And one more.
Thanks to the ever-faithful Doug.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Another Anniversary
Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration, and we remember with great sadness the bombing of Hiroshima. Today is also the seventh anniversary of the now well-known, but ignored at the time, Presidential Daily Briefing, titled “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.”
Bush was at the ranch in Crawford and remained there throughout August, cutting brush, jogging, celebrating his birthday, and reading books. What's the big deal, right?
Thanks for the memory to Think Progress.
Feast Of The Transfiguration
Transfiguration - Lorenzo Lotto, 1510-12
Luke 9:28-36
Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings,* one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah’—not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen;* listen to him!’ When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.
From Fr. John Dear's sermon on the vigil of the Feast of the Transfiguration, August 5, 2005.
Tomorrow, we commemorate two events, one a great holy event, the other an evil, demonic event. On the one hand, we celebrate the feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus, when he was revealed as the face of the God of peace, as he exploded with the spiritual power of inner nonviolence and unconditional love into the light of the world, the fullness of love and peace for the whole human race. So beautiful!
On the other hand, we remember that 60 years ago, our country dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and vaporized 140,000 people in a flash and did it again three days later in Nagasaki. Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Worker, called our bombing of Hiroshima, "the anti-transfiguration," and said in effect that we have rejected Jesus' loving nonviolence, and created our own demonic light, the blast of the bomb, the dark cloud, and instead of bringing light and peace to the human race, we are bringing death and destruction to all.
....
First, we have to recognize and name, that we live in the culture of the anti-transfiguration.
....
And this anti-transfiguration culture is trying to instruct us, the church, on sin and morality, telling us what is right and wrong, distracting us from the criminal, immoral, and sinful murder of 130,000 Iraqis in the last two years or the development of these weapons at Los Alamos. Unfortunately, many people in the church are being misled by the culture of the Bomb. So like Dorothy Day, we have to be clear about our predicament.
Second, I would say, because of this, because of our story, we are called to go forth into this culture to fulfill Jesus' mission of Transfiguration nonviolence.
....
I think that as his followers, our job is to carry on that mission of transfiguration nonviolence, to follow Jesus down the mountain, confront systemic injustice, and go with him to the cross with perfect nonviolent, forgiving, suffering love.
How do we do this? The voice from the cloud says first we have to listen to Jesus which means we have to take time every day...to hear what Jesus is saying to us, and then go and do it.
And when we listen to Jesus, we hear a few simple commandments: Love one another; love your neighbor; forgive one another; be as compassionate as God; seek first God's reign and God's justice; do unto others as you would have them do unto you; put down the sword and Love your enemies." That is the mission for the rest of our lives.
PRAYER
O God, who on the holy mount revealed to chosen witnesses your well-beloved Son, wonderfully transfigured, in raiment white and glistening: Mercifully grant that we, being delivered from the disquietude of this world, may by faith behold the King in his beauty; who with you, O Father, and you, O Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever.
READINGS
Psalm 99 or 99:5-9;
Exodus 34:29-35
2 Peter 1:13-21
I am not a pacifist. I am not courageous enough to be a true pacifist. I wish I were. Pacifism is not talking about hating war and linking to Fr. John's web site on my blog. Pacifism is active. It's "getting in the way" as the Christian Peacemaker teams do when they put themselves between the warring parties and risk being kidnapped, like the four team members in Iraq, with one of their number, Tom Fox, being killed.
It's Fr. John hammering on an F15 nuclear fighter bomber in an effort to "beat swords in plowshares," according to the biblical vision of the prophet Isaiah, and going to jail for civil disobedience and destroying property.
No, I am not in their company. God bless and keep them and all who strive for peace and justice.
Note: Reposted from the feast day last year.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
From Elizabeth Kaeton At Telling Secrets
Elizabeth Kaeton at her blog, Telling Secrets, has two extraordinary posts here and here. Elizabeth attended Lambeth as President of the Episcopal Women's Caucus.
Both Elizabeth and Susan Russell raised my hopes about the good that will flow from Lambeth 2008. Credit is due to the Archbishop of Canterbury for the structure of the conference around the retreat, the Daily Bible Study, the plenaries, daily Eucharist, and the indaba groups, which included deep listening with the result that the members actually heard what the others in their group were saying. In addition, within the small indaba groups, the members formed close relationships which will not be lost because of distance once they return home.
I won't attempt to choose excerpts from Elizabeth's posts. I urge you to read them in their entirety.
Both Elizabeth and Susan Russell raised my hopes about the good that will flow from Lambeth 2008. Credit is due to the Archbishop of Canterbury for the structure of the conference around the retreat, the Daily Bible Study, the plenaries, daily Eucharist, and the indaba groups, which included deep listening with the result that the members actually heard what the others in their group were saying. In addition, within the small indaba groups, the members formed close relationships which will not be lost because of distance once they return home.
I won't attempt to choose excerpts from Elizabeth's posts. I urge you to read them in their entirety.
Anti-Colonialism Or Colonialism?
From Priyamvada Gopal at the Guardian:
The Bishop of Uganda has taken a tough line on the British empire. Henry Orombi has denounced the Archbishop of Canterbury's decision to invite some pro-gay American clergy to the Lambeth conference as a "remnant of British colonialism". He and his fellow Ugandan bishops have refused to attend the conference as an act of passive resistance to the "clear violation of biblical teaching".
....
This kind of tendentious anti-colonialism, coming from quarters not otherwise known for radicalism, is part of a phenomenon that might be called the "blacking" of homophobia. This dismaying process has made it acceptable for some members of cultural and ethnic minorities not only to articulate intolerant views (which they would not accept if directed against themselves), but to have these prioritised in the name of religious sensitivities and cultural difference.
....
The tragedy for the larger Anglican communion is that the intolerance once spread abroad in the name of Christianity has now returned to haunt and hold back its laudable attempts to move forward. But in undoing this colonial legacy, it should not be deterred by false accusations of colonialism. Hatred is not love and homophobia is not anti-colonialism.
Please read the whole column. It's quite good. It's amazing to me that those who have experienced prejudice, exclusion, and even persecution can sign on so to supporting the very same treatment towards another group. You'd think they'd learn from their own experiences.
The Bishop of Uganda has taken a tough line on the British empire. Henry Orombi has denounced the Archbishop of Canterbury's decision to invite some pro-gay American clergy to the Lambeth conference as a "remnant of British colonialism". He and his fellow Ugandan bishops have refused to attend the conference as an act of passive resistance to the "clear violation of biblical teaching".
....
This kind of tendentious anti-colonialism, coming from quarters not otherwise known for radicalism, is part of a phenomenon that might be called the "blacking" of homophobia. This dismaying process has made it acceptable for some members of cultural and ethnic minorities not only to articulate intolerant views (which they would not accept if directed against themselves), but to have these prioritised in the name of religious sensitivities and cultural difference.
....
The tragedy for the larger Anglican communion is that the intolerance once spread abroad in the name of Christianity has now returned to haunt and hold back its laudable attempts to move forward. But in undoing this colonial legacy, it should not be deterred by false accusations of colonialism. Hatred is not love and homophobia is not anti-colonialism.
Please read the whole column. It's quite good. It's amazing to me that those who have experienced prejudice, exclusion, and even persecution can sign on so to supporting the very same treatment towards another group. You'd think they'd learn from their own experiences.
Reflections From Susan Russell
From Susan's blog, An Inch At A Time. Susan Russell is President Of Integrity USA.
There were many good things that happened in Canterbury between July 16 and August 3:
Despite the dire predictions of a coup d’état, instead of an outbreak of schism there was an outbreak of civility. The interactions between the bishops over their two-week conference were marked by generosity and by a holy curiosity and genuine interest in learning from each other about mission and ministry in the various parts of the global communion. Building on those relationships – one-on-one, diocese by diocese, year by year – will continue to build up the bonds of affection that make up the fabric of this global communion of which is our Anglican family of faith.
....
I also want to note those bishops who do not agree with the inclusive perspective we understand to be God’s will for this church and yet stood in solidarity with us against those who would divide us from each other and from our Anglican brothers and sisters. +Duncan Gray (Mississippi) and +Charles Jenkins (Louisiana) are but two who spoke publicly and eloquently in that regard … and I know there were others.
Thanks be to God for the words of Bishop Gray and Bishop Jenkins (my bishop).
And yet, at the 11th hour -- in his final Presidential Address and at the Press Conference following -- +Rowan Williams managed to snatch the defeat of a guarantee that issues of human sexuality will stay on the front burner of communion discourse for the foreseeable future out of the jaws of the victory of a conference what was on the verge of finding a new way forward in faith for those committed to walk together in spite of their differences.
By pushing his preference that the American and Canadian churches abide by the moratoria on blessings of same sex unions and the consecration of any more openly gay bishops, he undid in a two-hour span a good percentage of the good work that had been accomplished over the two- week conference.
My thoughts exactly on the final Presidential Address. I'll very likely do a post with further thoughts on the Archbishop of Canterbury's address, but I choose first to give you Susan's early reflection on Lambeth, because it is is excellent. Please don't stop here. Read all of Susan's post.
There were many good things that happened in Canterbury between July 16 and August 3:
Despite the dire predictions of a coup d’état, instead of an outbreak of schism there was an outbreak of civility. The interactions between the bishops over their two-week conference were marked by generosity and by a holy curiosity and genuine interest in learning from each other about mission and ministry in the various parts of the global communion. Building on those relationships – one-on-one, diocese by diocese, year by year – will continue to build up the bonds of affection that make up the fabric of this global communion of which is our Anglican family of faith.
....
I also want to note those bishops who do not agree with the inclusive perspective we understand to be God’s will for this church and yet stood in solidarity with us against those who would divide us from each other and from our Anglican brothers and sisters. +Duncan Gray (Mississippi) and +Charles Jenkins (Louisiana) are but two who spoke publicly and eloquently in that regard … and I know there were others.
Thanks be to God for the words of Bishop Gray and Bishop Jenkins (my bishop).
And yet, at the 11th hour -- in his final Presidential Address and at the Press Conference following -- +Rowan Williams managed to snatch the defeat of a guarantee that issues of human sexuality will stay on the front burner of communion discourse for the foreseeable future out of the jaws of the victory of a conference what was on the verge of finding a new way forward in faith for those committed to walk together in spite of their differences.
By pushing his preference that the American and Canadian churches abide by the moratoria on blessings of same sex unions and the consecration of any more openly gay bishops, he undid in a two-hour span a good percentage of the good work that had been accomplished over the two- week conference.
My thoughts exactly on the final Presidential Address. I'll very likely do a post with further thoughts on the Archbishop of Canterbury's address, but I choose first to give you Susan's early reflection on Lambeth, because it is is excellent. Please don't stop here. Read all of Susan's post.
"In Case You Missed These"
ARBITRATOR: A cook that leaves Arby's to work at McDonalds.
AVOIDABLE: What a bullfighter tried to do.
BERNADETTE: The act of torching a mortgage.
BURGLARIZE: What a crook sees with.
CONTROL: A short, ugly inmate.
COUNTERFEITERS: Workers who put together kitchen cabinets.
ECLIPSE: What a barber does for a living.
EYEDROPPER: A clumsy ophthalmologist.
HEROES: What a guy in a boat does.
LEFTBANK: What the robber did when his bag was full of money.
MISTY: How golfers create divots.
PARADOX: Two physicians.
PARASITES: What you see from the top of the Eiffel Tower.
PHARMACIST: A helper on the farm.
POLARIZE: What penguins see with.
PRIMATE: Removing your spouse from in front of the TV.
RELIEF: What trees do in the Spring.
RUBBERNECK: What you do to relax your wife.
SELFISH: What the owner of a seafood store does.
SUDAFED: A litigation brought against a government official.
From "Stringer Doug".
One of these days, I'm going to write a serious post. I have one in mind, but no time right now. Laughter is better for you anyway.
AVOIDABLE: What a bullfighter tried to do.
BERNADETTE: The act of torching a mortgage.
BURGLARIZE: What a crook sees with.
CONTROL: A short, ugly inmate.
COUNTERFEITERS: Workers who put together kitchen cabinets.
ECLIPSE: What a barber does for a living.
EYEDROPPER: A clumsy ophthalmologist.
HEROES: What a guy in a boat does.
LEFTBANK: What the robber did when his bag was full of money.
MISTY: How golfers create divots.
PARADOX: Two physicians.
PARASITES: What you see from the top of the Eiffel Tower.
PHARMACIST: A helper on the farm.
POLARIZE: What penguins see with.
PRIMATE: Removing your spouse from in front of the TV.
RELIEF: What trees do in the Spring.
RUBBERNECK: What you do to relax your wife.
SELFISH: What the owner of a seafood store does.
SUDAFED: A litigation brought against a government official.
From "Stringer Doug".
One of these days, I'm going to write a serious post. I have one in mind, but no time right now. Laughter is better for you anyway.
Monday, August 4, 2008
From Sister Mary Clara
And waaaay too good to stay hidden away in the comments.
Sister Mary Clara, OSL has left a new comment on your post "Am I Crazy?":
I LOVE that basket and would buy it in a heartbeat. Of course, as a life professed member of the OSL (Order of St Laundra) I take seriously the quality of the liturgical objects employed in the holy rites of laundry.
I could even be tempted to go higher than fifty dollars. Maybe you will feel better, Mimi, if I tell you just how much higher. A few weeks ago my daughter and I were shopping for a bassinet for her about-to-be-born baby. We were sorely tempted to spring for the $450 (plus tax and shipping) one at Pottery Barn, consisting of a finely woven basket on a wheeled cart (see it online )
Clearly, as a bassinet this would have been an extravagance, since the baby would outgrow it in a few months. We saw clearly, however, that the item would then serve as the ultimate laundry cart! And we don't expect ever to outgrow our need for laundry. Moreover the cart was so beautifully made that we imagined it would last a lifetime.
If this were not enough, I pointed out, the basket could be lifted out, freeing the cart (with the addition of an oval-shaped glass top) for use as an elegant cocktail or tea server.
We knew St Laundra would approve (we didn't even need to pray over it), but there were certain other parties to the decision who would never have been able to grasp the appropriateness of a $500 outlay for a laundry cart, even if it happened to be a laundry cart that would be a source of endless inspiration and be passed on to future generations. So we let it go.
Posted by Sister Mary Clara, OSL to Wounded Bird at August 4, 2008 11:00 PM
Thank you, Sister Mary Clara, for treating the matter of the cost of the laundry basket with the appropriate gravity. The bassinet/laundry cart that you linked to is a true object of beauty, but, unfortunately, not everyone grasps the merits of being surrounded by inspirational, though costly, objects. MY guilt slate is now wiped clean, forever and ever. Amen. Many thanks to you, Sister.
UPDATE: For those of you near the South Bronx, if St. Laundra, on occasion, fails to come to your aid, here's an alternative.
With thanks to a reader.
Sister Mary Clara, OSL has left a new comment on your post "Am I Crazy?":
I LOVE that basket and would buy it in a heartbeat. Of course, as a life professed member of the OSL (Order of St Laundra) I take seriously the quality of the liturgical objects employed in the holy rites of laundry.
I could even be tempted to go higher than fifty dollars. Maybe you will feel better, Mimi, if I tell you just how much higher. A few weeks ago my daughter and I were shopping for a bassinet for her about-to-be-born baby. We were sorely tempted to spring for the $450 (plus tax and shipping) one at Pottery Barn, consisting of a finely woven basket on a wheeled cart (see it online )
Clearly, as a bassinet this would have been an extravagance, since the baby would outgrow it in a few months. We saw clearly, however, that the item would then serve as the ultimate laundry cart! And we don't expect ever to outgrow our need for laundry. Moreover the cart was so beautifully made that we imagined it would last a lifetime.
If this were not enough, I pointed out, the basket could be lifted out, freeing the cart (with the addition of an oval-shaped glass top) for use as an elegant cocktail or tea server.
We knew St Laundra would approve (we didn't even need to pray over it), but there were certain other parties to the decision who would never have been able to grasp the appropriateness of a $500 outlay for a laundry cart, even if it happened to be a laundry cart that would be a source of endless inspiration and be passed on to future generations. So we let it go.
Posted by Sister Mary Clara, OSL to Wounded Bird at August 4, 2008 11:00 PM
Thank you, Sister Mary Clara, for treating the matter of the cost of the laundry basket with the appropriate gravity. The bassinet/laundry cart that you linked to is a true object of beauty, but, unfortunately, not everyone grasps the merits of being surrounded by inspirational, though costly, objects. MY guilt slate is now wiped clean, forever and ever. Amen. Many thanks to you, Sister.
UPDATE: For those of you near the South Bronx, if St. Laundra, on occasion, fails to come to your aid, here's an alternative.
With thanks to a reader.
Am I Crazy?
During our visit to Kansas City, we drove out to Jamesport, MO. After a delicious lunch in a Mennonite restaurant, we visited an Amish store and community nearby. Pictured above is a laundry basket, which I purchased from the store. It cost $50. Yes, $50 for a laundry basket, thus the title of the post. I am a pushover for beautiful handcrafted objects, and I have a special affinity for baskets. I have baskets upon baskets, pine-needle baskets, palmetto baskets, and Native-American baskets of various materials.
The basket is pictured above, and it's lovely, in my humble opinion. The handles are made of leather. Leather handles on a clothes basket! The picture below shows the solid wood bottom of the basket.
Pictured below is the straw hat that Grandpère bought for a much less money. He would not model it for me to take a picture, so I did the best I could with no model. He'd look like a proper Amish gentleman in his hat, except that I'd have to photoshop his shorts and tee-shirt into a long-sleeved shirt and long pants with suspenders and add a beard. With just those few changes, to all appearances, he's Amish.
Click on the pictures to see the fine work close up.
Then, we stopped at an Amish farm to buy fresh-picked corn, which we cooked as soon as we arrived back at the house. It was out-of-this-world delicious!
UPDATE: My middle picture seems to have disappeared, and I cannot upload it again. I will try later. I suspect Blogger. OCICBW.
UPDATE 2: Yay! I was able to upload my picture again.
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