostles;

it was as His flesh: ours.

 

The same hinged thumbs and toes,

the same valved heart

that–pierced–died, withered, paused, and then

regathered out of enduring Might

new strength to enclose.

 

Let us not mock God with metaphor,

analogy, sidestepping, transcendence;

making of the event a parable, a sign painted in the

faded credulity of earlier ages:

let us walk through the door.

 

The stone is rolled back, not papier-mâché,

not a stone in a story,

but the vast rock of materiality that in the slow

grinding of time will eclipse for each of us

the wide light of day.

 

And if we will have an angel at the tomb,

make it a real angel,

weighty with Max Planck’s quanta, vivid with hair,

opaque in the dawn light, robed in real linen

spun on a definite loom.

 

Let us not seek to make it less monstrous,

for our own convenience, our own sense of beauty,

lest, awakened in one unthinkable hour, we are

embarrassed by the miracle,

and crushed by remonstrance.

 

—John Updike, Seven Stanzas At Easter, 1964

H/T Word on Fire

The Creed

First Things presents its first video, The Creed: What Christians Profess, and Why It Ought to Matter. Produced by actor, director, and writer, Tim Kelleher,The Creed is a remarkable film about why the radical claims made in the Nicene Creed are so important to all of us.

Whether you are a student or a teacher; one struggling with questions of faith or a believer,
The Creed will be a challenging and rewarding experience.


A good Youtube video too:

http://youtu.be/hjO7kP96TNI

Iraqis defy threats to pack massacre church on Christmas

From AFP:

BAGHDAD — Hundreds of Christians packed Baghdad's Our Lady of Salvation church for Christmas on Saturday, defying threats of attacks less than two months after militants massacred worshippers and priests there.

Security was extremely tight, with forces armed with pistols and assault rifles guarding the area and a 10-foot high (three-metre) concrete wall topped with gleaming razor wire surrounding the church.

All cars entering the area were searched, and worshippers were patted down twice before being allowed into the church.

The mood was sombre after an October 31 attack claimed by Al-Qaeda affiliate the Islamic State of Iraq in which gunmen stormed the church, leaving two priests, 44 worshippers and seven security personnel dead.... More

Meanwhile attacks in the Philippines and Nigeria:

 A series of Christmas Eve church attacks and explosions left at least 38 people dead in two Nigerian cities, and at least six wounded in the Philippines. More

Christmas attacks kill at least 38 in Nigeria

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see- Merry Christmas to you all

Christ by highest heav'n adored
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come
Offspring of a Virgin's womb
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Ris'n with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

- "Hark The Herald Angels Sing" v. 2-3

Merry Christmas to you all

“I was at – forgive the expression – a Christmas party,”

Wow. How weird is that?

Totenberg’s bashfulness came as she explained how the failure of Congress to pass an annual budget has left federal workers in limbo:

Well, these agencies, including the Defense Department, don't know how much money they've got and for what. And I was at – forgive the expression – a Christmas party at the Department of Justice and people actually were really worried about this.

Read more: hat NewsBusters

Progressives v. Conservatives on Christianity

This is a nice piece over at Eye of Polyphemus:

There is a growing divide between how progressives and conservatives view Christian influence on policymaking decisions. Or even decisions not specifically directed at policy. The New Hampshire Democratic party, for instance, believes a Republican state representative's call for prayer to heal America is a Bible Belt call for imposing a theocracy. Paranoia and intolerance is a danergous combination, but New Hampshire Democrats appear to have indulged. More here

Infallibility of the Pope

It has been said, that the number of people who hate the Catholic Church for what it is can be counted on one hand while thousands hate it for what they THINK it is. (the quote may not be exact but close enough)

I have never hated the Catholic Church but have always seen it as a faithful, orthodox voice, which I have turned to many times over the years to "test the spirits" if you will of the many competing voices in the world. Being Protestant, I have had some trouble with many things Catholics believed but I knew, all in all we were always on the same page. Ironically, at most every major step in my discipleship, almost every point of growth, the Catholic Church has been responsible in some small or greater way. So why am I not a Catholic, you ask? Well, I do consider myself a "closet Catholic" but as I mentioned, there were things that I could not hold to, could not accept.

But I like to learn about things and recently I have been listening to a radio program called Relevant Radio. A  national Catholic program with a local affiliate. It has been a real blessing to me and I would recommend it to anyone regardless of their faith (or lack of it) I have learned a great deal about the Catholic faith and have learned that much of what I thought I knew was just not true. One of these, is the teaching of the infallibility of the Pope. Over at Catholic Culture, they talk about this issue, in regards to the book, Light of the World: The Pope, The Church and The Signs Of The Times. 

...As any educated Catholic should know, the doctrine of papal infallibility does not mean that the reigning Pope will be right when he predicts tomorrow’s weather, or when he voices his opinion on a current political controversy. The charism of papal infallibility is not a sort of magic that protects the Pope from error whenever he opens his mouth. Pope Benedict makes a special point of saying that his own personal opinions, as he puts them forward in Light of the World, should not be regarded as official Church teaching.

The Pope does not speak with infallible authority when he speaks in his own voice. He only enjoys that authority when he speaks for the Church. Pope Benedict explains this authority—which is enjoyed to some degree by any priest—early in the book:

The important thing is that I do not present my ideas, but rather try to think and to live the Church’s faith, to act in obedience to His mandate. 

There will be times when Christ’s mandate is not altogether clear, even to those who honestly wish to know it. Then, when there is confusion or uncertainty among the faithful, the Pope must respond to Christ’s exhortation to St. Peter, and “confirm the brethren.” When he responds to that imperative, the Pope is not voicing his own opinions; he is not creating his own doctrinal rules. Rather, he is prayerfully discerning what the Church teaches, what the Church has always taught, what has been believed semper et ubique by the faithful....

Constancy and authority are good things. One I think missing in most Protestant denominations, including my own.

Built by monks, nurtured by pilgrims from India /Pre-Islamic-Christian-monastery- In the UAE

From the Daily Mail:

A 1,400-year-old monastery in the United Arab Emirates that is the only pre-Islamic Christian site in the region has opened to the public.

The site at Sir Bani Yas island in Abu Dhabi dates back to around 600AD. It was built by a community of 30 to 40 monks and is understood to have been established by pilgrims travelling from India.

The remains, which also include a church, chapel and tower, were unearthed in 1992 during an archaeological study. Excavations will continue as visitors come to the site with the first being allowed access on Saturday.

Twenty years ago, we had no idea that Christians came this far south and east in the Arabian Gulf.

'This shows that Christianity had penetrated far further than we thought before... We don't have many monasteries from this period.'

Christianity spread through the Gulf between the years 50 and 350, with the monastery's inhabitants probably being members of the Nestorian Church....

Read more here

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1338060/Pre-Islamic-Christian-monastery-Abu-Dhabi-opens-public.html#ixzz180m9epak

'Hate crimes' law challenged for cracking down on biblical beliefs

From WND a very important case...


Officials with the Thomas More Law Center say they have appealed their lawsuit over the "hate crimes" law to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, raising pointed questions including why will the law attack Bible-following Christians who follow its instructions....


...In fact, during congressional debate on the issue, supporters admitted that a homosexual attacking a Christian pastor would be protected from the law's enhanced penalties that would apply should a Christian pastor attack a homosexual.

"Under the guise of enforcing 'niceness' and promoting 'tolerance,' homosexual advocacy groups have mobilized their financial power to purchase political clout which they now use to shut down any criticism of their deviant lifestyle. The truth is they are one of the most intolerant groups in our society and viciously attack anyone who opposes their point of view," said Richard Thompson, chief of the law center.

"The sole purpose of this law is to use the threat of federal prosecutions and long jail sentences to silence Christians from expressing their Biblically based religious belief that homosexual conduct is an abomination and a sin."

The center confirmed that statistics from homosexual advocacy groups reveal that the greatest threat of violence to homosexuals comes not from Christians but from other homosexuals. More

2,000-year-old Holy Thorn Tree Cut Down

Vandals have destroyed one of the most celebrated Christian pilgrimage sites in Britain and chopped down a tree said to have sprouted from the staff of Joseph of Arimathea 2,000 years ago.

The Holy Thorn Tree of Glastonbury, Somerset, is visited by thousands every year to pay homage and leave tokens of worship. Those visiting today were moved to tears on finding the tree cut to a stump.

The sacred tree is unique in that it blossoms twice a year - at Christmas and Easter - and sprigs taken from the thorn are sent to The Queen each year for the festive table.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1337159/Glastonburys-2000-year-old-Holy-Thorn-Tree-hacked-vandals.html#ixzz17eb8xGuK

Mark your calendars for Jesus' return

If only it were before tax day...

A leader of a Christian organization claims he knows the date of Jesus' return, and he is using billboards in the Nashville area and other cities to proclaim what he believes.....


September 15-17 No wait, May 21- Hey, isn't that the last day of school?


Sigh- as Al Mohler rightly declares: "It's regrettable when Christians give to the secular world a reason for scorn and derision like this, and in doing so disobey Christ himself, who said that we will not know the day nor the hour (Matthew 25:13),"  article here

Reclaiming the Church Year

From STR:

Sunday begins the season of Advent, and with it a new year in the Church's liturgical calendar....


...That this transition will go unobserved in many Christian churches is regrettable, not because Christianity entails certain holy days of obligation--as St. Paul writes, "One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike"--but because the Church Year provides such a useful framework for the worship life of a Christian.... more

Giving Thanks is Good For Your Health

Science catching up to scripture. From the WSJ:

A growing body of research suggests that maintaining an attitude of gratitude can improve psychological, emotional and physical well-being.

How Grateful Are You?

Take a test.

View Interactive

Adults who frequently feel grateful have more energy, more optimism, more social connections and more happiness than those who do not, according to studies conducted over the past decade. They're also less likely to be depressed, envious, greedy or alcoholics. They earn more money, sleep more soundly, exercise more regularly and have greater resistance to viral infections.... More

MereComments has this to say on this Holy Day:

...The world is old, and stupid. It wears the sniggering leer of the demagogue, the avid glance of the privateer of finance, the smug half-smile of the professor in the know. It does not want to understand the Cross, and Jesus who suffered upon it, because it is afraid of the new life that springs from Him; because that new life can take you where you do not know you want to go. But Jesus, who died for us, conquers by dying, conquers by giving of himself utterly. If we would be conquerors, if we would be as God himself, we must make ourselves one with Jesus, and give utterly. That cross, we feel, is too heavy for us to bear. It is too heavy; we cannot carry it. Then we must confess our nothingness, our weakness, and, as Therese of Lisieux says, let the cross carry us. We would be soldiers alongside our captain; first let us be as nothing, acknowledging that without Him who emptied Himself for us, we too are empty, like wooden idols, or like the waste and void before God said, "Let there be light."... (more)

There is more and you really should read it but the quote:

"The world is old, and stupid. It wears the sniggering leer of the demagogue, the avid glance of the privateer of finance, the smug half-smile of the professor in the know..."

made me think of another posting and for evidence of the line above you need look no further than the WaPo and its anti-Catholic vitriole published TODAY no less, and courtesy of everyone's favorite (especially his own) atheist, Richard Dawkins.

Pundit and Pundette, who wrote about it, rightfully asks, Did anyone at the Post think twice before they published this attack? Imagine them printing something like that about any other religion....(more)
H/T CMR

Sigh.

He Is Risen!

H/T STR blog:

But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.
For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive....

Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written,
"DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory.
"O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?"
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

1 Corinthians 15

additional readings and commentary from Insight Scoop:

Readings for Sunday, March 21, 2010:
• Acts 10:34a, 37-43
• Psa. 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23
• Col. 3:1-4 or I Cor 5:6b-8
• Jn. 20:1-9

It is known by many names: Easter, the Feast of the Resurrection, Resurrection Day, Pascha (from the Greek for “Passover”), the Great Feast, and the Feast of Feasts. Fr. James Schall, S.J., has described it as “the defiant feast,” for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead defies human logic and understanding. It also defies and defeats death, as the great Byzantine hymn proclaims: “By death He conquered death, and to those in the graves, He granted life!”  (more)

Today hell groans and cries aloud

From Merecomments:

...On Holy Saturday morning, hell is again a subject in the hymnography, and this time is personified and speaks.

Today hell groans and cries aloud: "It had been better for me, had I not accepted Mary's Son, for He has come to me and destroyed my power; He has shattered the gates of brass, and as God He has raised up the souls that once I held."

Today hell groans and cries aloud: "My dominion has been swallowed up; the Shepherd has been crucified and he has raised Adam. I am deprived of those whom once I ruled; in my strength I devoured them, but now I have cast them forth. He who was crucified has emptied the tombs; the power of death has no more strength." Glory to Thy Cross, O Lord, and to the Resurrection.

This "hell"  is the "sheol" in the Old Testament, or "hades," the place of the dead, not the final hell of the last judgement.

Glory is given, in the last line, to both Cross and Resurrection, and one might add the smashing of the gates of death. There is a Gospel reference, also to the phrase above "emptied the tombs"--Matthew 27:52--"the tombs were opened and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised."

Sermons that simply assert vague notions about life after death, how the soul lives on in some fashion, and do not preach what the Scriptures teach, are not delivering to their hearers much more than beliefs in immortality you might find in various cultures at various times. The Gospel is earthshaking news, not philosophy about eternal values and hope and springtime. The Resurrection is the ending of a cosmic battle. Or just the beginning. Accept nothing less than that Good News. (read the whole thing here)

Lent

A blessed Lenten season to you all.
I would commend to you a couple of special posts.
The first is from MereComments,excerpts from the Canon of St. Andrew, prayed this last Tuesday evening during Orthodox Compline:


Sin has stripped me of the robe that God once wove for me, and it has sewed for me garments of skin.

I am clothed with a raiment of shame as with fig leaves, in condemnation of my self-willed passions.

I have fallen beneath the painful burden of the passions and the corruption of material things; and I am hard pressed by the enemy.

Instead of freedom from possessions, O Savior, I have pursued a life in love with material things and now I wear a heavy yoke.

I have adorned the idol of my flesh with a many-colored coat of shameful thought, and I am condemned.

I have care only for the outward adornment, and neglected that which is within—the tabernacle fashioned by God.

I have discolored with the passions the first beauty of the image, O Savior. But seek me, as once Thou hast sought the lost coin, and find me.

Though I have sinned, O Savior, yet I know that Thou art full of loving-kindness. Thou dost chastise with mercy and art fervent in compassion. Thou dost see me weeping and dost run to meet me, like the Father calling back the Prodigal Son.


The second is a quote from A Trail of Flowers. A Lenten meditation to take you through Easter if you so desire:


"...before setting to work for God and to fight against the devil, first calculate your forces; and if you consider yourself well enough equipped to begin, you are a fool, because the tower to be built costs an outrageous price, and the enemy coming out to meet you is an angel, before whom you are of no account. Get to know yourself so well that you cannot contemplate yourself without flinching. Then there will be room for hope. In the sure knowledge that you are obliged to do the impossible in Him who strengthens you, then you are ready for a task which can be performed only through the Cross."

--Jacques Maritain, as quoted by Father Gerald Vann, O.P. in The Seven Swords

God Things

I had a doctor appointment yesterday. I was running behind since I was enjoying some super tacos at my favorite taco joint that was just down the street. My appointment was for 12:00 and I made it with 5 minutes to spare. Unfortunately I had to visit the sand box upon arrival so in order to let the doctor know that I was there I put my cap (I was in uniform as usual) on the couch in a prominent spot and went down the hall. This doctors office is rather small and the receptionist is only part time so there was no one to tell that I had arrived except the  doctor and the one other patient in the waiting room.
When I returned, the other patient had disappeared, presumably into one of the other doctors offices. The door to my doctor's office was closed, so I settled down to a browse the stack of magazines, content that I had made it on time or at least had caused no problem in the schedule.
Time ticked by. It was now 20 minutes past my appointment time. I began to doubt that I was there on the right day and/or the right time. I called my wife, keeper of the schedule of schedules, and asked her to check the e-mail to confirm the day and time. Yes, she informed me, the reminder was for February 18th at 12:00.
So far so good.
More time passed.
I took a nap. Which is standard operating procedure anytime I stay still for more than a few minutes. 10 minutes later I looked at the clock. 12:45.
I suppose I could have gotten upset but I did not. I was in no hurry to return to work and my full of tacos tummy was sending out signals of contentment and patience that Job would have been proud of.
At 2:00 the door opened and out came my doctor with a patient leading the way. The doctor greeted me pleasantly and I returned the greeting. My doubts and confusion at the situation continued.
My appointment was today, right? I asked.
Yes, she replied.
At noon, right, I queried.
No, I don't think so, she said. Let me check. She looked at her desk calendar and began to apologize. My appointment was indeed for 12:00. She had thought it was 1:00. The patient before me had come in a state of crisis and the doctor "gave up her lunch," to assist thinking my appointment was an hour later.

And I marveled at God's timing. The extra time spent at lunch in good company and good food. The last minute arrival for the appointment the dash to the facilities. If not for these, the doctor would have been reminded that my appointment was at noon and even if I had encouraged her to switch appointments, would never have been able to give her full attention knowing I was outside waiting.

I had no crisis. This was the last appointment in a series of follow ups. A mere formality.
I was in no rush. It was God's perfect timing. A God thing.

In this time of Lenten sacrifice, may we all have the patience to let God use us for his purposes and occasionally glimpse the results