TYS

Homosexual polygamy is here. Told you so. 

From LifeSite News, 

Exhibit A is a story out of California. Back in 2017, a “throuple” of men successfully petitioned a judge to put all three of them on the birth certificate of a little girl named Piper. Dr. Ian Jenkins and Alan Mayfield met in 2003, and added another partner to their relationship upon meeting Jeremy Hodges, a zoo-keeper, in 2012. They discussed having children—the media reports on this ignore the fact that obviously, men cannot create children without women. But children have been turned into a commodity, and our society has decided that gay men have more of a right to children than children have a right to mothers.

As The Daily Mail grotesquely put it: “They were offered embryos by a female friend, Meghan.” The men had been given children, and now they needed to rent a womb. As the Mail put it, “a different friend offered to be the surrogate for the embryos, and they paid for many lawyers, Piper was born, followed several years later by Parker.” Now, the three men just needed legal recognition for their arrangement and appealed to a San Diego judge to be recognized as three fathers.

I don't care what that judge says. The Judge of us all says that ain't the way it is supposed to be.

But who listens to Him anymore?

 

The world did not know him

 This Sunday's Gospel reading is from John 1:1-18 and verses 10-13 are, in my opinion, at the heart of John's Gospel.

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. 9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. 12 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. 15 (John testified to him and cried out, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” ’) 16 From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

In the next to last chapter of this Gospel, John reveals his strongest desire for those who read it in John 20:30,

30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

The world did not know Jesus then, but thanks to the work of the apostles including the work of John, countless billions have come to believe in Jesus as Lord.

 

 

The Christmas "Stars"

Christmas is almost here, and this Christmas will be a quiet one for Pewsterspouse and I. Two of our neighbors who are in our "bubble" may come over to share a socially distanced Christmas dinner, and we may plan on an evening of stargazing under what are predicted to be cold and clear skies. Attached to our above ground observatory are the words "Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua" because we praise the Lord and admit that all of heaven and Earth are full of His glory. On such nights we musn't forget that the heavenly cathedral under which we walk is there thanks to God. Jupiter and Saturn are in close conjuction this week and are low in the west at sunset. You don't need a telescope to see what some believe may be what guided the Wisemen to the baby Jesus so long ago. Here are a couple of pictures I took of the two together and separately.

 

So, today I will be polishing up my eyepieces, charging my batteries, and checking my equipment, but if we experience any problems, we always have our eyeballs, binoculars, and lawnchairs to fall back on. We wish you all a very merry Christmas this year.

The Annunciation: Believe it or Not

 This Sunday's Gospel reading is Luke 1:26-38. In it, Mary is visited by an angel and told that she will bear the son of God. In the last sentence, Mary humbly consents. 

 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.’ Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her.

There should be no need to expound on Luke's account of this event. You either believe it or you don't. 

Reasons I have heard to disbelieve the Annunciation include, 

• There are no such things as angels.
• There is no such thing as a virgin conception.
• The word translated as "virgin" just means young girl.

My simple response is to first ask if the person believes in God, and if they respond in the affirmative, then ask them if God's powers are limited in any way. If they say "No", then their inconsistency is easy to point out. If they say that God can't do such things, then we have to go into a deeper discussion because that answer essentially means that I have a John Shelby Spong on my hands and this is someone who is likely to deny many other things in the Gospels including the Resurrection of Jesus.

If you believe that all things are possible for God, then why can't he send an angel and permit a virgin to conceive His Son?  

Roman Catholic Bishops Weigh in on Communion for the President Elect

 Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., is the archbishop emeritus of Philadelphia, and he recently authored a piece at "First Things" titled, "Mr. Biden and the Matter of Scandal". It is less about the President Elect's sins and more about the sins of bishops and priests who provide Holy Eucharist to those in power who work to feed the abortion machine. Archbishop Chaput gives a theological and doctrinal rationale which you can read by following the link above. You can read his conclusion below, 

"When bishops publicly announce their willingness to give Communion to Mr. Biden, without clearly teaching the gravity of his facilitating the evil of abortion (and his approval of same-sex relationships), they do a serious disservice to their brother bishops and their people. The reason is obvious. By his actions during the course of his public life, Mr. Biden has demonstrated that he is not in full communion with the Catholic Church. To his credit, he has championed many causes and issues that do serve the common good. However, many of his actions and words have also supported or smoothed the way for grave moral evils in our public life that have resulted in the destruction of millions of innocent lives. Mr. Biden has said that he will continue to advance those same policies as president, and thus should not receive Holy Communion. His stated intention requires a strong and consistent response from Church leaders and faithful."  

"This is not a 'political' matter, and those who would describe it as such are either ignorant or willfully confusing the issue. This is a matter of bishops’ unique responsibility before the Lord for the integrity of the sacraments. Moreover, there is also the pressing matter of pastoral concern for a man’s salvation. At minimum, every bishop has the duty of privately discussing these vital moral issues and the destructive effect of receiving Communion unworthily with public figures who act contrary to Church teaching. Reception of Communion is not a right but a gift and privilege; and on the subject of 'rights', the believing community has a priority right to the integrity of its belief and practice."

Bishops and priests have been allowing Mr. Biden and other political figures who openly flaunt the Roman Catholic Church's teachings to receive the Eucharist. That brings "scandal" upon the Church. From my experience with the Episcopal organization, when clergy disregard or even deny the historic teachings of the "one holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church" that we claim to believe every Sunday as we recite the Nicene Creed, then the Church has no standing when it comes to any question about the Faith. 

A Church that has lost credibility is a scandal, but revisionists don't seem to care about the destruction of the very thing that they, like parasites, feed upon.  

More Missing Verses During Advent

This Sunday, the prophet Isaiah gets muzzled by the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) editors. Most churches will hear Isaiah 61:1-4,8-11 omitting verses 5-7. I present the whole Psalm with the expurgated verses highlighted in red. Once again, I have a theory as to why they got the ax.

1 The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

   because the Lord has anointed me;

he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,

   to bind up the broken-hearted,

to proclaim liberty to the captives,

   and release to the prisoners;

2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour,

   and the day of vengeance of our God;

   to comfort all who mourn;

3 to provide for those who mourn in Zion—

   to give them a garland instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness instead of mourning,

   the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.

They will be called oaks of righteousness,

   the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.

4 They shall build up the ancient ruins,

   they shall raise up the former devastations;

they shall repair the ruined cities,

   the devastations of many generations.

5 Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks,

   foreigners shall till your land and dress your vines;

6 but you shall be called priests of the Lord,

   you shall be named ministers of our God;

you shall enjoy the wealth of the nations,

   and in their riches you shall glory.

7 Because your shame was double,

   and dishonour was proclaimed as your lot,

therefore you shall possess a double portion;

   everlasting joy shall be yours.

8 For I the Lord love justice,

   I hate robbery and wrongdoing (Or robbery with a burnt offering)

I will faithfully give them their recompense,

   and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

9 Their descendants shall be known among the nations,

   and their offspring among the peoples;

all who see them shall acknowledge

   that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.

10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,

   my whole being shall exult in my God;

for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,

   he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,

as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,

   and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

11 For as the earth brings forth its shoots,

   and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,

so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise

   to spring up before all the nations.

The "troublesome" verses hint at a future subjugation of foreigners by the Israelites and monetary compensation for what had been stolen from the people of Israel. 

Now, these verses are only troublesome to revisionists.

So, guess what kind of priest is in charge of what gets heard by Sunday pewsitters in a church that follows the RCL? 

Beating the Lockdown: The Pub Church

You may have read about the Staten Island bar owner who tried to beat the lockdown by proclaiming his establishment an "autonomous zone". In England, a couple of pubs thought outside the box and are trying to avoid being shut down by becoming churches.

"A Leicestershire pub has applied to become a church in an attempt to beat the Tier 3 Covid restrictions and stay open for business. The New Baron of Hinckley has said it would be renamed as 'The Church of New Baron' and would offer 'confession rooms' staffed by the owner, Nirad Solanki.

He told the Leicester Mercury that he was simply 'trying to think outside the box' and keep his punters coming together in the community.

'If churches and synagogues can open, why not do this?

On Facebook, the pub played on its prospective conversion to a religious premises. 'Bless you my children!' they wrote. 'Who's joining us for some Holy Ale and Niri Chicken!!!'"

"...This isn't the first time that a hospitality venue has attempted to convert to a church in order to beat the new regulations. A Nottingham tequila bar called 'The 400 Rabbits' is trying to do the same thing, by issuing a formal application to become 'The Church of 400 Rabbits'."

These new "churches" had better start publishing some creeds or other statements of doctrine if they hope to have a chance to gain the system. 

 

Missing Verses From an Advent Psalm

 This Sunday, Churches that use the Revised Common Lectionary will read Psalm 85:1-2,8-13 while ACNA churches get to read the whole thing. I have highlighted in red the verses that get left out in most Episcopal parishes. Feel free to speculate as to why those verses go unheard ( I have made it clear in the past my opinions on missing verses).

Benedixisti, Domine

1 You have been gracious to your land, O Lord, *

you have restored the good fortune of Jacob.

2 You have forgiven the iniquity of your people *

and blotted out all their sins.

3 You have withdrawn all your fury *

and turned yourself from your wrathful indignation.

4 Restore us then, O God our Savior; *

let your anger depart from us.

5 Will you be displeased with us for ever? *

will you prolong your anger from age to age?

6 Will you not give us life again, *

that your people may rejoice in you?

7 Show us your mercy, O Lord, *

and grant us your salvation.

8 I will listen to what the Lord God is saying, *

for he is speaking peace to his faithful people

and to those who turn their hearts to him.

9 Truly, his salvation is very near to those who fear him, *

that his glory may dwell in our land.

10 Mercy and truth have met together; *

righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

11 Truth shall spring up from the earth, *

and righteousness shall look down from heaven.

12 The Lord will indeed grant prosperity, *

and our land will yield its increase.

13 Righteousness shall go before him, *

and peace shall be a pathway for his feet.

Burial in a Seed Pod?

In case you were wondering what your family should do with your body after you die, here is something that reminds me of a scene out of "The Wicker Man" where the policeman looking into a missing person report on an island full of pagans is told that her body has become a tree.

From the Journal of Soil Science and Plant Health,

"Capsula Mundi. Life never stops." 

"Capsula Mundi is a cultural and broad-based project, which envisions a different approach to the way we think about death. It's an egg-shaped pod, an ancient and perfect form, made of biodegradable material, where our departed loved ones are placed for burial. Ashes will be held in small egg-shaped biodegradable urns while bodies will be laid down in a fetal position in larger pods. The Capsula will then be buried as a seed in the earth. A tree, chosen in life by the deceased, will be planted on top of it and serve as a memorial for the departed and as a legacy for posterity and the future of our planet. Family and friends will continue to care for the tree as it grows. Cemeteries will acquire a new look and, instead of the cold grey landscape we see today, they will grow into vibrant woodlands."

The next time I have to cut down a tree, I might have to think about who I might be cutting.