felix hominum

dinner & drinks

Over at a friend's place (9 courses - you must learn how to feast if you are to learn how to fast, but that is another post).  Had the opportunity to meet the Sheepcat, who was visiting from Toronto.  He is a very interesting fellow, as you will discover as you peruse his blog - recommended reading.   I'll probably link to a few of his thoughts as I make my way through.  He's currently on a project editing the Africa bible commentary,  and has also recently made a presentation to our Canadian House of Bishops along with some other folks who call themselves the Zacchaeus Fellowship.

food & the gospel

I have often heard, and mostly believed, the saying that you can't preach to someone who has an empty stomach.

When I read the Gospels, I find that Jesus used the opposite pattern.  His feeding miracles come after  his preaching, not before.  I wonder why this is?

I'm just sayin', that's all.

Edmonton Couple Beset by Nocturnal Predators

EDMONTON, AB.

A young couple was unexpectedly beset by what authorities are describing as “nocturnal burrowing predators” early Sunday morning.  The husband and wife, who asked only to be identified as “JW” and “AKW”, said that the attack occurred just after 2:30 am on Sunday morning.

“We were sleeping peacefully, when all of a sudden there was a rush of cold air at our feet, and these creatures began crawling up from the end of our bed”, said a shaken JW.   “At first we weren’t sure what they were after, but we soon found out.”

The creatures literally burrowed their way to where the couple had been resting their heads, and then immediately began grunting and motioning.  There was a furious scramble as the couple sought to retain their blankets and pillows.  “It appeared that at least one was after something called ‘pottie’, and I kept hearing something that sounded like ‘more spaghetti’”, said AKW.

The three animals apparently had excellent night vision, as the couple saw no lights on in their house at the time of the attack.  The three had apparently been hunting together for some time.   Authorities will continue to monitor the situation, and indicate that more attacks are likely later in the spring, when it is believed a fourth creature will join the small predatory herd.

will the real Book of Daniel please stand up

overheard (i forget where):   

"The only thing out of place about the Book of Daniel is that the Episcopal parish on TV is full  on Sunday mornings."

And in case you wanted to know about the actual parish church where it was filmed, and what they think, just check this out.   Apparently the actual parishioners were a tad disappointed in how their church was portrayed.

international Week - U of A

For all you slackers who don't read the Gateway, next week is officially International Week here at the University of Alberta.  Headliners include Stephen Lewis, whom some of you know from his presentation on AIDS/HIV to the Anglican Church's General Synod a while ago.   

Another event of interest is the philosopher's cafe on the subject of euthanasia.  Be there.

Praying in tongues

The next L'arche prayer and worship night will be Monday Feb 6.

I have often struggled in prayer - trying to find the "right words".   If you need a fresh model of prayer and worship, I invite you to join us .   You may hear prayers that you can barely understand.  You may hear prayers that you can't understand at all.  You may see movement and dance like you've never seen before.   You might feel uncomfortable.  You might feel awkward.   

You will see a community of the broken gathered before God, in Whose image all are made.   And maybe, just maybe, we who are gifted in other ways might find in their fellowship the freedom to admit our own brokeness, and learn of them, for they are meek and lowly of heart.

You will see men and women who live with profound disabilities.

You will see Christians rejoicing.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

pray without ceasing

In the late afternoon I walked from my office over to the Students' Union Building.  Sunset here was around 5pm, with the Alberta sky lit up.  For those of you who know prairie skies, this was a good one.  I just stopped for a moment to look at the light and the colours.   A red helicopter flew past, on its way to the landing pad of the U of A Hospital.

Pray without ceasing.

God Bless Canada - Rev Harper

So what is the deal with Stephen Harper using the phrase: “God bless Canada” at the end of his speeches?

A few folks are worried this is a signal that theocratic tendencies, the specter of an American style “Religious Right”,  has been exported north of the 49th parallel.  There are really two streams to this concern.

First, the language mimics that of GWB and the Republican party.  Somehow the phrase “God bless country X”  has become the domain of the American right.  It is (in some circles) not possible to ask God’s blessing on a country without A] making reference to American politics; and B] implying that one is thereby asking God to bless country X at the expense of all other countries.

Secondly, there is the concern that although Harper did not campaign on what are considered the hot issues of the American right (most notably abortion), it is perhaps thought that Harper is pulling the old bait and switch:  play them soft this time around, hoping for a majority in the future, and then WHAM – hit Canada with a right wing social policy.

Okay, although I don’t think Harper is “Bush-Lite”, and I don’t think he is using the God Bless phrase as a secret signal to his allies, I can see that folks will make a common association.

Perhaps Harper could rework his tag line:

Short form: – for local speeches, in house meetings, and the beer tent at the Calgary Stampede:

“God bless us, every one” (with apologies to Charles Dickens).

Long Form:  for use with Rex Murphy on Cross-Country Check Up, and other occasions of national significance, Speeches from the Throne, etc:

“May the object or entity referred to in the preamble to the Charter as being the God under whose supremacy  common recognition of humanity is made possible and so guarantees the remainder of the rights in 2.a ff of the Constitution Act, due to the self limiting nature of an acknowledgement of any form of authority higher than that of the modern nation-state, bless Canada.”

election analysis

...will come later, after the pundits have gathered in the Power Plant.

1st update:  I, at least, find it interesting to see some of Bene Diction's thoughts on how Harper ended his speech last night - with the phrase "God bless Canada".

"pro-life" choices

You may not find them demonstrating in front of clinics, or holding rallies or marches.  Maybe it's because they are busy doing those thousand extra things that come with having an extraordinary child.  On the be not afraid website there are dozens of stories from parents who faced a decision upon learning of discouraging medical news.  It is simply encouragement for prospective parents who have been given a difficult prenatal diagnosis, and are thinking about abortion.   Our family's story is in there somewhere.

Sarah Joy, 4 year old amateur gardener,
person with Down Syndrome.

this kind only comes out by beer

In light of the fact that I mentioned that theology has become scary,  I thought I would ease people into the topic in a rather convivial manner.

So Dr. Tom Oosterhuis & myself have been tossing around the idea that perhaps we would offer a bit of a get together on something of a more theological nature, and prove that it is not as scary as you might think.   We think we will offer a study group on Colin Gunton's book  "The One, the Three and the Many" - based on his Brampton Lectures.

We are also thinking as an added bonus that we would meet in the comfy surroundings of the Faculty Club, as an antidote to the usual surroundings of the weekday Bible studies in HUB or SUB, and a bit of a break from the Power Plant.

And in the great tradition of the Whitehorse Inn (where great theologians gathered to drink, under the guise of talking about God), we might even buy a pitcher of liquid thought.

how to layer ice & harden your heart

Note to self:

I have achieved the full glory of Canadian Manhood. 

I have completed my backyard rink.

It's not as difficult as it may seem.  The key is in laying down consecutive layers, letting each one thoroughly freeze, and then laying down more layers.  If you try to just put one big layer down, you may end up getting cracks, as various strata will freeze in slightly different timelines.

Works the same say within.  Lay down just one thin soaking of indifference;  let it harden, and then lay down another one.  Repeat the process for a while and voila - a prefectly ice cold heart.   The small and steady repetition is what makes the final product so impenetrable;  each layer bonded to the one below and the one above.  It might not even melt after a long time in the sun.

For further instructions see Dante's Inferno.  The center of Hell is cold, not hot - the opposite of the flame of love.

"Harden not your hearts"

Beatitudes VI

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."

It is, I suppose, both truthful and fashionable at the same time to apply a sort of "spiritual interpretation" to this beatitude.

How and where shall the pure in heart see God?  Reflected in His created image of course, as we have opportunity to do each and every day.   The spiritual vision to see God reflected in his creatures (that would be people like you and me) is the fruit of purity of heart.   What is the connection?  My vision is clouded by my own sinfulness.   A purity or singleness of heart sees through the sin, to the image of God and the reality that each of us are called to be beloved.   I have the remarkable opportunity of seeing Christ each and every day.

"If you cannot discern Christ in your neighbour, how  will you be able to discern Him in bread and wine?"

There is also the literal sense of these words.  We will be given eyes which can see God.  I believe in the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.   

Now we see in a glass, darkly, but then;  face to face.

For those who asked...

Augustine's Confessions Books XI-XIII, Quick & Dirty.   Bits of an address to the PBSC (will have a link to the whole thing sometime  soon)

In the last 3 books of the Confessions, Augustine turns his attention to the first few lines of Genesis.   Here many readers of Augustine’s Confessions leave their bookmarks, finding it difficult to follow what exactly he is getting at.  And if you are tempted to do the same, I can’t say I blame you.   But what he is getting at is that the “wonderful things” in Scripture is nothing other than the Trinity itself – this is what he thinks Scripture points us to.

In books XI, XII and XIII of the Confessions, Augustine talks about an "inner meaning" of scripture which had eluded him earlier.   I say "an" inner meaning rather than "the" inner meaning for reasons which Augustine will make clear  At present it will suffice to say that there is a movement from what he calls the exteriora  to the interiora to the superiora   It is like the structure of the work as a whole – from the outward life (biography in books 1-9) to the inward life (self examination in book X), through to the higher life – meditation on Scripture with one’s attention on God in the last 3 books.   

If contemplating a fallen nature or creation (Romans 1) can give us some sense of who God is, then contemplating an unfallen creation in Genesis through the lens of Scripture will give us a clearer picture of who God is.

With this in mind, I suggest that in the last three books of the Confessions Augustine sought the highest object of faith - the Trinity itself. In books XI-XIII, Augustine examines Scripture in order to uncover what he calls an "inner meaning".  Throughout the last part of the Confessions he turns to the contrasting images of external/internal - - he speaks of the “external word” and of the internal word;  of listening with the ears of our flesh and listening with the ears of our heart.   And somehow there is a third part of the process – outward leads to inward leads to upward – to what he calls the superiora.  Augustine asks God to let him find "some one true, certain and good  sense that thou shalt inspire me withal, even if many such senses shall offer themselves unto me."   That inner meaning I will show to be a Trinitarian understanding of being, knowing and willing.  That is the superiora  toward which Augustine is moving in these last books.  It is this which is verum, certum  et bonum  - true, certain and good.

Bottom line:  Things depend on who God is, and how God is.

thanks Winston...

Just in case you are wondering what to get me for my birthday, there is a whole selection of clever stuff for sale at the Unemployed Philosophers' Guild.  Lots of good stuff for sale:  Neitzsche's will to power bar

Secondly, you could get me this little Jesus doll.  Complete with "WWID" bracelet.

on fancy shmancy church stuff

Cliche quote:

"We might be able to turn heads, but only the Spirit can turn hearts."

sol cafe update

Just passing along the tentative plans for the next few weeks of the sol cafe;

Jan 22nd - continuing on with the PBS film, plus Praise and Prayer time, at Cafe Dabar
Jan 29th - Salvation Army service night, followed by Chinese food somewhere to celebrate Chinese New Year
Feb 5th - Early start 4:30 pm Movie and Potluck, location to be determined
Feb 12th - You and God, plus the beginning of the annual sol cafe fast
Feb 19th - You and God

a few new links

Just a public service announcement about a couple of links added to the sidebar: 

Bethany  is heading off to Thailand shortly, and I'm sure would appreciate our prayers.

Ian on the other hand, is I believe, stuck in Edmonton for the winter.  I've read his blog for some time now,  and find a whole slew (or stew?) of interesting stuff there.

Who would Jesus vote for?

Since it is election season, I have no problem doing an about face and repudiating the promise made in my last post not to blog about the election.  But a question was asked of me, and so here is my answer:

None of the above.  Jesus would (if He had to) run as an independent, with his own platform, while Christians who vote for other parties each claim His endorsement.  Hence he would vote for Himself.

Either that or He would not vote at all, since He is a believer in Monarchy (Himself being the King).

First and last of the election posts

While I generally leave my decisions until the last moment, I can't help but wonder about Paul Martin's comments about scrapping the notwithstanding clause.   Apart from ignoring whatever wisdom (or pragmatic realpolitik) was behind putting it in there in the first place, I see the move as leading to an American style supreme court.  If the court always has the last word, then:  a] how does democracy function as opposed to jurisocracy;  b]  will we have the big sideshows that accompany American supreme court nominations;  c]  will the court then replace the Senate as the preferred place of purely political appointments?

On the bishop-elect of Qu'Appelle

Here's a thoughtful little offering from Greg Kerr Wilson, the bishop-elect of Qu'Appelle.   The article is found in a publication called The Anglican Planet.   Greg has served in our diocese for a number of years, and our prayers are with him and his family as he prepares to begin a new ministry.

soundbites from St. Paul

“encourage one another, build each other up”   (1 Thessalonians 5: 11)

Sometimes a soundbite is always out of context, sometimes it is always in context.  This is the kind that is always in context.

Encourage somebody today.

Come unto me, all you who are are weary and heavy laden.  and I will give you rest.

I'm just sayin' it worked

I exhausted my play list, folk ballads & lullabies for 45 minutes - and nothing even had the slightest effect of calm.  Until I hit them with the old Superman song by the Crash Test Dummies.   Dropped the tuning down, gave them the deep bass pitch.

Out like lights.

Now I know.  CTD:  lullabies for toddlers.

Only at Antonio's...

Where I sometimes go for a good latte...spent some time talking to a fellow dad, who also has a daughter with Down Syndrome, & is quite ill.   Kids with Down Syndrome have a much higher risk of many diseases.  We compared notes on a variety of topics, laughed together about some of the antics of our kids, talked about how our children with disabilites affect/ are affected by their siblings;   the hoops of educational/medical/governmental systems;  and just plain old loving them...

Why theology has become scary

Over the holidays  the twelve days of Christmas I had occasion to re-read Jaroslav Pelikan's  The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition (100-600), which is the first volume of his work:  The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine.   He makes the observation that for the first 500 years of Christianity, the theologians were bishops,  in the next 1000 years, the theologians were monks, and since the time of the Reformation, the theologians have been mainly academics.

It struck me that those are significant shifts.   There is (at least in some parts of our Christian world) an aversion to theology precisely because it is seen as "academic".   In a broad, unsupported and sweeping statement,  I hereby declare that if theology is removed from the task of the pastor, and left only in the hands of the academic, the life of the Church is poorer for it.   And because theology is seen as the domain of the academic, it is increasingly dismissed as irrelevant to the life of a disciple - -  sort of  "that's nice, but what impact does it make on my daily walk with Jesus?"

"But it was not so from the beginning",  (to miss-apply Jesus' words in Matthew 18).   It is marvellous to contemplate the link between Christian thinking and pastoral action that is exemplified by the early Church.  The modern fracture between "Head" and "Heart"  is not the final word;  it wasn't even the first word.   

heart, soul, mind and strength

Where's Pontius Pilate when we need him?

According to this article in the Times Online,  an Italian judge has ordered a priest to appear in court this month to prove that Jesus Christ existed.

"The case against Father Enrico Righi has been brought in the town of Viterbo, north of Rome, by Luigi Cascioli, a retired agronomist who once studied for the priesthood but later became a militant atheist.

Signor Cascioli, author of a book called The Fable of Christ, began legal proceedings against Father Righi three years ago after the priest denounced Signor Cascioli in the parish newsletter for questioning Christ’s historical existence."

So who do you call as your first witness? 
Suppose He's busy that day?
Will they make Him swear on the Bible?

My head hurts...

now Judas held the common purse

Just a thought, but Anglican Campus Ministry is in need of a person to help with the books, due to the retirement of our most able treasurer who has served us for many years.   Time commitment is about 1 hour per month - that's about it.   If you are interested in volunteering, send me an email.  Thanks.

who gets there next?

Not the chief priests or the scribes of the people, but the Gentiles from outside. 
Outside the promised land,
outside the nation of Israel,
outside the covenant,
outside the law & the prophets.

But not, apparently, outside God's grace.

"Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews?  For we have seen his star..."

...and they knelt down and paid him homage.

Flintstones, meet the Flintstones

Sorry, it's the only theme song I know all the words to.  On the other hand, the Anglican Church of Canada has selected a theme for its 2007 General Synod, (as reported by the Anglican Journal) based on a song by Gordon Light.

"Draw the circle wide...draw it wider still"  will be the official theme for the national church gathering in 2007.  Apparently the theme has the potential to cause a bit of a stir.

Now there are a few other Canadian songwriters named Gordon that we could pick from.   So I am going to send some nominations to the committee to change the theme, and offer the following as appropriate for the Anglican Church of Canada General Synod 2007, in an effort to provide a theme that will satisfy everyone...

Gordon Downie (of the Tragically Hip):

1.  "Yawning or Snarling" - from the album Day for Night
2.  "Inevitability of Death" - same album
3.  "Let's Stay Engaged" - from the album Trouble at the Henhouse

Gordon Lightfoot:

1.   "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" - a classic
2.   "Too late for Praying"  - from the album Sundown

The entire album "Gordon" by the Barenaked Ladies, highlighting:

1.  "If I had $1,000,000"  for the budget proposals.

Birth Shmirth...

"Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way..." (Matt 1:18)

What is at stake in believing (or not) in the "virgin birth" of Jesus?  The question was recently raised on an  Anglican discussion list I'm part of.   

The scriptural records seem to indicate, along with the tradition of Christians for many years, that Jesus was not conceived in the usual manner.  (Side note, it was not only his birth that was remarkable, but his conception).    There are a few folks who posit that Jesus' birth was not the result of something supernatural, but that he came about the same way the rest of us do.

I'm not convinced that we can look at the "virgin birth" in a merely symbolic way.  A God who cannot produce a virgin birth is certainly not capable of producing a universe.  It seems to me that we fail to grasp God's largeness if we think that the story must have been a cover up, or an embellishment, or just a novel idea thrown in to make the story more interesting.   

And in the end, we really have to depend on the testimony of just one witness:  Mary.   Interestingly, I don't think she would have qualified as much of a witness under the law (being a woman and all).   Nor would it have been in her best interest to make up and circulate a story like the one told in the Gospel.   Those sorts of things tend to get you into trouble.

Emmanuel - God with us.