Book Review

John's Story, by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins.

I read all of the Left Behinds, and thought they were OK, albeit inconsistent. This, the authors latest effort, tells the story of the apostle John, and how he came to write his gospel, epistles, and revelation. I assume we will soon get similar books about Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by this novel. I have become increasingly interested in the leaders of the early church, and this book includes two of my favorites: Polycarp and Ignatius. Unlike their mentor John, these two great men of God ended their lives, as martyrs, Ignatius in the arena.

This novel captures the passion of the church near the turn of the first century AD, and I found it to be a fun and interesting read.

From Saint Thomas Aquinas

A hymn for Holy Week (a little late)

On the night before he suffered,
Seated with his chosen band,
Jesus when they all had feasted;
Faithful to the Law's command,
Far more precious food provided;
Gave himself with his own hand.

Word made flesh, true bread of heaven,
By his word made flesh to be,
From the wine his blood is taken,
Though our senses can not see,
Faith alone which is unshaken
Shows pure hearts the mystery.

Therefore we, before him falling,
This great sacrament revere;
Ancient forms are now departed,
For new acts of grace are here,
Faith our feeble senses aiding,
Makes the Savior's presence clear.

The Cross

by Kate Miner and John Colgin

Jesus changed the color of the cross
From the dark of execution to the light of resolution
Jesus changed the color of the cross

Jesus changed the tenor of the cross
From the sound of cold nails driven to the song of man forgiven
Jesus changed the tenor of the cross

How wonderful my Jesus
O glorious my Savior
Magnificent Redeemer
You have changed the meaning of the cross
You have changed the meaning of the cross

Jesus changed the symbol of the cross
From the language of rejection to the sign of resurrection
Jesus changed the symbol of the cross

You have changed the color
You have changed the tenor
You have changed the symbol
You have changed the meaning of the cross

Convergence

I always look forward to those years when Hebrew Passover overlaps with Easter.

This coming together of the Old Covenant's great moment of (temporal) deliverance and the New Covenant's great moment of (spiritual) deliverance speak to me of God's faithfulness, and his ongoing conversation with fallen man. God has spent thousands of years offer mercy and grace to anyone who seeks it -- and is still offering them today.

Book Review

My Struggle With Faith, by Joseph Girzone.

Girzone, the author of the Joshua series of novels, tells his own life story in this book. This spiritual memori tells Girzone's story of his call to the priesthood, his time in the priesthood, and his retirement from the active priesthood, when he embarked upon his fiction career.

God deals with us as individuals, and nobody's faith walk is the same as anyone else's. But I thoroughly enjoy honest recountings of the journey, and Girzone does that well here. There is faith, pain, joy, sorrow, triumph, and tragedy in this book, as there has been in my life -- and yours, I suspect.

This is a neat telling of one man's journey, and how he has answered the questions that we each individually face.

A day late . . .

We know it's probably not historically accurate, but we have selected December 25 as the day to celebrate Christ's birth. Given that, if you do the math, you'll see that yesterday (March 25) was the day to celebrate the Incarnation. What follows is a 7th century (Latin) hymn that speaks strongly to me of Mary's role (I love Mary), but keeps her and her Son in proper persepective.

The Hymn of the Virgin

The Word whom earth and sea and sky
adore and laud and magnify,
whose might they show, whose praise they tell,
in Mary's body deigned to dwell.

Blessed is the message Gabriel brought,
blessed in the work the Spirit wrought,
most blessed to bring to human birth
the long-desired of all the earth.

Lord Jesus, Virgin born, to thee
eternal praise and glory be,
whom with the Father we adore
and Holy Spirit evermore.

The Now and the Not Yet

I am thinkng about Cana again. In John 2:4, Jesus seems to rebuke His mother for pointing out the lack of wine, by saying "what have I to do with thee? My time is not yet come."

I think that this talk of "time" relates to the "now and the not yet" of the Kingdom of God. We have the opportunity to witness small parts of the Kingdom, such as the miracle at Cana and other wonder-working moments in Scripture and since the days of Scripture, but we don't have it all yet. We don't get it all until the end. The Kingdom in it's fullness is "not yet," but we get to see glimpses of "now" -- as if we reach into eternity and bring a bit of it into our realm.

So in some strange way, even though His time is not yet come, and still has not yet come, the Kingdom of God is nonetheless here and we can experience it's presence in our lives.

More About Cana

The way Jesus answers Mary at the wedding in Cana fascinates me. His answer is not "no," it is instead "wait." God is so like this. There are some of our prayers that he answers "not ever," things that are not appropriate for us, good for us, beneficial to us, etc . . . But there are so many things that he answers "not yet," and wants us to patiently wait on Him. The challenge is to remain faithful in the midst of the "not yet" and wait for Him to answer. I too often lack this patience, and mistake the "not yet" for the "not ever." This takes patience and a healthy dose of discernment.

Thank you, Lord, for St. Cyril

Today is the feast day of St. Cyril, a 4th Century man who served Bishop of Jerusalem for more nearly forty years. My church does not honor or celebrate the Saint's days specifically, but I have felt a leading to learn about those giants of the faith that came before (waaaay before) me. And St. Cyril is one of those giants.

Cyril was named one of the three Doctors of the Eastern Church for his great contributions to what we know of today as orthodox theology. He was a major force in the Nicene faction, in the fight against Arianism, the heresy that denied the divinity of Christ. The description of the Lord as being "of one substance with the Father" in the Nicene Creed is a result of the theological battles over this issue. Cyril was an important teacher of the orthodox faith that came from the Council of Nicaea.

In addition to this, St. Cyril introduced the liturgical innovation of celebrating Holy Week and Easter.

The Real Saint Patrick

From his Confessions:

It was the over-powering grace of God at work in me, and no virtue of my own, which enabled all these things. I have had to endure insults from unbelievers; I have heard my mission ridiculed; I have experienced persecutions to the point of imprisonment; I have given up my free-born status for the good of others. Should I be worthy, I am even ready to surrender my life, promptly and gladly, for his name; and it is here in Ireland that I wish to spend my remaining days, if the Lord permits me.

In all this I am in debt to God who has given me an abundance of grace with the result tht through me many people have been born again in God, and later confirmed, and that clergy have been ordained everywhere.