Captain Jack Revisited

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It has been a month and a half since I wrote this post. I have become a little fascinated with Stephen Jackson in that time. I read an ESPN magazine story about Stephen Jackson that portrayed him as very sympathetic. I've also read some other info about him in various places. His teammates and coaches speak very highly of him. He has done a lot of charity work. It sounds like he is involved in a Bible study and probably church. He continues to do good things for his hometown, Port Arthur, TX (near Houston).

There is no question that Stephen Jackson has done some regrettable, ill-advised things. It seems that he sometimes lets his emotions get the better of him. On the other hand, he comes across as fiercely loyal to friends and teammates and will stand up for them whatever the cost to himself. In a weird way, I kind of identify with him. Like most of us, his life seems to be a mixture of good and bad as he seeks to become a better person in the midst of numerous temptations, both inward and outward. Add to all of that the religious element and the fact that he is a very good basketball player, and you have someone with whom I would probably enjoy sharing a meal (He worked in a relative's soul food restaurant as a kid. I could eat me some soul food.)

I decided to write this update because I felt like I had spoken unfairly about another bearer of the image of God. There's always more to the story that we see. That doesn't mean that we don't make judgments based on what we know. It does me that we recognize that our judgments should always be provisional. We (almost) never have the whole picture before us. That being said, maybe my original post could simply be taken as a tongue-in-cheek comment on a strange situation.

"Do unto others ..."

Come to the Table

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"You that have kept the fast, and you that have not,
rejoice today for the Table is richly laden!"

I was thinking about this quote from St. John Chrysostom this morning at Mass. I did not have the most focused Lent, but this Holy Week has been full of inspiration and edification. I was thinking about how every good desire, every thought about God, every move toward repentance, every ounce of contrition that I have begins with God. He is always the initiator.

When we are reaching out for God, we should always take heart. If we are reaching out to God we should know that it is only because he has been reaching out for us. It is that continual movement by which we receive life: from the Father, through the Son, by the Holy Spirit and then back to the Father, in the Son, by the Holy Spirit.

You can find St. John Chysostom's Easter Sermon many places. My cyber-pal, Death Bredon, featured it on his blog today. It is brief. Please, do yourself a favor and read it.

Easter Day

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Collect for Easter Day:

"ALMIGHTY God, who through thine only-begotten Son Jesus Christ hast overcome death, and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life; We humbly beseech thee that, as by thy special grace preventing us thou dost put into our minds good desires, so by thy continual help we may bring the same to good effect; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost ever, one God, world without end. Amen."

Our priest made the point today that the Gospel story has been faithfully told for two millennia. That may seem like a "no duh" assertion. I was glad that he said it. Everyone knows that there are a lot of visitors on Easter. There are too many voices, both among those who profess Christianity and those who don't, claiming that the Church lost the message of Christ at some point or never had it at all. A simple reminder that this is not the case is a good thing. How wearying is all the talk about recapturing, rediscovering and reimagining (?) the Gospel?

Along similar lines, our rector said a few words about love. He mentioned that it is constantly misunderstood and abused. Then he said that Christians are the ones who know what love is. No apology. No qualification. Simply stated as a fact. He went on to talk about the elements of sacrifice and other-orientation that are essential in love in the world.

You know when you are listening to something but are hearing it from someone's else's perspective. That was what I was experiencing this morning. I could hear people scoffing in my head about the rector's confidence in the Church as the messenger of the Gospel and expression of Christ's love. I was glad that he was bold.

Holy Saturday

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The Collect for Holy Saturday:

"GRANT, O Lord, that as we are baptized into the death of thy blessed Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, so by continual mortifying our corrupt affections we may be buried with him; and that through the grave, and gate of death, we may pass to our joyful resurrection; for his merits, who died, and was buried, and rose again for us, the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

There is, of course, an element of darkness and mourning in Holy Saturday. But, there is a wonderful tension due to the fact that there is such an anticipation of triumph today. Christ continues his saving work as he descends into hell as Victor. Yes, he DESCENDS as VICTOR. What a day of transition between the death and suffering of Good Friday and the resurrection and life of Easter.

Passions

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I mentioned Fr. Jonathan Tobias on Maundy Thursday. There's another Orthodox priest who is consistently offering meditations which will feed your soul.

Go read Fr. Stephen Freeman's daily posts. He is writing on the passions right now. I hope you will take advantage of the opportunity to receive some great pastoral thoughts.

Good Friday

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Collect for Good Friday:

"ALMIGHTY God, we beseech thee graciously to behold this thy family, for which our Lord Jesus Christ was contented to be betrayed, and given up into the hands of wicked men, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost ever, one God, world without end. Amen."

Today is a day for mourning. We behold the Passion of our Lord culminating in his death. We see that we are there, guilty.

Jesus was not compelled by justice to offer himself, but rather moved by compassion. Do not believe that horrible lie that the Trinity was constrained by anything towards the Cross. It was the desire to have man as an active participant in their shared life that the Persons of the Trinity committed to this action.

"How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (Hebrews 9:14)

It was love. It was love. It was love.

God grant us the grace to behold these things and weep.

TS Eliot Weighs In

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The wounded surgeon plies the steel
That questions the distempered part;
Beneath the bleeding hands we feel
The sharp compassion of the healer's art
Resolving the enigma of the fever chart.

Our only health is the disease
If we obey the dying nurse
Whose constant care is not to please
But to remind of our, and Adam's curse,
And that, to be restored, our sickness must grow worse.

The whole earth is our hospital
Endowed by the ruined millionaire,
Wherein, if we do well, we shall
Die of the absolute paternal care
That will not leave us, but prevents us everywhere.

The chill ascends from feet to knees,
The fever sings in mental wires.
If to be warmed, then I must freeze
And quake in frigid purgatorial fires
Of which the flame is roses, and the smoke is briars.

The dripping blood our only drink,
The bloody flesh our only food:
In spite of which we like to think
That we are sound, substantial flesh and blood—
Again, in spite of that, we call this Friday good.

- T.S. Eliot, from Four Quartets - East Coker (Quartet 2) Part 4

[HT: Andy Whitman]

Maundy Thursday

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Christ has entered the Darkness of sin, temptation, desolation and abandonment. He empties himself before his Father on behalf of mankind.

May we enter the darkness with him, as much as we can bear it.

Lord, help us to empty ourselves of all of our conceit.

Drink It In

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I know that I've pointed you over there more than once, but for good reason.

Fr. Jonathan Tobias is knocking it out of the park every day right now. Get over there.

Collect for Maunday Thursday:

"ALMIGHTY Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, did institute the Sacrament of his Body and Blood; Mercifully grant that we may thankfully receive the same in remembrance of him, who in these holy mysteries giveth us a pledge of life eternal; the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who now liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit ever, one God, world without end. Amen."

What Would You Do With Your Final Six Months?

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Kevin Kelly is the founder of Wired magazine and is involved in a ton of cutting edge tech stuff. He was on NPR's "This American Life." Kelly's portion starts at 4:19 and ends at 27:15.

I'll offer a bit of a teaser. The story is about his conversion experience and what happened during the months after. It kind of begins when he spent a night in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. It really could be a novel or movie.

Go listen to Kelly's tale. Hang in to the end. It's worth it.

Ah, Holy Jesus

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This hymn is one of my Lenten favorites.

Listen to the hymn sung while you read the lyrics.

Here's another version.

Ah, holy Jesus, how hast Thou offended,
That man to judge Thee hath in hate pretended?
By foes derided, by Thine own rejected,
O most afflicted.

Who was the guilty? Who brought this upon Thee?
Alas, my treason, Jesus, hath undone Thee.
’Twas I, Lord, Jesus, I it was denied Thee!
I crucified Thee.

Lo, the Good Shepherd for the sheep is offered;
The slave hath sinned, and the Son hath suffered;
For man’s atonement, while he nothing heedeth,
God intercedeth.

For me, kind Jesus, was Thy incarnation,
Thy mortal sorrow, and Thy life’s oblation;
Thy death of anguish and Thy bitter passion,
For my salvation.

Therefore, kind Jesus, since I cannot pay Thee,
I do adore Thee, and will ever pray Thee,
Think on Thy pity and Thy love unswerving,
Not my deserving.

*Note* You can often find a hymn or song sung if you search the title and/or author + mp3, ie "Ah, Holy Jesus mp3." That's good for those of us who don't read music but would like to learn new hymns.

The Great Dane (Not Hamlet)

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“People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.”

- Soren Kierkegaard

I didn't even have to read a book to find this fantastic quote. Thanks, Ironic Catholic!