Lowell
Osprey hanging , what, maybe a hundred feet in the air some yards off 7H porch as I sit here watching clouds but no storm pass through from west on off to east. Osprey is looking for breakfast, maybe for self, mate and nestlings. We love it when one flies arm's reach past 7H porch clutching a large mullet. These birds have an instinct for streamlined flight: the fish is always held head into the wind, which always reminds me of magazine ads for the streamlined 1934 Chrysler Airflow.
The heavy part of this morning's storm line looks now over Tyndall, our spot, as often happens, getting only the gray and cooling of it. Black and dark with the watching and lightening sky, because I slept late, a new and welcome trend, except Sundays. The dark is 80%, hoard my chocolate, one square a morning, one square left in this bar and this is all but the last bar from Christmas, one left, a 99% bar in my den, study, pen. Why "pen"? because now and then my life companion calls me Pigpen. Not cruelly, but truth as she sees it, another example of false facts as opposed to true facts or fake news, alternative facts.
It will be sad but inevitable to see the student movement against gun violence die down. World history shows that persistent youth movements can be effective to ignite change, we watched it in youth movements in South America, era 1950s when university campuses were off limits to police; we saw it here protesting the Vietnam War in the 1960s to 1970s with young people moving to Canada, demonstrators chanting, "Hey! Hey! LBJ, how many kids did you kill today," and songs, "Where have all the flowers gone?" an entire generation of young Americans who'd had enough of elder-s and indeed brought down one president. A difference: war was ongoing, motivating continual demonstrations, while the school shootings are sporadic and so the current movement, to which the evil side simply says "this too shall pass, wait them out."
"Once to every man and nation
comes the moment to decide
in the strife of truth with falsehood
for the good or evil side."
Only a hymn because the church made it so, stupidly by unimaginative morons dropped from our latest hymnal, from James Russell Lowell, 1845, quite a long poem protesting our war with Mexico.
Protesting evil, the youth of America are heroes, survivors so far of wickedness beyond forgiveness and only stoppable politically against evil government*, organized at the ballot which conceivably could succeed; or forcefully against evil government, organized in accordance with the original purposes of the Second Amendment, which has no chance of success; or perhaps by internal terrorism.
MLK, another hero, commemorated this week even though his wife Cora Scott King asked that we honor him on his birthday, not on the day of his assassination.
Enough. Here's TGBC reading for today:
Acts 2:14-36
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.”
‘You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know— this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power. For David says concerning him,
“I saw the Lord always before me,
for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken;
therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
moreover, my flesh will live in hope.
For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
or let your Holy One experience corruption.
You have made known to me the ways of life;
you will make me full of gladness with your presence.”
‘Fellow Israelites, I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would put one of his descendants on his throne. Foreseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying,
“He was not abandoned to Hades,
nor did his flesh experience corruption.”
This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you both see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,
“The Lord said to my Lord,
‘Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool.’ ”
Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.’
Comment. Only that this begins the acts of Peter, which take up about the first half of Luke's book Acts of the Apostles before we get into the adventures of Paul, which take up about the second half. Again there towards the end, the misunderstanding of the verse from Psalm 110:1, "YHVH said to my lord," actually God speaking to David, not David speaking to the Messiah.
Luke's verbatim for Peter's speech is quite impressive.
* just calling a spade a spade.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_a_spade_a_spade
DThos+