Spared again

One Tom has reason to be thankful this holiday season. Once again, the presidential pardon was bestowed upon the Thanksgiving turkey (this one named Marshmellow). President Bush issued the executive order today in front of an audience of school children. After meeting with the press, Marshmellow flew to California to be the honorary Grand Marshal of the Thanksgiving Day Parade at Disneyland. He will therafter spend his retirement at the historic themepark.

Rebel without a cause

Getting ready for this time of giving thanks, the legendary Jimmy Dean comes to mind. For more than three decades, he's been singing songs and making sausages . . . his own way.

Christ the King

What now remains of the Titulus Crucis, kept in the Church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme in Rome. It originally bore the full inscription "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.

"He must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet."
1 Corinthians 15:25

In 1925, Pope Pius XI established the feast of "Christ the King" to be celebrated on the last Sunday of October throughout the Western Church. The object of that new celebration was to reassert the authority of our Lord to rule all the nations, as well as the authority of Christ's mystical Body, the Church, to teach the human race, to proclaim Christ crucified, and to call people to repentance and so "establish the peace of Christ in the kingdom of Christ."

While Christmas and the Epiphany highlight the royalty of Jesus, this new feast was to focus sharply and exclusively on the reign of Christ. When the lectionary was being revised for the Missal of Pope Paul VI in the 1960s, other churches were engaged in a similar effort and formulated together a three year cycle of Sunday readings.

It was understood that each season had a theme: Advent is a time of preparation for Christ's coming, Christmas is a celebration of the Incarnation, Epiphany explores the manifestation of Christ to the world, Lent is a time of penitence, Holy Week and Easter explore the great mysteries of our redemption and Christ's triumph over sin and death.

It was also recognized that the long period of extra-seasonal readings through the summer also developed some related themes in its collects and readings. It is a time of the Church's growth and learning. The readings are mainly from Christ's teachings in the parables. Toward the end of the liturgical year, there is an increasing focus on the kingdom of heaven, the saints, and the afterlife. It seemed fitting to close the Christian year in the new lectionary cycle with this celebration of the lordship of Christ, especially as the end of the year leads into the Advent theme of his second coming in glorious majesty as judge and lord of all. In our Prayer Book, the last Sunday of the Church year is not an official feast day, but is known as "Christ the King" Sunday because of the theme of the collect and readings.

There is a clear agreement in the gospel records that the kingdom of God was the main theme of Jesus' message and the focus of his theological discourse. The kingdom is not a new idea for the scriptures, however. The Old Testament is filled with the notion that God is king and lord of the universe, and that he wishes to rule the lives of his faithful people.

Though the Bible speaks often of God as reigning over all the earth, sea, and sky, it should be remembered that the Hebrew concept of kingdom refers more to the force of rule that it does to a territory known as a kingdom. That is, a king reigns over people more than land. The concept of God as king was taken at first to exclude the possibility of earthly kings for the Israelites. Hence, the period of the judges is the story of Israel's struggle with the needs of practical government in the absence of an earthly monarch. It required the direction of God through the prophet Samuel to anoint an earthly king--a man to act as God's royal proxy.

The fact of an earthly king for Israel was properly seen as a part of God's larger cosmic dominion. And even though God is presently the king of the entire universe, the eschatological hope for Israel was that his lordship would be further and further revealed until all the nations would finally come to submit to his gracious rule. The messiah was to be the final and perfect king--the one to exercise that perfect rule over all nations and all peoples, to show clearly that God reigns on earth, just as he does in heaven.

In my Sunday School class, we have been looking at the theme of worship in a study of the book of Revelation. One of the key sections is chapters 4 and 5, when there is an open door in heaven, and John gets to look inside. God is seated on the royal throne of heaven, surrounded by the elders and patriarchs of Israel, with serafim and cherubim, and a myriad of the heavenly host, bowing down before him and joining in an endless hymn of praise: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of Hosts."

Everything is exactly in line with first century Jewish expectations of heaven. But now, something completely different. An angel cries out to creation, asking who is worthy to open the seals of the book of destiny. No one is worthy, and John begins to weep. Then one of the elders says, "Do not weep. The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David has conquered, and he is worthy to open it." Then to the scroll comes a lamb--a slain lamb, though now standing, and now invested with the signs of all power and authority. The hosts of heaven begin a new song: "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor, and glory, and blessing! . . . Blessing and honor and glory and power be to him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb, for ever and ever!"

It was something that no one had expected--God's messiah had conquered creation as a helpless sacrificial lamb, and the Lamb of God now reigns in glory. Christ conquered sin, and death, and hell for the kingdom at the cross. As we read today from St. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians,"Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdomto God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death." The victor of the kingdom delivers the spoils to God the Father.

Who would have thought it would end this way? The one constant pressure Jesus faced in his ministry-from his temptations in the desert up until his crucifixion, was to claim an earthly throne: to begin a revolt, root out Roman occupation, and restore the Davidic kingdom of Israel, just as the Maccabees struggled to do to their Greek oppressors a century before. But Jesus always refused. He would not be derailed from the Father's plan for our redemption. He remained faithful to his purpose.

When the Romans crucified a prisoner, there was normally a placard over the head of the prisoner, noting the crime for which he was being executed. Crucifixion was not simply about getting the job done of execution, nor even simply about being cruel, it served primarily as a fearful reminder and a warning to everyone who passed by and saw. It said, "This is what happens to people who do this."

Certainly the two thieves crucified next to Jesus had this placard noting their crimes. For Jesus this wooden sign, called the titulus, had written upon it: "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Those who had brought Jesus to Pilate complained, "It should say, This man said, I am the King of the Jews." But either because it was too much of a bother to change it now, or perhaps because Pilate wanted to through it back in their faces a little bit for forcing him get involved in this local mess, he responded, "What I have written, I have written."

And so there, on a lonely hill outside Jerusalem, our Lord and Savior at last, in God's timing, finally and willingly claimed his throne, wearing a crown of thorns, raised up high before the crowd of his royal court, nailed to a beam of wood which bore the sign: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. It was not to long before that dreadful day that Jesus had spoken of the event: "When the Son of Man is lifted up [on the cross], then you will know that I AM." His first royal edict is to make our peace through the blood of his cross. All dominion and authority in heaven and earth belongs to him. And Christ has made all who have faith in him and bearhis name to be heirs and joint-heirs of that kingdom.

Jesus is the King of all creation, Lord of the cosmos, he has rightful claim to all things. But Jesus does not force anyone to belong to that kingdom against their will. He has conquered sin and death, but the territory of the heart must be willingly surrendered to him as Savior and Lord. I challenge you to do so. Surrender to him anew every day as lord of your life, even and especially the darkest corners of your life. Let everything be his; carve out no territory for yourself alone. All that Jesus reigns over will be ushered into his everlasting and glorious kingdom, it will be redeemed and renewed and become part of his new creation. All that is left unsurrendered will be cast into the fire. If you are carving out a territory for yourself, it will be lost forever.

Jesus stands at the cross, his arms open in love, beckoning you and all people to enter the gates of the kingdom of God, saying, "Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." As we pray together now, open up your eyes to see the Lord Jesus, the slain Lamb of God, now reigning triumphant on the cross, open your ears to hear his word and his call of faith, and open your hearts to welcome him to reign in you.

When the Feast of Christ the King was established in 1925, a new preface for the Eucharistic prayer was composed to be used on that occasion, and so we now pray: "It is right and a good and joyful thing always and everywhere to give thanks to you, O Lord, holy Father, Almighty and everlasting God, who anointed your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Lord with the oil of gladness to be a priest forever and king of the whole world, so that by offering himself on the altar of the cross as a pure victim and peace offering, he might perform the sacrificial rite of mankind's redemption. All creation thereby has been made subject to his dominion, that he might present to your infinite majesty a universal and everlasting kingdom-a kingdom of truth and of life, of holiness and of grace, a kingdom of justice, of love, and of peace. Therefore, with Angels and Archangels, with Thrones, Dominions, and all the militant hosts of heaven, we forever praise and glorify your holy Name," world without end. Amen.

Stairway to Heaven

The Sunday School class I'm teaching this semester is called, "Our once and future worship: A study of the Book of Revelation." After peeking into the worshipping congregation of heaven in chapter 5, we took a few weeks to look at the history of liturgy and church architecture.

One of the key themes of the early Eucharist of the Church is the eschatological direction and the idea that the earthly and heavenly sanctuary overlap in the canon of the Mass. One of the ceremonial elements that I find most enriching is the "stairway to heaven" posture of the celebrant, deacon, and subdeacon in the High Mass. It is intended to express in a visual way the hierarchy of heaven. I find the effect to be a striking reminder of the sanctuary as the meeting place of heaven and earth--as striking a visual reminder as the presence of statues or icons of the saints around the Altar.

In Genesis 28:10-17, Jacob has the vision of the stairway to heaven at Bethel. When he awakes, Jacob is moved to respond, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."

Just stopping by

Tony Curtis stopped by to say "Hello" this afternoon . . . and I'm not sure what to make of it.

Thank you, veterans

To all veterans of the armed forces of the United States, many thanks. You proudly wear the uniform in the preservation of freedom and democracy at home and abroad. Have a blessed Veteran's Day.

November 11 was formerly called Armistice Day to commemorate the signing of the Armistice ending World War I, at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. Congress passed a resolution in 1926 inviting all Americans to observe the day, and made it a legal holiday nationwide in 1938. In 1954, the name of the holiday was changed to Veterans Day to honor those who served in all American wars. The day has since evolved into primarily time for honoring living veterans who have served in the military during war or peacetime, in contrast with Memorial Day, which commemorates the dead.

Happy Birthday, Mary Matkin

My sister Mary Elizabeth had a birthday today (not pictured below). I suppose she's almost old enough now for me to not say exactly how old. Instead, let me just say that I still remember the day she was born and I remember her being brought home for the first time from the hospital. It was a great day.

In celebration, I shall pipe and do my happy dance.

"I need a quote" --Myself

David Elton Trueblood, PhD

If the title of this post applies to you, I commend the following three good quotes from Elton Trueblood--an author, philosopher, educator (professor of philosophy at Earlham College), and theologian who was a lifelong member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).

"Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservation."

"The world is equally shocked at hearing Christianity criticized and seeing it practiced."

"A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit."

Holy dying means holy living

One part of All Souls Day is to take account of our own mortality. When I think about dying a holy death, I see more clearly the need to live a holy life. There are so many beautiful prayers from the burial office in the Prayer Book. Here is one of my favorites--for both the eloquence of its prose and its expressions of truth.

O God, whose days are without end, and whose mercies cannot be numbered: Make us, we beseech thee, deeply sensible of the shortness and uncertainty of life; and let thy Holy Spirit lead us in holiness and righteousness all our days; that, when we shall have served thee in our generation, we may be gathered unto our fathers, having the testimony of a good conscience; in the communion of the Catholic Church; in the confidence of a certain faith; in the comfort of a reasonable, religious, and holy hope; in favor with thee our God; and in perfect charity with the world. All which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer, pg. 489)

New Chasuble

At last, I finished making my black chasuble with silver and red trim. It made its debut at the Requiem Mass on All Souls' Day (November 2) at St. Alban's. One day, it will be used at my own Requiem. I hope it is a part of many beautiful celebrations that speak of the mercy of God and the bond of love in the fellowship of the Mystical Body.

Offertory for a Requiem Mass
O Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory, deliver the souls of all the faithful departed from the pains of hell, and from the bottomless pit. Deliver them from the lion's mouth, that hell might not swallow them up and that they might not fall into darkness, but let Michael the standard-bearer bring them into the holy light which thou didst promise of old to Abraham and his descendents.
We offer unto thee, O Lord, this sacrifice of prayer and praise. Receive it for the souls whose memory this day we recall; make them, we beseech thee, O Lord, to pass from death into life, which thou didst promise of old to Abraham and his descendants.

What makes a man noble?

Melisa and I just finished watching the film Braveheart again (one of our favorites).

A line I have always found striking was the statement of the 16th Earl of Bruce to his son, Robert. The father says, "It is precisely the ability to compromise that makes a man noble." The son comes to discover otherwise through the course of the film--experiencing compromise in the worst possible way.

I would suggest that a wonderful description of what makes a man noble is found in the traditional list of the seven heavenly virtues: faith, hope, love, prudence, temperance, justice, and most especially, fortitude.

Indeed, according to its etymology the word "virtue" (Latin: virtus) signifies manliness or courage. The world will always need virtuous men.

Remembering a faithful servant

The Rev'd Walter Harrison Beste, ssc (known affectionately to many as "Padre" or "Father B") was called home in the Lord's service this past Thursday morning and laid to rest on Monday in Weatherford. It was an honor to serve as a pall bearer at his funeral . He served as a model priest for sixty-two years (twenty of those in this parish). He made his life a prayer--a "spoonful of sweet smelling holy smoke" ascending to God's throne.

It was such a pleasure to have him come back to preach on the feast of Saint Alban the Martyr at the Solemn High Mass. I hoped it would be the first of many such opportunities after he had recently moved back to the metroplex, but it was not to be. I wanted to share the beautiful thank you letter that he sent me after that visit.


Dear Father Matkin,

I greatly appreciated the invitation to preach at St. Alban’s on the patronal festival and thank you for inviting me. Thank you also for the very generous honorarium which I have taken the liberty of returning to the church, but in the form of a cheque for the pipe organ fund. This has been sent to Charlene Dorsey, and she will bring it to the church office. Charlene and I have kept up a steady correspondence over the years. It was, indeed, a pleasure to be able to visit with many old friends of yesteryear, and to make the acquaintance of some new parishioners.

St. Alban’s remains the beautiful church that it has always been and will always be. The church interior is spotless. I could see my face in the polished floors. The choir was excellent in its performance of the offertory anthem and the service music. The solemn liturgy was well done in the Catholic tradition that I had begun when first I went to be the Rector of the parish back in 1954. I understand that you were the author of the beautiful vestments worn by the clergy. Someone told me of your talent for designing and making liturgical vesture. Thank you also for filling the censer with “sweet smelling holy smoke” (c.f., Rev 8:3-4). I recall that Bishop William Paul Barnds, the former Suffragan Bishop of Dallas, once said to me, “Father, be generous with spoonfuls of sweet smelling holy smoke.” He would always put four spoonfuls instead of the usual three into the censer.

I have no doubt that St. Alban’s has a great future before it, and for many years. It has had a glorious past. The recent sad occurrences need not be a “set back.” I learned long ago that there is no definition for success, but the definition for failure is “try and please everyone.” Think positively and God will continue to sustain you with the abundance of his grace. As I said in my sermon, everyone should read the 13th chapter of First Corinthians, which in itself is a superb sermon on love.

God bless you in all your orisons.

Faithfully in Christ,

Father B +

Why are you bitter?

There are sometimes that you just can't help but long for the "good ole days." Some things you just can't get over. Here is are list of some of mine:

1. New Coke
2. speedbumps (and speedhumps)
3. blue M&Ms
4. the way the New Orleans Saints totally choked in 1987
5. those Burger King big-headed king costume comercials
6. the cancelling of (the real) Battlestar Galactica after only one season
7. no adult sizes of Underoos
8. cell phones
9. taking Minute Maid orange soda off the market
10. NFL teams that I've never heard of, playing in cities that weren't even supposed to have teams

Perhaps you can come up with more.

Michaelmas

Today is the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels--a favorite of many. These hosts of heaven are ordered in what we commonly call the “nine choirs of angels.” These are divided into three triads (groups of three).

The first angelic triad continually worships God in his immediate presence. These spirits consist of the exalted love of the fiery seraphim, the complete intuition of the cherubim, and the perfect power of the thrones. The primary function of their being is the perpetual adoration and praise of the divine substance.

The second triad extends this divine praise and love to the creation. The spiritual dominions, princedoms, and powers execute the love, knowledge, and power of God relative to the general structure, order, and governance of the cosmos.

The last triad serves the divine love towards humans when the virtues, the ruling archangels, and the angels come to serve and care for people on earth. Angels then truly become “messengers” of divine favor. It was the Archangel Gabriel who gave the message of the Incarnation to the blessed Virgin Mary .Two other archangels are mentioned in Scripture. As the prince of the Seraphim, St. Michael led the heavenly host in the battle against the rebelling spirits. And St. Raphael the Archangel delivered Tobias’ wife from demonic obsession. Raphael is also commonly associated with the angelic trembling of the waters in the pool of Bethesda (Jn 5:2-4).

O holy Angels, watch over us at all times during this perilous life;
O holy Archangels, be our guides on the way to heaven;
O heavenly choir of Principalities, govern us in body and soul;
O mighty Powers, preserve us against the wiles of the demons;
O celestial Virtues, give us strength and courage in the battle of life;
O powerful Dominions, obtain for us dominion over the rebellion of our flesh;
O sacred Thrones, grant us peace with God and man;
O brilliant cherubim, illumine our minds with heavenly knowledge;
O burning Seraphim, enkindle our hearts with the fire of charity.

Holy Michael, Archangel, defend us in the day of battle; be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust down to hell Satan and all wicked spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.

O prince most glorious, Michael the Archangel, keep us in remembrance: here and everywhere, always, entreat the Son of God for us.

School Altar and Cross

Everything has been put into place in Centurion Hall, and I've finally gotten some pictures to post. The Altar was consecrated by the bishop at the first school Eucharist on 13 September.

Ordination Anniversary

By the grace of God, I was ordained to the priesthood of the Catholic Church by Bishop Jack L. Iker at All Saints' Episcopal Church in Fort Worth, Texas on 23 September 2002. In these three years of priestly minstry, there have been many constants and many variables. I feel myself part of a heritage that is new every morning and yet as timeless as ever. I am still looking up. It is such a joy to simply be a humble worker in the Lord's vineyard. I'm sure it will take me many more years to unpack most of the meaning.

I still go back to St. Paul's words to St. Timothy:

"Let no man despise thy youth: but be thou an example of the faithful in word, in coversation, in charity, in faith, in chastity. Till I come, attend unto reading, to exhortation, and to doctrine. Neglect not the grace that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the imposition of the hands of the priesthood. Meditate upon these things, be wholly in these things: that thy profiting may be manifest to all." (1 Timothy 4:12-15, Rheims New Testament)

A trip to the zoo

On Friday, Melisa and I went on a daytrip to the Dallas World Aquarium. To our delight, there was more there to look at than just fish. It is a marvelously designed complex. An observer really feels like a part of the environment, and there are an incredible amount of vantage points. Recommended for anyone paying a visit to Dallas.

Here are some pictures we took.

A movie so big, it had to be filmed in color!

Recently, Melisa and I watched once of my favorite movies again--Howard Hughes' 1930 WWI spectacular Hell's Angels. I love the dialogue and period acting, the brotherhood of Roy and Monte Rutledge, the unrelquited love for Helen (Jean Harlow), and Melisa especially noted the the noble spirit of sacrifice for integrity in the RAF.

The movie was so big it had to be shot twice--once as a silent picture, then as a talkie for its final release. It cost an unparralelled $3.8 million to make, and 249 feet of film were shot for every foot used in the final cut. There are numerous beautiful tinted scenes in the film, but also an eight minute two-strip Technicolor sequence. Top Gun has nothing on the arial combat scenes of this movie. Three stunt pilots died during the filming of Hell's Angels and a forth died in a crash while delivering a plane to the set. Hughes himself crashed one plane for the sake of getting the perfect shot.

The night battle scene with the Zeppelin is my favorite in the movie. The Germans did use some dirigibles for bombing runs during the Great War. Hughes' fictionalized version could not have turned out better. Those scenes of "lightening the load" still give me chills.

In reality, there were twenty-three airship raids in over Britain in 1916 in which 125 tons of ordnance were dropped, killing 293 people and injuring 691. Anti-aircraft defenses were becoming tougher and new Zeppelins were introduced which were able to fly at twice the altitude, increasing the operating altitude from 1,800 m to 3,750 m. To avoid searchlights these craft flew above the cloud layer whenever possible, lowering an observer through the clouds to direct the bombing. The improved safety was counteracted by the extra strain on the airship crews and the British introduction in mid-1916 of forward-firing fighters. The first night-fighter victory came on September 2, 1916 when W. Leefe-Robinson shot down one of a sixteen-strong raiding force over London.

After the war, the dirigibles had a renaissance of sorts, becoming vessels of peace. In the early 1930s, the Graf Zeppelin was making regular non-stop transatlantic flights from Munich to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil in a matter of days rather than the weeks it took by ocean liner. The zenith of the rigid airships was to come with the LZ-129 (Hindenburg) and her sister-ship, the LZ-130 (Graf Zeppelin II). Each could carry up to 78 passengers and 61 crew. The size of these rigid airships was enormous. The Hindenburg was 804 feet long (that's a mere 78 feet short of a floating Titanic!). The modern Goodyear blimp is lest than a tenth of that length.

Teaching

It's hard not to enjoy being a teacher when you receive little rewards like this from anonymous.

First week of school

With the first week at St. Alban's Episcopal School winding to a close, here are a few pictures.