The Feast Day Of Lancelot Andrewes

Lancelot Andrewes (1555-1626), Bishop of Winchester, was on the committee of scholars that produced the King James Translation of the Bible, and probably contributed more to that work than any other single person. It is accordingly no surprise to find him not only a devout writer but a learned and eloquent one, a master of English prose, and learned in Latin, Greek, Hebrew and eighteen other languages.

From James Kiefer at the Lectionary.

Before the day was done, I had to write about Lancelot Andrewes - and don't you love that extra "e" in his family name? - because I read a wonderful book called God's Secretaries, by Adam Nicolson, on the history of the writing of the King James Bible.

In my humble opinion, the KJB is a literary masterpiece. I'm told by those who know more than I that the translation is not as accurate as later versions, and I believe them, but the literary quality of the language is unmatched by any subsequent translation.

Imagine! A literary masterpiece written by a committee! However, the author says that the masterpiece came forth precisely because of its being written by a committee of scholars.

As Nicolson says:

The translation these men made together can lay claim to be the greatest work of prose ever written in English. That it should be the creation of a committee of people no one has ever heard of - and who were generally unacknowledged at the time - is the key to its grandeur. It is not the poetry of a single mind, nor the effusion of a singular vision, nor even the product of a single moment, but the child of an entire culture stretching back to the great Jewish poets and storytellers of the Near Eastern Bronze Age. That sense of an entirely embraced and reimagined past is what fuels this book.

Thanks be to God for Andrewes and the fellow members of the committee. The KJB served the church well for many a year. Now we have superior translations, but nothing even close to it in quality of expression.

READINGS:

Psalm 63:1-8 or 34:1-8
1 Timothy 2:1-7a
Luke 11:1-4

PRAYER (traditional language)

O Lord and Father, our King and God, by whose grace the Church was enriched by the great learning and eloquent preaching of thy servant Lancelot Andrewes, but even more by his example of biblical and liturgical prayer: Conform our lives, like his, we beseech thee, to the image of Christ, that our hearts may love thee, our minds serve thee, and our lips proclaim the greatness of thy mercy; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

UPDATE: Since I have seen references to Lancelot Andrewes as a "prayer warrior", I have included one of his prayers.

Faith

Coming unto God,
I believe that He is,
and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him:
I know that my Redeemer liveth;
that He is the Christ the Son of the Living God;
that He is indeed the Saviour of the world;
that He came into the world to save sinners,
of whom I am chief.
Through the grace of Jesus Christ
we believe that we shall be saved
even as our fathers withal.
I believe verily to see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.

Note: This entry is largely a repost from last year.

McCain Funnies

Stunt Over: McCain To Attend Debate Tonight

After a campaign "suspension" that basically amounted to a head-fake, the McCain camp has come full circle in less than 48 hours, announcing that the campaign is "resuming" and that the debate is on.

From Senator Harry Reid:

Reid: "Presidential Politics Has Not Been Helpful -- It's Been Harmful"

John McCain has not taken a stand on the bailout, "all he has done is stand in front of the cameras," Sen. Reid said at a press conference.

From TPM.

[House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi: McCain’s involvement 'a blip'

“He hasn't been involved in this, and now, as there's some discussion about putting this off, I don't think that we can do that,” Pelosi said on “Good Morning America.”

“I think Sen. McCain's involvement is sort of a blip.”

From Politico via TPM.

A Morning Chuckle

There are less than two months until the election, an election that will decide the next President of the United States. The person elected will be the president of all Americans, not just the Democrats or the Republicans. To show our solidarity as Americans, let's all get together and show each other our support for the candidate of our choice It's time that we come together, Democrats and Republicans alike. If you support the policies and character of Senator Obama, please drive with your headlights on during the day. If you support John McCain, please drive with your headlights off at night. Thank you for your participation.

With thanks to HolyFoolishness.

"Hmmm...."

From StoryPeople:

He just sat in the church looking up at nothing in particular & I whispered, "What are you doing?" & he said, "If Jesus had been a chicken would we have Weber grills all over the place instead of crosses?" & I had a hard time concentrating after that, too.

With thanks to Ann.

More Drama Than Duty?

From Sam Stein, quoting a Democratic congressional staff member, at The Huffington Post on McCain's contribution to the negotiations for a bailout:

But if the party was looking for leadership, it did not find it in its presidential nominee. Sen. John McCain, who on Wednesday said he was leaving the campaign trail to help steer a bailout proposal, may have just exacerbated the problems.

His arrival on Capitol Hill came shortly after the initial compromise was announced. And his presence at a White House meeting later in the day produced more confusion than results. Shortly after McCain convened with the president, Sen. Barack Obama, Treasury Secretary Paulson and congressional leaders, his campaign seemingly criticized all parties involved.
....

"Bush is no diplomat," said a Democratic staffer, "but he's Cardinal freaking Richelieu compared to McCain. McCain couldn't negotiate an agreement on dinner among a family of four without making a big drama with himself at the heroic center of it. And then they'd all just leave to make themselves a sandwich."

Oh no! Say it ain't so!

Thanks to Roger.

A Word From Jane On Johnieb

Don't be alarmed. It's nothing terrible. An MRI and a dead computer is all. Prayers requested for a good report for Johnieb from the MRI scheduled for 3:00 PM tomorrow (Friday).

Please click the link, as Jane has a few more details and also a gorgeous icon by our dear Luis Coelho. You must see it.

Giving Up Wine

I was walking down the street when I was accosted by a particularly dirty and shabby-looking homeless woman who asked me for a couple of dollars for dinner. I took out my wallet, got out ten dollars and asked, 'If I give you this money, will you buy wine with it instead of dinner?'

'No, I had to stop drinking years ago', the homeless woman told me.

'Will you use it to go shopping instead of buying food?' I asked.

'No, I don't waste time shopping,' the homeless woman said. 'I need to spend all my time trying to stay alive.'

'Will you spend this on a beauty salon instead of food?' I asked.

'Are you NUTS!' replied the homeless woman. I haven't had my hair done in 20 years!'

'Well, I said, 'I'm not going to give you the money. Instead, I'm going to take you out for dinner with my husband and me tonight.'

The homeless Woman was shocked. 'Won't your husband be furious with you for doing that? I know I'm dirty, and I probably smell pretty disgusting.'

I said, 'That's okay. It's important for him to see what a woman looks like after she has given up shopping, hair appointments, and wine.'

From my daughter. I had to post this. We're going to lunch with her today.

And There's This

From Newsweek:

Rick Davis, John McCain's campaign manager, has remained the treasurer and a corporate director of his lobbying firm this year, despite repeated statements by campaign officials that he had ended his relationship with the firm in 2006, according to corporate records.

The McCain campaign this week criticized news stories disclosing that, since 2006, Davis's firm has been paid a $15,000-a-month consulting fee from Freddie Mac, the troubled mortgage giant recently put under federal conservatorship. The stories, published Tuesday by NEWSWEEK, The New York Times and Roll Call, reported that the consulting fees continued until last month even though, according to two sources familiar with the arrangement, neither Davis nor anybody else at his firm did any substantial work for the payments.

Oops! Davis did not sever his relationship with his lobbying firm.

H/T to TPM.

What's His Other Name?

"Arch-Druid in his full Judicial Costume"

From Wiki.

What's That Again?

From the Times-Picayune:

Worried that welfare costs are rising as the number of taxpayers declines, state Rep. John LaBruzzo, R-Metairie, said Tuesday he is studying a plan to pay poor women $1,000 to have their Fallopian tubes tied.

"We're on a train headed to the future and there's a bridge out," LaBruzzo said of what he suspects are dangerous demographic trends. "And nobody wants to talk about it."

LaBruzzo said he worries that people receiving government aid such as food stamps and publicly subsidized housing are reproducing at a faster rate than more affluent, better-educated people who presumably pay more tax revenue to the government. He said he is gathering statistics now.
....

He said his program would be voluntary. It could involve tubal ligation, encouraging other forms of birth control or, to avoid charges of gender discrimination, vasectomies for men.

It also could include tax incentives for college-educated, higher-income people to have more children, he said.
....

He acknowledged his idea might be a difficult sell politically.

"I don't know if it's a viable option," LaBruzzo said. "Of course people are going to get excited about it. Maybe we'll start a debate on it."

Even in Louisiana, I don't think this will go anywhere. LaBruzzo serves the district that voted David Duke, the white supremecist, into the Louisiana legislature. However, LaBruzzo does not want us to think this idea is based on racism, because, as he says, more white folks use the programs that concern him than African-Americans.