Multi During my years as chaplain at Holy Nativity Episcopal School we had Holy Communion at Middle School chapel on Wednesdays. Everyone present, every student, every faculty and staff member, every visiting parent was always invited and welcome to our Eucharist to Taste and See that the Lord is Good. The Hindu students always participated in our celebration and were as much part of our worshiping community as everyone else, enriching the spiritual life of our school. One of the Hindu students told me at the time that they like to mix and blend and take part in the culture around them, and welcome others to share in theirs.      Last week, the Hindu Students Association at Kristen’s college invited other students to enjoy their celebration of the Holi festival of colors. They tossed colored powder and sprayed water, making the colors stick and run. This is my happy college girl at her multicultural school. Tom+

It’s early Sunday morning, but not all that early. Linda is still lying here asleep. It’s nice and cool, and tomorrow maybe the blog will be about our recent adventure. In the meantime, the New York Times is online for browsing. Washington Post isn’t online yet, their morning update is always later than the NYT. Haven’t checked CNN yet to see if anything happened overnight. It was “Holi” this week, Festival of Colors, and at Kristen’s college the Hindu Student Association invited the entire student body to help them enjoy the festivities. Celebrants threw around colored powder, and they were spraying water so the powder would stick. She sent me pictures of multi-colored students, wet and happy. If she says it’s OK to share, I will post one. Facebook comes to mind because there’s a friend request online this morning. The nicest people ask me to be Facebook friends, and also folks ask me to connect with them on LinkedIn. My habit is generally to accept, but Facebook has “improv...

John 10:11-18 King James Version (KJV)   11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.  12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.  13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.   14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.  15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.  16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.   17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.  18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandm...

ens -- an episcopal news service email for Thursday, April 26, 2012 discusses proposals that the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music will make to General Convention this summer. Among them, SCLM will propose that The Message and the Common English Bible be approved translations for use in worship. This may or may not happen, but going on the assumption that it will happen, this blog will use both variously from time to time, usually in comparison each time with the King James Version. Here are two settings of the Acts lesson for this coming Sunday: Acts 4:5-12 King James Version (KJV)   5 And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes,  6 And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem.  7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?   8 Then Peter, fil...

1 John 3:16-24 (KJV)   16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.  17 But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his heart of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?   18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.  19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.  20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.   21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.  22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.   23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.  24 And...

Good Shepherd Sunday Fourth Sunday of Easter O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people; Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. The Fourth Sunday of Easter is always Good Shepherd Sunday. We sing shepherd hymns, we hear Jesus describe himself as the good shepherd (John 10:11-18), we may say or sing the twenty-third psalm.   Old timers who memorized the twenty-third psalm as children often have little patience with a modern translation of it, and even the children at Holy Nativity Episcopal School learn, a verse a week, the six verses of the King James Version. The contemporary version in the psalter of the 1979 American  Book of Common Prayer has it 23  Dominus regit me 1 The Lord  is my shepherd; *     I shall not be in want. ...

In our Bible Seminar this morning we plan to read through First John, non-stop as it would have been read or preached to the first hearers perhaps 90 to 120 A.D. As we read aloud, folks will circle things they want to discuss when the reading is finished. It is not unlikely that someone will circle the term “mortal sin,” which occurs several times in chapter 5, toward the end. In the Greek, the term reads literally “sins unto death” or “sins toward death”, which leaves no doubt the writer took it seriously.  What might be “sin unto death” then? What might be such a sin, and what might the writer mean by “unto death”? The church at times, and Christians glancing at Dante’s Inferno, sometimes have fiery torment in mind.  Perhaps there will be discussion of it in class this morning. TW+  

July 1966, heading home to the USA after three years in Japan, my thoughts were on car shopping. We had taken a new 1963 Chevrolet station wagon to Japan, but sold it to someone who wanted it and replaced it with two cars, a 1952 Chrysler Saratoga coupe bought for $100 from a civilian supervisor at my duty station; and a 1952 Cadillac series 62 sedan bought for another $100 from an Air Force officer who was PCSing back to the U.S.  Those two cars did the job for us, especially the Chrysler V8, which was ONE HOT CAR.  One car in mind was a Mustang, the new little car Ford had put on the market while we were living overseas.  But an aunt dashed that by writing with alarm that Mustang gas tanks were exploding and people burning to death, and that we should get a Dodge Dart. Without checking for false rumors, Mr. Safety dropped the pony car from the list and actually did end up with a 1966 Dodge Dart. Light blue coupe purchased on a “newspaper ad special” by...

It was three years ago this morning, Sunday, April 19, 2009. Nearing the end of my five years as Vicar of St. Thomas by the Sea Episcopal Church, I left home early to drive the seventeen miles out to Laguna Beach. Linda stayed home because we were expecting the call from Joe. It came, "conveniently" of all things, between services, and Linda rang me to say, “Joe just called. Patty died twenty minutes ago.” Beloved daughter-in-law had finished life after an eight or nine year fight with breast cancer. The feeling was crushing. Just crushing. In a telephone conversation a few months earlier, Patty had told me, “I’m so scared. And I'm so tired of putting on a happy face.” There was nothing I could do for her. She went on with life, “putting on a happy face,” as she said.  Besides physical pain that can accompany some terminal illnesses, there may be anxiety, grief, fear, terror. Patty had at least some of that. What might have been done to help her mentally and em...

Postcommunion Prayers Almighty and everliving God, we most heartily thank thee for that thou dost vouchsafe to feed us, in these holy mysteries, with the spiritual food of the most precious Body and Blood of thy Son our Savior Jesus Christ; and dost assure us thereby of thy favor and goodness towards us; and that we are very members incorporate in the mystical body of thy Son, the blessed company of all faithful people; and are also heirs, through hope, of thy everlasting kingdom. And we humbly beseech thee, O heavenly Father, so to assist us with thy grace, that we may continue in that holy fellowship, and do all such good works as thou hast prepared for us to walk in; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honor and glory, world without end. Amen. Eternal God, heavenly Father, you have graciously accepted us as living members of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, and you have fed us with spiritual food in the Sacrament ...

1 John 3:1-7 (KJV)   1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.  2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.  3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.   4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.  5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.  6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.  7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. There’s no accounting for where the mind wanders, especially in predawn when, truth be told, it should still be asleep anyway. W...

Annoying? Not hardly. CB, My Story: Retired Episcopal priest writing for mental therapy as part of recovery after open heart surgery at Cleveland Clinic, and as an early morning means to annoy self and others . Politics and the news this morning? No comment on Ann Romney never working a day in her life except to say the onliest reason Bubba had all those jobs over the years was to finance the home front. Onliest? Yep. What about our shibboleth “The Navy comes first”? Nope, not on my watch, family first and onliest. Clergy with parishioners in every camp best not comment on presidential politics, especially now the primary scumbags and intellectual vacuums are sidelined. Democrat in the day when our grandfathers remembered the carpetbaggers and all decisions were made in the Democratic primary, Republican until Reagan sent Marines to Lebanon. Now? Secret ballot. Zero comment on Zimmerman, but stand-your-ground was not to shield stalkers. Pentagon ignores crude photos until they appear ...

No worries, mate. Psalm 4. Cum invocarem. HEAR me when I call, O God of my righteousness: * thou hast set me at liberty when I was in trouble; have mercy upon me, and hearken unto my prayer. 2 O ye sons of men, how long will ye blaspheme mine honour, * and have such pleasure in vanity, and seek after falsehood? Selah 3 Know this also, that the LORD hath chosen to himself the man that is godly; * when I call upon the LORD he will hear me. 4 Stand in awe, and sin not; * commune with your own heart, and in your chamber, and be still. Selah 5 Offer the sacrifice of righteousness, * and put your trust in the LORD. 6 There be many that say, * Who will show us any good? 7 LORD, lift thou up* the light of thy countenance upon us. 8 Thou hast put gladness in my heart; * yea, more than when their corn and wine and oil increase. 9 I will lay me down in peace, and take my rest; * for it is thou, LORD, only, that makest me dwell in safety. For the director of music: with stringed instruments. A psa...

Life Is Good and Everyday is a Beautiful Day. Especially birthdays. Birthdays present and birthdays in memories.  Late Monday afternoon, wandering my yard, thankful for Bill. His life, his friendship, his being. His birthday.  The pink rose is fragrant. There's just the one blossom. And that's the last branch of the English dogwood for this year. The ragged cedar down front at the edge of the Bay is My Laughing Place. For remembering. Being thankful.  Thankful for Bill. Bill and June. Thank you, God. For a beautiful day. For life. For a birthday. Tom  

Acts of the Apostles 3:12-19   12 When Peter saw it, he addressed the people, ‘You Israelites, * why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk? 13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant * Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him. 14 But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 16 And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus * has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you. 17 ‘And now, friends, * I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Mess...