Harsh Words, Gentle Inaction

This Sunday's reading from Luke 9:51-62 shows Jesus' infinite patience with those who refuse to receive him, but also his heavy demands placed on his followers,

When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set towards Jerusalem. When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, ‘Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’ But he turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village.

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’ To another he said, ‘Follow me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’ Another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’

 "Let the dead bury their own dead..." I wonder if the person asking permission was from that same Samaritan village that Jesus spared.

"But let me first say farewell to those at my home..." Is it possible that this person too was from the Samaritan village.

Just something to think about.

“I can’t imagine a safer place for families to bring children,” she said of Pride parade

From Huffpost/Canada the wackos are out there defending the nudity and sexual activities at "Pride" parades and they are saying that exposing children to all of this is a good thing,

"Each year, in the blazing sun of the Pride parade in Nelson, B.C., Pega Ren and her two young grandkids seek shade under their spinning rainbow parasols. 
Ren, a semi-retired sex therapist, told HuffPost Canada...'I can’t imagine a safer place for families to bring children,' she said of Pride.Putting on her sex therapist hat, Ren emphasized that Pride, from kink to nakedness, is an excellent opportunity for parents to do unbiased sex education."

A "Pride" is about as safe for children as reading them bedtime stories from "Penthouse" magazine.

"David Rayside, a retired politics and sexual diversity professor at the University of Toronto, told HuffPost Canada.
'Pride has always had a kind of outrageous edge to it. And should we alter that? It is not the Santa Claus parade, and it never was. It shouldn’t be. It can’t be...'”

Sexual diversity professor? Don't send your kids to the University of Toronto.

“...'There is absolutely no reason not to take our kids to Pride — it’s a fun day, there are a lot of bubbles, rainbow streamers and enjoyable performances,' writer, educator, and publisher S. Bear Bergman told HuffPost Canada.
Plus, as queer parents, it’s one of their cultural festivals, added Bergman, who who attends Toronto Pride every year with his kids.
'It’s their right as queer spawn. And as a parent, I might want to take my kids to Pride, because they might be lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer or two-spirit.'"

Queer spawn? The only way they can spawn is to make homosexuality cool to children, fun, and full of rainbows and balloons.

Two-spirit? That;s a new one on me. I had to look it up at Dictionary.com which defines it as,

"Two Spirit is a third gender found in some Native American cultures, often involving birth-assigned men or women taking on the identities and roles of the opposite sex. A sacred and historical identity, Two Spirit can include but is by no means limited to LGBTQ identities."

That certainly makes things as clear as mud.

"Bergman defended these elements (the nudity etc) and their right to exist at a kid-friendly event.
'First of all, nobody likes nakedness more than children,' Bergman said.Bergman also pointed out that many children don’t even interpret most of what they’re seeing in a Pride parade as sexual, but rather as dress-up or fun.'On the list of things that I don’t want my children ever to be exposed to are: Compulsory heterosexuality, demonstrations of sexism, demonstrations of racism, demonstrations of ablism, violence. These are all way higher on the list than some homosexual’s tuchus.'”

Sick, sick, sick.

Heaven help us.

When Pigs Swim

From Mean2behappy blog

(Note some of this is a rehash from my post on this passage back in 2013)

Today' s Gospel reading was Luke 8:26-39,

"Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, ‘What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me’— for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) Jesus then asked him, ‘What is your name?’ He said, ‘Legion’; for many demons had entered him. They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.

Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, ‘Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.’ So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him."

I have always wondered about the demons in this story. They are far better at detecting the presence of God than most of us, but in spite of their abilities, they cannot foresee the results of the error of jumping into a herd of swine. Demons are pretty sneaky, and I always thought they were clever when compared with us, but they aren't so smart when compared to God.

I guess the demons were doomed anyway once Jesus appeared so it didn't matter what they wanted to do at that point. Their bacon was fried. 

I liked Bishop Dan Martins' take on it,

"The setting for this incident is a cemetery, a graveyard. And nearby is a herd of pigs. To Jewish sensibilities of the time, these were both highly offensive conditions, symbolizing every sort of four uncleanness imaginable. For us the cultural equivalent might be a sewage treatment plant next to a rat colony. So what this means is that Jesus is taking the offensive. He is going right into the belly of the beast to do battle. He’s not waiting for Evil to come to him; he’s bringing the fight to Ground Zero of Evil—a graveyard next to a herd of swine. And right there, at symbolic Ground Zero, Jesus wins. Jesus is triumphant. Jesus conquers the powers of darkness right on their own home field. The spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against God, the evil powers of this world that corrupt and destroy the creatures of God, the sinful desires that draw us from the love of God—everything that we renounce when we’re baptized and when we’re confirmed—are cast out of us by Jesus just as he cast the legion of demons out of that man on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee." (Read the rest here)

Pigs can swim but can't when possessed by demons.

The Gay Assault on Children: Cartoons Celebrate LGBTQetc Pride Month

On the heels of PBS airing a cartoon featuring a homosexual wedding in the children's cartoon "Arthur" and its episode, “Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone”, the Powerpuff Girls go LGBTQetc as well as reported by The Christian Post,

"Cartoon Network, the popular television channel watched by millions of children, promoted LGBT pride month by using one of its widely popular shows to encourage fans to 'stand proud.'

...'We want to wish everyone a HAPPY PRIDE and encourage all of our LGBTQ+ fans to stand proud all year long!' the network, which is owned by Warner Bros., tweeted along with emojis representing a rainbow flag, heart and a unicorn.
The tweet also included a picture of characters from its popular reboot show 'Powerpuff Girls.'”

"The tweet included the hastags '#powerpuffyourself,' '#pridemonth' and '#powerfuffgirls.'

Cartoon Network bills itself as being 'the best in original, acquired and classic entertainment for youth and families.'

Last year, it is believed that Cartoon Network’s animated show 'Steven Universe' became the first children’s show to feature a same-sex wedding proposal. The proposal was between female characters named Sapphire and Ruby.
Additionally, Cartoon Network’s 'Adventure Time' series aired a scene in its series finale last year that showed two female characters kissing each other on the lips. The scene confirmed years of speculation that the two were lesbians.
On its website, Cartoon Network is celebrating pride week by promoting its Steven Universe 'made of love' collection. The collection includes LGBT-themed apparel and memorabilia.

Cartoon Network is not the only children’s network that uses its program to shine a light on LGBT relationships.
In 2016, Nickelodeon incorporated a biracial, same-sex couple into one of its shows called 'The Loud House.'”

Not to be outdone, My Little Pony goes gay as reported at Buzzfeed,

From Twitter

"The final season of My Little Pony: 'Friendship Is Magic' will include a lesbian pony couple, just in time for Pride Month.An upcoming episode titled 'The Last Crusade' will feature Aunt Holiday and Auntie Lofty, a couple who takes care of the school-age character Scootaloo.And no, they're not just sisters or live-in gal pals. They are a bona fide romantic couple."

It is clear that there is an all out assault to indoctrinate children into blessing the LGBTQetc lifestyle through television programming aimed at the very young and most impressionable. Couple this with the lessons they will learn in the public schools and you will understand the difficult challenge that Christian parents and educators are facing.

Parents may have to take John Prine's advice in Spanish Pipedream,
"Blow up your TV, throw away your paper,
go to the country build you a home,
plant a little garden, eat a lot of peaches,
try to find Jesus on your own."

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit

This Sunday is both Trinity Sunday and Father's Day and I don't want to over think it, the Holy Trinity I mean. You see, many of you will hear sermons today which either will try to explain it or try to avoid speaking about it. Some may even try to revise it to read "Mother, daughter, and Holy Comforter".
"
A wise man once explained it this way, "The Three in One and One in Three", and they are all found in one Bible.

That's good enough for me.

The Congregation for Catholic Re-education

After watching Protestant denomination after denomination fall like denominos to the push of the LGBTQetc zeitgeist, it was just a matter of time before progressive Roman Catholic clergy started trying to push the envelope. Pope Francis, knowingly or unknowingly has encouraged some of these clergymen as evidenced by the following story from (LifeSiteNews)

" Newark archbishop Cardinal Joseph Tobin, who has come under fire for statements at odds with Church teachings about sexuality, was named by Pope Francis as a member of the Congregation for Catholic Education.
The Congregation for Catholic Education is responsible for communicating and ensuring the implementation of the directives of the Holy See at Church-affiliated schools, institutes, colleges, and universities."

After reading a bit of Tobin's statements, I think he will be looking to re-educate Roman Catholics as to the new sexual mores of the times.

"Cardinal Tobin said in a nationally televised program in April that Catholic teachings on same-sex attraction are 'disordered' and 'unfortunate' and use “hurtful” language. On NBC’s Today show, Tobin suggested that the Church is about to change its teachings: 'The Church, I think, is having its own conversation about what our faith has us do and say with people in relationships that are same-sex. What should be without debate is that we are called to welcome them.'
In the interview, show host Anne Thompson introduced discussion about homosexuality by praising Tobin, saying his 'outreach to the LGBTQ community is in the mold of Pope Francis, despite some Church teaching.' She asked Tobin, 'But how can you welcome people that you call ‘intrinsically disordered’?' Tobin answered, 'Well, I don’t call them ‘intrinsically disordered.’'
She countered, “But isn’t that the Catechism of the Catholic Church?”
'That is,' Tobin said and added, 'It’s very unfortunate language. Let’s hope that eventually that language is a little less hurtful.'
Just before assuming leadership of the Newark archdiocese, Tobin welcomed homosexual activists to the Cathedral-Basilica of the Sacred Heart, who came on a so-called 'LGBT Pilgrimage.' Fr. James Martin, S.J., whom many have criticized for his statements supportive of homosexuality, congratulated Tobin on his participation in 'LGBT Pilgrimage,” tweeting, “Bravo!' Tobin was one of four American bishops who endorsed Martin’s controversial book Building a Bridge. Martin suggested in 2018 that Tobin is one of the “gay-friendly” prelates appointed by Pope Francis.Under Tobin’s authority is Our Lady of Grace in Hoboken, which will hold what it touts as its “2nd Annual Pride Mass in Support of Our LGBTQ Brothers and Sisters.” Scheduled for June 30, the morning Mass is being advertised in LGBTQ media. The parish is encouraging those attending the Mass to participate in the gay pride march in New York City later that day."

That is what we call putting the fox in charge of guarding the hen house.

The Day of Pentecost

This Sunday we will celebrate Pentecost with an old fashioned pig pickin' after church services. I don't think this is traditional anywhere but in our small enclave in South Carolina. It certainly would not have been something the folks in Jerusalem would have been doing on that first Pentecost.

Acts 2:1-21When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.’ All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ But others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’ But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: “In the last days it will be, God declares,that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,   and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,and your young men shall see visions,   and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women,   in those days I will pour out my Spirit;     and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heaven above   and signs on the earth below,     blood, and fire, and smoky mist. The sun shall be turned to darkness   and the moon to blood,     before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

From Christianity.com we learn that Pentecost was the Greek name for the Jewish Feast of the First Harvest, and the harvest of the first converts following Peter's sermon on Pentecost makes this day doubly special.

"There are three things you need to know about Pentecost that will help you understand Acts 2.
1. Pentecost was a pilgrim festival.
That meant that according to Jewish Law, all the adult Jewish men would come from wherever they were living to Jerusalem and personally be in attendance during this celebration.
2. Pentecost was a holiday.
No servile work was to be done. School was out. The shops were closed. It was party time.
3. There were certain celebrations and sacrifices and offerings which were prescribed in the Law for the day of Pentecost.
On Pentecost, the High Priest was to take two loaves of freshly baked wheat bread and offer them before the Lord. The wheat bread was made from the newly harvested wheat.
In short, Pentecost in the time of the Apostles was a great and grand harvest celebration. The streets of Jerusalem were clogged with thousands of pilgrims who had come from every point of the compass to celebrate the goodness of God and the bringing in of the wheat harvest."

So instead of a pig pickin', we should be offering two loaves of freshly baked bread. I think I will do that and see what my priest has to say.

Methodist Madness

Recently, the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) in Alabama wisely decided they would not broadcast the children's cartoon "Arthur" and its episode, “Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone”, which depicted a homosexual wedding.

The decision by Alabama PBS outraged the LGBTQ crowd, but never fear, First United Methodist Church - Birmingham is here and will put on a special show for the kiddies.

From their Facebook events page,

Join The Sidewalk Film Festival, Shout LGBTQ Film Festival & First Church Of Birmingham on Saturday, June 15th at 10am for a FREE celebration & screening of the Arthur episode "Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone" followed by two additional surprise cartoon episodes. There will be wedding cake, sparkling apple juice and surprises. This all ages screening and celebration is free and open to all. Please let us know if you plan to attend via this event. 

Event Run Time: Approximately 90 minutes 

Thank you to WGBH Boston for granting permission to screen the episode! 

First Church is located in downtown Birmingham at 518 19th Street North, BHM, AL 35203 

Kid Friendly

With friends like First United Methodist Church - Birmingham, who needs enemies.

Their Connections newsletter for June 2019 is ironically titled, "Celebrating Our Children", and another way they celebrate children is by exposing them to those often offensive and sexually explicit "Pride" parades.

As they proudly announced in the newsletter,

"This year will mark First Church’s third appearance in the Pride Parade and we want to go all out. We’ll be marching with all of the Reconciling congregations in Birmingham to show our love and support for the full inclusion of our LGBTQ community. The Parade will take place on Saturday, June 8 at 8:00pm and track along 7th Avenue South beginning at 32nd and continuing to Our Place just after 22nd Street South. We will meet a few hours before the parade begins to getorganized and decorate our float! Everyone must be checked in by 7:00pm..."

"...In addition to participating in the Parade, we will have a booth at Pridefest on Sunday, June 9which begins at 11:00am at Sloss Furnaces."

Instead of participating in such events, First United Methodist should be teaching their children and adults that at the center of "pride' is "I", and pride is one of the deadly sins.

Woe be it to the leaders of the congregation,

"But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to fall away--it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea." -Matthew 18:6

Not all Methodist congregations are deviant, but there are enough in the United States to cause schism (see reports here). Unlike what happened to Episcopalians where conservative congregations were blamed for breaking up 815's Anglican monopoly, the Methodists who will be labelled schismatics may be the radical ones like First United of Birmingham.

Communion talks between the Episcopalians and the Methodists are likely to be put on hold because Episcopalians would not want to be in full communion with the conservative fraction of the Methodists.

The Wrath of John

I posted on this in 2010, in 2013, and again in 2016, and thanks to the lectionary cycle, you get to read about it again. This past Sunday's particular reading, Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-12, creates what I call the "Abbrevelation of John". When read without the imprecatory verses, the Abbrevelation of John sounds sweet, soothing, and perfect for the unsuspecting Sunday church crowd. Unfortunately, most lectionary edits seem to result in this, a pasteurized scripture designed to keep the sheep peaceful.

The lectionary cycle is such that once a reading is written into the schedule, like clockwork, like a meteor shower, and sometimes like a bad penny in this case, every three years it keeps on re-appearing. So, I will repost this from May 16, 2010.

A Warning to the Writers of the RCL

I usually blog about the Sunday sermon, but this was really bugging me today.

This Sunday's readings highlight one of my pet peeves, and that is the problem of the "missing verses." We use the Revised Common Lectionary for the assigned readings, and quite frequently this presents us pewsitters with an expurgated version of the Bible. What they did today to Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-12 sounds innocent enough,

12 ‘See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone’s work.
13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.’
14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates.
******expurgated v 15***************
16 ‘It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.’
17The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’
And let everyone who hears say, ‘Come.’
And let everyone who is thirsty come.
Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.
******expurgated vs. 18-19***************
20 The one who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen

I wonder if they just wanted to make things sound pretty by cutting the verses of warning,
v. 15

"Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practises falsehood."

And also left out was the part that the RCL really, really should not have tried to expurgate, vs. 18-19

"I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book; if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book."

Uh oh...

So, if you did not hear the full text in church, and if your preacher did not point out the omissions during their sermon, please ask them if they believe that John's Revelation is important, and next ask them if they believe that God wants us to hear the whole thing, and finally ask them why they feed God's sheep skim milk instead of whole milk.

Then, advise them to read the whole text, or face the wrath of John.