THREE WISE MEN FROM CHINA?

From USA Today:

The story of the Three Wise Men is one of the most familiar and beloved parts of the Christmas story. But for all of their popularity, the mysterious travelers from the East — known as the Magi — appear in only one short passage in the New Testament, following a star to the site of Jesus' birth and bringing gifts of gold, francincense and myrrh. Many religious scholars aren't even sure they really existed.

From Matthew 2:1-12

The Visit of the Wise Men

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’ When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

“And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd my people Israel.” ’

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.’ When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Back to USA Today:

Now, a first-ever English translation and detailed analysis of a little-known eighth-century manuscript of a story probably written in the second or third century uncovers a far more substantial version of the wise men story.
....

[Brent] Landau's book, Revelation of the Magi: The Lost Tale of the Wise Men's Journey to Bethlehem (HarperOne) describes the Magi as an ancient mystical sect descended from Seth, the pious and virtuous third son of Adam and Eve. From Seth they inherited a prophecy of "a star of indescribable brightness" someday appearing and "heralding the birth of God in human form." This same star had initially hovered over the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden.

Among the book's other revelations:

The Magi are described as coming from a land called Shir, "located in the extreme east of the world, at the shore of the Great Ocean." In other ancient texts, Shir is referred to "as a place where silk comes from," says Landau, suggesting that the references were to China.

In Syriac, the word Magi means "to pray in silence." Landau says it has no relationship to magicians or astrologers, sometimes cited in stories today.

Landau translated the 8th century manuscript as part of his doctoral dissertation at Harvard Divinity School. Do read the entire article at USA Today. I found it fascinating to learn a bit about what 2nd or 3rd century Christians made of the story of the Magi. I'd like to read the book.

Thanks to Ann V. for the link.

GEAUX MARY!

From The Huffington Post:

Sen. Mary Landrieu, a conservative Democratic from Louisiana, lashed out Tuesday at President Obama's deal with congressional Republicans that allows tax cuts for the wealthy to be extended for two years.

Extending the tax cuts for those making more than a million dollars a year is borderline immoral, Landrieu charged. "I'm going to argue forcefully for the nonsensicalness and the almost, you know, moral corruptness of that particular policy," said Landrieu, walking into a meeting with Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Democrats. "This is beyond politics. This is about justice and doing what's right."
....

"It's what I'm calling the Obama-McConnell plan. We're going to borrow $46 billion from the poor, from the middle class, from businesses of all sizes basically to give a tax cut to families in America today, that despite the recession, are making over a million dollars. I mean, this is unprecedented. Unprecedented. I want to repeat that," she said. Landrieu added, however, that she had yet to make a decision on the final package and was speaking strictly about the extension of tax cuts for the wealthy.

Now this is a Blue Dog Democrat that I can love. Gosh! I wish we'd see this Mary Landrieu more often.

"This is beyond politics. This is about justice and doing what's right."

Amen! But shouldn't politics be about justice and doing what's right? Sometimes?

However you vote in the end, Mary, you've made me proud.

Thanks to Diane for the link.

COMPASS ROSE

Don't blame me. Blame Ann Larry Graham.

PRAY FOR ELIZABETH EDWARDS

Elizabeth is nearing the end of her battle against cancer. She's a lovely lady and set a fine example to us all of courage and grace under pressure.

"Elizabeth has been advised by her doctors that further treatment of her cancer would be unproductive. She is resting at home with family and friends," the Edwards family says in a statement to PEOPLE.

On Monday, Edwards, 61, posted a Facebook message to her friends.

"I have been sustained throughout my life by three saving graces - my family, my friends, and a faith in the power of resilience and hope," she writes. "These graces have carried me through difficult times and they have brought more joy to the good times than I ever could have imagined. The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered. We know that."

May God the Father bless you, God the Son heal you, God the Holy Spirit give you strength. May God the holy and undivided Trinity guard your body, save your soul, and bring you safely to his heavenly country; where he lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

(Book of Common Prayer)

From the comments:

Murdoch Matthew said...

Word came at eventide that Elizabeth Edwards has died.

May Elizabeth rest in peace in the loving arms of God and rise in glory.

May God give comfort, consolation, the peace that passes understanding to keep the minds and hearts of all those who love Elizabeth.

May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest, Elizabeth.

EASY OPTION

I'm not that good at live & let live, she
told me, when it's just as easy to avoid &
then I don't even have to think about it.

From StoryPeople.

PS: This one is mine.

XMAS GIFTS FOR THOSE WHO LOVE THE BRITISH ROYALS

The British royal family in 1968.

From the Telegraph.

Queen's undergarments' to be auctioned

The monogrammed item reportedly came into the possession of notorious Miami playboy named 'Baron' Joseph de Bicske Dobronyi more than 40 years ago, according to the celebrity website TMZ.

He received the garment from a friend after it was left on a private plane used when the queen visited Chile in 1968.

After Dobronyi's death in June aged 88, his estate began planning to auction off the royal garment which is expected to sell for £6,000.

If you must, you can see a photo of the knickers at the TMZ website, but I advise you not to look. I think how I'd feel having my much less elegant used undies displayed to the eyes of the world.

Thanks to Ann for pointing me to the story. In the subject line of her email was "TMI". Indeed!

And the next item:

 

 

Click on the text to enlarge.

From ACORN Online.

FURTHER UPDATE ON AILEEN

Tis' the season for miracles, tonight after not being awake and not responding for four days Aileen squeezed my hand with BOTH of hers and was able to move her right hand from the pillow next to her over to her tummy. Then she was able to track me with her eyes. Thats my fighter!!---Mike

Thanks be to God, the medical staff, Aileen's family, and all who care for her and pray for her. I don't know about you, but this news gladdens my heart and, along with Mike, Aileen's husband, makes me think of miracles, too. Please continue your prayers.

Aileen's story is here.

R. I. P. COLIN SLEE

Sermon by the Jeffrey John, Dean of St Albans, at the funeral of Colin Slee, Dean of Southwark Cathedral.

I didn't know Colin Slee. Until his recent death, I didn't know anything about Dean Slee, but after reading Jeffrey John's lovely sermon at his funeral service, I wish I'd known him or, at least, known a bit more about him.

One of the last things Colin said before he died was, ‘I am surprisingly un-scared’. It could have been the motto of his whole life. Colin was always surprisingly un-scared. Unlike the rest of us, he never did let fear or self-consciousness or embarrassment to stop him reaching out to the most unlikely and needy people, or doing and saying what he thought was right and true. All the frightened, careful people said Colin was risky, indiscreet, unreliable – ‘the most dangerous man in the Church of England’ said one, to Colin’s deep delight. But he was not dangerous or indiscreet or unreliable - certainly not in anything that mattered. He was just surprisingly un-scared.

If you ask why he was so un-scared, I think the answer is as straightforward as he was. He really did believe. He really trusted in a good and loving God as Jesus came to make Him known to us; and that confidence set him free to be the astonishingly life-giving, brave, generous and joyous person that he was.
....

The papers and his detractors always portrayed Colin as an arch-Liberal, as if he were the leader of a faction obsessed with a secular agenda. It was never true, and it misses the whole point. For Colin it began and ended with God. The truth is that he was a traditional Catholic Anglican, thoroughly disciplined and orthodox in his faith, a man of profound prayer and penitence. His idea of inclusiveness was not that ‘anything goes’, but that we are all equally in need of healing, and therefore the Church must equally be a home for all. Colin welcomed people because Jesus did. (My emphasis)

Amen, and amen, and amen!

I'm baffled that, all too often, it seems difficult for certain of my brother and sister Christians to understand that one can be "thoroughly disciplined and orthodox" in one's faith and still welcome everyone because Jesus did. How is it arch-liberal or secular to look to Jesus in the Gospels as the model for how we are to "do unto others"?

From the website of Southwark Cathedral.

Photo from the Guardian.

IT'S CALLED CONSEQUENCES, MP BAHITI

From Jim Burroway at Box Turtle Bulletin:

Mike Jones at Change.org has learned that Ugandan MP David Bahati, who was slated to come to Washington, D.C. to attend next week’s conference of the International Consortium of Governmental Financial Management, will not be permitted entry into the conference....
....

Warren Throckmorton confirms that Bahati, author of Uganda’s proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill, still thinks he’s going to the conference, but Hadden told Throckmorton via email that “the ICGFM Executive Committee has agreed that his attendance is not consistent with the mission of the organization.”

Sadly, what I said in the past appears to be true. The secular organizations will pressure the leadership in Uganda to remove the pending anti-gay legislation from the agenda, more-so than the religious organizations, which serves to highlight the courage of Ugandan religious leaders like Anglican Bishop Christopher, who, in his retirement, chose to take up the cause of and minister to gay and lesbian persons in the country where "homosexuality is illegal and where gays and lesbians are routinely tormented and harassed". Bishop Christopher stands in opposition to the legislation, unlike certain of his brother Anglican bishops in Uganda.

RAPTURE AND END OF THE WORLD COMING SOON

From WKRN.com:

The estimated 40 billboards were put up by Family Radio, a national Christian radio group.

A spokesperson for the radio station said they are very confident that their prediction is right.

"This date was developed from only Bible scriptures from the King James Bible and a lot of it are parts that people tend to overlook," Allison Warden told News 2.

From the website of Family Radio who sponsor the billboards:

This web site serves as an introduction and portal to four faithful ministries which are teaching that WE CAN KNOW from the Bible alone that the date of the rapture of believers will take place on May 21, 2011 and that God will destroy this world on October 21, 2011.

What about the children? Do these groups truly frighten their children this way. And that's not to speak of other people's children! And gullible adults!

Well, my readers, you can't say I didn't warn you - you know - just in case....

PS: Be careful when you drive on May 21, 2011. Perhaps those who are confident that they will be raptured will be thoughtful enough of the rest of us to stay off the roads. I hope so.

Thanks to Ann V. for directing me to the story.

UPDATE: Go to Ship of Fools. Jesus is furious about the leak. Read it all. There will be consequences.

Thanks to Ann for the link.

SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT

A Song of the Wilderness

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,
the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
It shall blossom abundantly,
and rejoice with joy and singing.
They shall see the glory of the Lord,
the majesty of our God.
Strengthen the weary hands,
and make firm the feeble knees.
Say to the anxious, "Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God, coming with judgment to save you."
Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened,
and the ears of the deaf be unstopped.
Then shall the lame leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert;
The burning sand shall become a pool
and the thirsty ground, springs of water.
The ransomed of God shall return with singing,
with everlasting joy upon their heads.
Joy and gladness shall be theirs,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

(Isaiah 35:1-7, 10)

Collect: Second Sunday of Advent

Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Image from Wikipedia.

BISHOP CHRISTOPHER - THE DESMOND TUTU OF UGANDA?

From San Diego Gay & Lesbian News:

SAN DIEGO – The Right Rev. Christopher Senyonjo could have retired in 1998 as Bishop of the Diocese of West Burganda, Uganda, with his pension and the satisfaction of serving the Anglican Church faithfully for many years.

But in 2001, he felt a calling to help the young people who came to his private counseling service for advice on how to deal with coming out in this east African nation of 33 million people where homosexuality is illegal and where gays and lesbians are routinely tormented and harassed.

So Bishop Christopher, as he is fondly known and who is often referred to as the Desmond Tutu of Uganda,, was compelled to help the confused and frightened young gays who had mustered up the courage to seek his counsel.
....

A scandalous tabloid in Uganda called Rolling Stone even put his image on the front cover of a recent edition that called for the hanging of LGBT people, putting his life in danger. Never mind that the bishop is straight, and is a husband, father and grandfather.

To his enemies, Bishop Christopher turns the other cheek. He believes he is doing God’s work – and so do many of his supporters across the globe.

The bishop is in San Diego this week to accept California Senate Resolution 51, which will be presented to him by state Sen. Christine Kehoe on Thursday, Dec. 2, during a reception at Eden in Hillcrest.

Senate Resolution 51 commends Bishop Christopher’s work and calls for government to be more stringent in monitoring abuses by churches that are supporting the false claims of so called “ex-gay ministries” and exporting homophobia to countries like Uganda. It also encourages faith-based organizations in the U.S. to support the creation of policies in other countries that do not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Ever the humble man, Bishop Christopher says he feels honored by the resolution.

“Thank God there are people who appreciate what I am doing,” he says. “I didn’t think, in my lifetime, that I would be recognized for what I am doing. … It encourages me to go on serving to the end of my life.”

H/T to MadPriest, who called my attention to the article and the video of the courageous Bishop Christopher. MadPriest himself also speaks powerful and true words about God and God's love:

There is one credal statement of which no greater can be imagined. It is never provisional and it cannot be subject to any other statement. All other statements are subject to it and are untruthful if they do not fully agree with it or give rise to anything that is not of it. There are no exceptions. Scripture, the Church and God cannot add to, lessen or change it in any way. It is of itself as God is of Godself, because it is God. It is the greatest truth from which all reality flows.

God is love.

Read the rest of MadPriest's words at the link above.

THE REV. RAYFORD RAY ELECTED 11TH BISHOP OF THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF N. MICHIGAN

From the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan:

On the second ballot of today's electing convention, the Rev. Rayford Ray was elected as the eleventh bishop of the Diocese of Northern Michigan.

Results:

Delegates: 88 present, 59 required to elect. Metz: 6, Ray: 59, Tharakan: 23
Congregations: 25 present, 13 required to elect. Metz: 1, Ray: 16, Tharakan: 6

According to the bylaws of the Diocese, to have an election, a nominee must receive two-thirds of the delegate vote and a simple majority of the congregational vote. To achieve a congregational vote, delegates from a congregation meet and caucus--a simple majority of those delegates is considered a congregational vote.

Thanks to Ann Fontaine.

UPDATE: From the Google cache of the biography of Bishop-elect Ray by Nicholas Knisely at The Lead:

ESCANABA, Michigan, December 4, 2010--The Rev. Rayford Ray, a member of the Episcopal Ministry Support Team in the Diocese of Northern Michigan, has been elected as the diocese’s 11th bishop.

Ray, 54, a four-time deputy to General Convention who serves several parishes in the south central region of the diocese, was elected on the second ballot from a slate of three nominees at a convention held at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Escanaba.

“We are a life giving people here in this diocese,” said Ray, who visited the convention after his election. “It is an exciting time as we will partner together as we look at the possibilities that stand before us. We have much to do, but we will do it together as we proclaim the Gospel as we know in in Jesus Christ.”

During more than 20 years in the diocese, Ray has worked as a ministry development coordinator and collaborated with parishes across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He was recently an adjunct instructor at Episcopal Divinity School. An alumnus of Nashota House, he lives in Rapid River, Michigan with his wife, Suzanne Ray. They have three grown children and four grandchildren.

ST. ARBUCKS - PATRON SAINT OF COFFEE

Thanks to Ann V.

UPDATE: Chris said...

Collect of the day:

Oh God, who hast made the coffee bean and infused it with caffeine for our enjoyment; like Thy blessed saint Arbucks vouchsafe to keep us awake to Thy beauty, infuse us with the riches of the cream of Thy heart, and at the end bring us to Thy heavenly café, where Thou livest and reignest with your Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Thank you, Chris. The collect is perfect.

UPDATE ON AILEEN

I know that everyone is praying so incredibly hard for Aileen, I just ask one more time that everyone PLEASE PLEASE pray harder Aileen has taken a turn for the worse and is now battling an infection in her body as well and all of her responses to people and stimulus had stopped she is no longer responding to us. Please just another big round of prayers. -Mike

Aileen's story is here.

May God the Father bless you, God the Son heal you, God the Holy Spirit give you strength. May God the holy and undivided Trinity guard your body, save your soul, and bring you safely to his heavenly country; where he lives and reigns for ever and ever.

(Book of Common Prayer)

The latest on Aileen from Ann:

Aileen seems to have stabilized a bit today, she's not better but atleast she not getting any worse, need to find out what this infection is from so they can zero in on it with antibiotics instead of taking the shotgun effect and hoping they hit something.---Mike

GOOD-BYE, ZOE

From my brother-in-law:

Zoe was euthanized today at 4:30. She had gone down considerably in the last 24-48 hours. Will miss here sorely.

Frank

We prayed for Zoe earlier. Please pray for Frank.

Prayer for the Death of a Beloved Pet

O Lord our God, we come before You this day in sadness. Zoe, who brought us so much joy in life, has now died. Her happy times in our family’s embrace have come to an end. We miss Zoe already.

Help us, O God, to remember the good times with Zoe. Remind us to rejoice in the happy times she brought to our home. Let us be thankful for the good life we were blessed to give to her.

We are grateful to You, God, for creating Zoe, for entrusting her to our care, and for sustaining her in our love for a measure of time. We understand that all that lives must die. We knew that this day would come. And yet, O God, we would have wanted one more day of play, one more evening of love with Zoe.

O God, as we have taken care of Zoe in life, we ask that You watch over her in death. You entrusted Zoe to our care; now, we give her back to You. May Zoe find a happy new home in Your loving embrace.

As we remember Zoe, may we love each other more dearly. May we care for all Your creatures, for every living thing, as we protected the blessed life of Zoe. May her memory bless our lives with love and caring forever. Amen.

By Rabbi Barry H. Block

"GOD DOES TAKE SIDES"

From Daniel Schultz (aka Pastor Dan) at Religious Dispatches:

It's been a rough week. Ireland got sold back into serfdom, unemployment benefits expired, and in a bid to bring the spirit of peace and generosity back to Christmas, Republicans threatened to filibuster the START treaty until tax cuts for the upper 2% of wealthy Americans were made permanent. Oh, and like a maraschino cherry high atop a lollapalooza of suck, we find out from Wikileaks that the Obama administration—with GOP help—basically has quashed the investigation into torture by slow-marching it to death.
....

And where, might you ask, was the religious left (such as it is) during all of this? Begging for scraps, I'm afraid. They were "urging" Congress to pass the DREAM Act and "urging" them to ratify START and "asking"(!) the House to pass the Child Nutrition Act. These are all fine and worthy causes, to be sure. Yet somehow I don't think they're going to be effective. Put it to you this way, it's one thing to go up against a giant with a slingshot. It's quite another to take your rock out and replace it with a crumpled-up piece of paper.
....

Yet, as I seldom tire of pointing out, the God of the Bible is quite partisan and quite divisive. You can't read about camels and the eye of the needle, let alone the Magnificat, without understanding that God is on the side of the poor.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! A thousand times yes, Pastor Dan. Read the rest of Dan's column.

To you who scream loud and long that the US is a Christian nation, I ask what about Jesus' teachings about the poor? I ask you people of faith who, even as you claim the Judeo-Christian heritage as the foundation of our nation, why you ignore the golden thread of God's justice that begins in the Hebrew Bible and runs right through the New Testament? How do you forget passages like this:

Thus says the Lord: Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.
(Jeremiah 22:3)

And the words of Mary, the mother of Jesus:

The Magnificat

And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
(Luke 1:46-53)

And the words of Jesus to the rich ruler:

Jesus looked at him [the rich ruler] and said, ‘How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’
(Luke 18:24-25)

But somehow, some way, the most vocal of those who want to take back our country for Jesus always seem to remember Paul's words to differentiate between the worthy and unworthy poor:

For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work.
(2 Thessalonians 3:10-11)

Now, I'm all for getting the idle, sound-of-mind-and-body "busybodies" to work, every last one of them, if they can find a job! I'm sure that a good many of the "idle busybodies" would like to be back at work this very moment. Unfortunately, the unemployment rate rose from 9.6% to 9.8% since last month.

As Pastor Dan sums it up:

My God is the God of the poor. You can be for the poor or you can go to hell.

There's nothing nice about that. But then there's nothing nice about the absurd, reactionary, vicious and apparently successful class war the rich and powerful are waging on the rest of the nation, either.

Daniel Schultz, a.k.a. pastordan, is a minister in the United Church of Christ. He serves a small and very patient church in rural Wisconsin. He is the author of Changing the Script: An Authentically Faithful and Authentically Progressive Political Theology for the 21st Century, forthcoming from Ig Press.

Thanks to Cathy for the link.

STORY OF THE DAY - IMAGINING WORLD

In my dream, the angel shrugged & said,
If we fail this time, it will be a failure of
imagination & then she placed the world
gently in the palm of my hand.

From StoryPeople.

"HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 1"

From Laremy Legel at Film.com:

Where the film falters is through the calculated exclusion of anyone not already steeped in Harry Potter lore. You'll need to come in emotionally invested, though the chances of that are solid if you've read this far. Newcomers need not apply, as the whole affair would likely come off as a blustery exercise without prior knowledge of the books or films.

Yes to all but "if you've read this far", you're emotionally invested.

From Anthony Lane in The New Yorker:

The trouble with Harry, as becomes clear from this seventh and penultimate installment, is not that we have lost the plot—the film is as tangled and as corkscrewed as Bonham Carter’s hair—but that we are in danger of losing everything else. The first words of the movie, which is directed by David Yates, are “These are dark times, there is no denying.” Actually, there is denying—that was the gist of the comic fantasy that used to prevail in Hogwarts, a place notably unvisited by our heroes on this occasion. Even allowing for the fact that we have followed Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione (Emma Watson), and Ron (Rupert Grint) into the slough of puberty and out the other side, the whole thing does seem preternaturally stained with Weltschmerz.

Yes, again.

From Peter Travers at Rolling Stone:

Like a virgin's padded bra, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I is all tease, zero payoff. No investment banker left standing could fail to applaud the studio's initiative in halving the seventh and last book in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series to squeeze the goose for more gold. But a movie that plays like a 146-minute trailer for the actual final chapter — Part II opens next July in 3D! — is a definite cheat.

Once again, yes.

Last night, Tom and I went to see the latest Harry Potter film. I'd read the review in The New Yorker and was not enthusiastic about going, but we had not been to a movie together in quite a while, so since Tom wanted to go, I went along.

We'd missed five four of the movies in the series, having seen only the first two. I loved the first film, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone", because, along with the darkness, and the action, and chases, the special effects were terrific, and the movie was great fun. I'd read the book and looked forward most of all to the special effects for the broomstick team game of Quidditch, which turned out to be all I expected and more.

Before I read the second book in the series, I saw the movie, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", and did not care for it nearly so much as the first. I didn't read any of the other Potter books, and, as I've said, we missed the next five four movies.

I knew that Dumbledore had died, but Tom and I were pretty thoroughly lost in the first scenes of the movie. Although we never really caught up, we tried to follow along with the intricacies of the plot, as best we could. Tom enjoyed the action and special effects, but I was mostly bored.

I discovered that Daniel Radcliffe is short, 5'6" as best I can discover, since a good many of the other actors in the film seemed to tower over him, and not just Hagrid. I got caught up in the scenery, some of which was quite beautiful. According to Wikipedia, "The crew also shot on location, with Swinley Forest and Freshwater West as two of the main outdoor filming areas, along with the village of Lavenham in Suffolk and the streets of the city of London."

One scene that I loved was of Harry enticing the mournful Hermione (Ron having left them) to dance, in an attempt to lift her spirits - a sweet moment to savor for a romantic such as I.

Near the end of the movie, I had to make a run to use the facilities, and I missed all but the very last scenes of the film, which led to a to-be-continued ending. That I didn't mind not seeing the scenes I missed, says a lot about how much I cared about the movie. I missed the fun in the first movie, which was perhaps more due to my expectations than a fault in the movie.

On the plus side, we were given MovieWatcher rewards of two free small bags of popcorn, but, on the minus side, the theater discontinued discounts for seniors.

The wrath of true-blue Potter fans will probably descend on me for what I've written, but, what I have written, I have written.

UPDATE: See Bishop Alan's review of "Potterdammerung".

FATHER MONTGOMERY ON WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION

From an interview by Mr CatOLick.

Thanks to Ann.

30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MARTYRED MISSIONARIES OF EL SALVADOR

From Fr John Dear in the National Catholic reporter:

Dec. 2 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the abduction, rape and killing of four U.S. churchwomen in El Salvador -- Maryknoll Srs. Ita Ford and Maura Clarke, Ursuline Sr. Dorothy Kazel, and Maryknoll lay missioner Jean Donovan.
....

So much has happened in the thirty years since -- beginning with the deaths of millions and millions of more poor people around the planet, the ongoing warmaking of the United States, and the ongoing collapse of the institutional church.
....

As we remember these great churchwomen and do what we can for justice and peace, I think...our lives too will be filled with meaning.

30 years already? It doesn't seem that long ago that I heard the horrifying news. Please read Fr John's entire column in the NCR.

Almighty God, you called your servants Ita, Maura, Dorothy, and Jean to be voices for the voiceless poor, and to give their lives as a seed of freedom and a sign of hope in El Salvador: Grant that, inspired by their sacrifice and their example, we may without fear or favor witness to your Word who abides, your Word who is Life, even Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be praise and glory now and for ever. Amen.

(Adapted from the prayer for the feast day of Roman Catholic Archbishop Oscar Romero, of El Salvador, whom the Episcopal Church commemorates on March 24. This past March was the 30th anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop Romero as he celebrated the Eucharist.)

Thanks to Rmj at Adventus for the reminder of the anniversary.

Image from A Nun's Life.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AILEEN AND HER FAMILY

Greetings, Episcopal Family---Prayers are needed for a young mother (37), named Aileen, who was in my sixth grade class many years ago. She is in ICU in Rapid and has been in a coma for several days. She has two little boys. Below is a Facebook update from her husband Mike Rodgers. Thank you for your immediate and ongoing appeal for her healing. Blessings to you all---Sally Boyd

From Mike- update on my sweet Aileen. MRI came back and was one blow after another. She suffered a heart attack and caused the blood, oxygen flow to not reach her brain for a portion of time, suffered 5 to 6 major strokes, 5 lesser strokes and many much smaller ones. her internal organs seem to be doing a bit better, still has a LONG way to go. I beg you all please continue to pray for my amazing wife and best
friend.

Forwarded by Ann Fontaine.

O God, the strength of the weak and the comfort of sufferers: Mercifully accept our prayers, and grant to your servant Aileen the help of your power, that her sickness may be turned into health, and our sorrow into joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Book of Common Prayer)

O merciful God, give strength, courage, and your peace that passes understanding to keep the minds and hearts of all who love Aileen; in Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

UPDATE ON AILEEN: From Ann:

Quick update: Aileen seems to be having a few more conscious periods going on today, she is still in a coma as that is her basic state right now but she is definately moving in the right direction, testing yesterday shows that her vision and hearing should be intact, her right side is making good progress, but she is losing what she had on her left and tests show that there is nothing happening in the brain in reference to her legs at all. These are fairly limited tests and all they are really able to do until she wakes up more, many many unanswered questions. From her husband, Mike on FB

HAPPY HANUKKAH - "OCHO KANDELAS"

We invite parents into the classroom to tell about family celebrations. Last year a parent taught us the "Ocho Kandelas" song, which is a Hanukkah song in Ladino, a Sephardic language that sounds like Spanish and Hebrew with a little Arabic in there as well. The native Spanish speakers in my class were pretty excited to get the idea of the song, even if the words weren't exactly the same as in Spanish. The video is us learning and practicing the song with the lyrics on the ActivBoard. We say "Kandelikas" a lot, it's pretty fun.

From k1classroom at YouTube

Last year, I stole the video from my friend Paul the BB. This year I repeat myself, because I like the video quite a lot.

AND IN HONOR OF HANUKKAH...

It was Hanukkah and the tiny village was in fear of not having any latkes because they had run out of flour. Rudi, the local rabbi, was called upon to help solve the problem.

He told the village wives, "Don't worry, ladies, you can substitute matzo meal for the flour, and the latkes will be just as delicious!"

Sheila looks to her husband and says, "Morty, do you think this would really work?"

"Of course it will!" he replied: "Everybody knows Rudolph the Reb knows grain, dear!"

Don't blame me. Blame Paul (A.) And I'm trying to decide what Paul's punishment should be: tarring and feathering or simply shunning.

HANUKKAH BLESSINGS

First Blessing

Borukh Ato Adoynoy Eloyheynu Melekh Ho-oylom Asher Kiddeshonu Be-mitsvoysov Ve-tsivonu Lehadlik Neyr Shel khanuko.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us by His commandments, and has commanded us to kindle the lights of Hanukkah.

Second Blessing

Borukh Ato Adoynoy Eloyheynu Melekh Ho-oylom She-oso Nissim La-avoseynu Ba-yyomim Ho-heym Ba-zzman Ha-zze.

Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who wrought miracles for our fathers in days of old, at this season.

Third Blessing

Borukh Ato Adoynoy Eloyheynu Melekh Ho-oylom She-hekheyonu Ve-kiymonu Ve-higgi'onu La-zzman Ha-zze.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has kept us alive, and has preserved us, and enabled us to reach this time.

The blessings are lovely.

From the comments in 2008:

Rhonda Renée said...

Thank you for honoring our Jewish friends by posting the Hanukkah blessings.

Traditionally all three blessings are recited the first night and only the first two on subsequent nights.

Blessings from About.com.

Reposted from 2008.

THE NAVIGATOR

The scene is sometime in the old era when cockpits had round dials plus flight engineers and navigators. The crusty old-timer captain is breaking in a brand-new navigator.

The captain opens his briefcase, pulls out a .38 pistol and rests it on the glare panel.

He asks the navigator, "Know what this is for?"

"No, sir," replies the newbie.

"I use it on navigators that get us lost," explains the captain, winking at his first officer.

The navigator then opens HIS briefcase, pulls out a .45 and sets it on his chart table.

"What's THAT for?" queries the surprised captain.

"Well, sir," replies the navigator, "I'll know we're lost before you will."

Don't blame me. Blame Paul (A.)

Picture from Props, Pistons, Old Jets.....

IN HONOR OF WORLD AIDS DAY 2010

"Christ of Compassion" icon by Tobias Haller.

No words are necessary. Read the icon.

Tobias says, "I'm pleased to report that one of my icons, "Christ of Compassion" is included in the online Advent exhibition of The Episcopal Church and the Visual Arts, Seeking + Serving."

Tobias blogs at In a Godward Direction.

WORLD AIDS DAY 2010

Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori letter:

Brothers and sisters in Christ,

On the first day of December, people around the world pause to remember World AIDS Day. Christians remember all who live with HIV and AIDS, and all who have died, at the same time we begin the season of Advent. We search for a healer and a hope-giver as we prepare for the coming of the Redeemer. One of the traditional prophetic readings for the season says:

While gentle silence enveloped all things,
and night in its swift course was now half gone,
[God's] all-powerful word leaped from heaven, from the royal throne,
into the midst of the land that was doomed. [Wisdom 18:14-15, NRSV]

The magnificent contrasts of this ancient vision – silence pierced by the Word, doom cast out by new life – seem a fitting frame for reflecting on the challenges and opportunities confronting us on World AIDS Day 2010.

Read the rest at Episcopal News Service.

Archbishop of Canterbury's 2010 World Aids Day Message

Prayer For Persons With HIV/AIDS
By Stephen Helmreich

O Lord Jesus, Healer of our every ill, during your ministry you cured those who suffered from both the disease and the stigma of leprosy. Now we confront the global epidemic of HIV/AIDS. Today, as before, support and heal all people living with the disease, comfort those who have lost friends or lovers, strengthen and encourage families, caregivers and activists in their daily tasks, guide doctors and researchers on their quest, lead politicians and governments to policies of compassion, and enlighten those whose hearts are filled with prejudice, hate, and error. Amen.

Prayer from The Daily Office.

Image from Wikipedia.

PLEASE PRAY FOR MARK

From Mark at Enough About Me:

First thing at work tonight, I found out that, as of midnight, the company we work for is officially done. The bank takes the property at midnight.

After that . . . who knows who will work for whom.
....

Just finished the last audit for the company.

Who knows what tomorrow brings. It seems that we have our jobs at current rate of pay, for now, but no one is sure what the bank or it's yet-to-contact-us management company are going to do.

I'm really scared.

I don't even know where I've got my resume stored! Not that it will matter - they can't fire you for having two government garnishments, but no company has to hire you, either. I have no transportation of my own. The whole thing is - disaster. Can you even get unemployment if the company you worked for no longer exists? If not, then I'm done. I can't "move in" with anyone without it delaying the inevitable.

I realize that nothing is finalized yet. We don't know what is going to happen.

I don't trust fate, nor do I believe hard work pays off. Ask James about hard work and how well he's been rewarded.

If the worst happens, I'll hear, "Well, that place was holding you back. There's a whole world out there. You can grow, achieve more! Be great! Live in a happening place!"

Problem is, I don't want any of that - never really have.

PRAYER FOR GUIDANCE

O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light rises up in darkness for the godly: Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what you would have us to do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices, and that in your light we may see light, and in your straight path may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Book of Common Prayer)