CIS OR NOT CIS


Scrambled or fried, this morning fried over medium and laid on whole wheat toast smeared with olive oil then chopped up so yellow yolk soaks in, a decent breaking of the overnight fast. Linda’s father, she called him Daddy the rest of us called him Pete, loved to go fishing, and predawn before heading out the door quickly broke his fast by cracking two eggs, one at a time, tilting his head back, pouring them into his open mouth, swallowing them down raw. Raw and runny. Pete also sat on a stool in an oyster bar next to his mother, and the two of them scarfed down oysters on the half shell by the dozens. I’m with the raw oysters but never the raw eggs.  

November 1st: on the church calendar today is All Saints Day, one of the seven principal feasts of the church:  


Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one
communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son
Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints
in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those
ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love
you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy
Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting.

Almighty God, who hast knit together thine elect in one
communion and fellowship, in the mystical body of thy Son
Christ our Lord: Grant, we beseech thee, to thy whole
Church in paradise and on earth, thy light and thy peace.

Help us, we pray, in the midst of things we cannot understand,
to believe and trust in the communion of saints, the forgiveness
of sins, and the resurrection to life everlasting.

Q. What is the communion of saints?
A. The communion of saints is the whole family of God, 
the living and the dead, those whom we love and those 
whom we hurt, bound together in Christ by sacrament, 
prayer, and praise.


Bubba is not getting it, I read too much online before letting the dancing fingers begin to tippy-type. No, I am getting it. Communion is about community which is about commonality and unity, which do not exist among men. Humans, humans, es tut mir leid, not men, humans, people. And a new word for me this morning, not Anu Garg’s “mediocracy,” which should be evident to every American, but from Jonathan Turley again, this time “cisgender,” a word I never crossed until this morning. I’m pigeonholed after all: a cisgender elderly white American male who has done the man’s thing all my life, except that I was never an athlete or sportsman. Really, Bubba does not like being stereotyped. And I now see that I'm among those who are not wanted.

 The lightbulb comes on. Come to dawn, think and realize, maybe others don't either, aren't either, and don't like it.

A dentist appointment this morning, shortly in fact, ten miles away, and not “ready,” so this blogpost is a mix and series 


From Anu Garg: A THOUGHT FOR TODAY
A man said to the universe: "Sir I exist!" "However," replied the universe, "The fact has not created in me a sense of obligation." -Stephen Crane, writer (1 Nov 1871-1900)



Perhaps only in the Episcopal Church, although there are large memorial or benefactor plaques in Trinity, Apalachicola that always bothered me.







Me neither.

O God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Savior,
the Prince of Peace: Give us grace seriously to lay to heart the
great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions; take away
all hatred and prejudice, and whatever else may hinder us
from godly union and concord; that, as there is but one Body
and one Spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one Faith,
one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may be all
of one heart and of one soul, united in one holy bond of truth
and peace, of faith and charity, and may with one mind and
one mouth glorify thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord.


O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us
through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole
human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which
infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us;
unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and
confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in
your good time, all nations and races may serve you in
harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ
our Lord. 


O God, the Father of all, whose Son commanded us to love
our enemies: Lead them and us from prejudice to truth:
deliver them and us from hatred, cruelty, and revenge; and in
your good time enable us all to stand reconciled before you,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. 


Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so
move every human heart [and especially the hearts of the
people of this land], that barriers which divide us may
crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our
divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. 


O God, you have bound us together in a common life. Help us,
in the midst of our struggles for justice and truth, to confront
one another without hatred or bitterness, and to work
together with mutual forbearance and respect; through Jesus
Christ our Lord. 

Look with pity, O heavenly Father, upon the people in this
land who live with injustice, terror, disease, and death as
their constant companions. Have mercy upon us. Help us to
eliminate our cruelty to these our neighbors. Strengthen those
who spend their lives establishing equal protection of the law
and equal opportunities for all. And grant that every one of
us may enjoy a fair portion of the riches of this land; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. 

O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and
light riseth up in darkness for the godly: Grant us, in all
our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what thou
wouldest have us to do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save
us from all false choices, and that in thy light we may see
light, and in thy straight path may not stumble; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Amen
DThos+