Meanwhile, back at the protest...

Hmmm, maybe there is something inherently evil about paying for a quality education.

Following the Money... All 168.9 Million

(A tip of the Zuchetto to Nickie Goomba...)

Why are the unwashed basement dwellers being allowed to occupy private property in NYC? Simply stated, their rent on the space has been generously provided by YOU, the American taxpayer. The dots are connected for us over on "It Don't Make Sense".

So 53 percenters, does this mean we can claim these folk on our 1040's?

Two Weighty Questions -- Question #2

I was posed with a two-pronged question earlier this week, one that deserved the most thoughtful answers possible as the question has eternal weight. What is the mission of the Church and what is the greatest hindrance to this mission's completion? Now, onto part two of the question, "What's the greatest impediment to the completion of the Church's mission?"

There are factors working against the individual believer which in my opinion, also seek to work against the mission of the Church, as it is a greater extension of the believer. Saint John recognized these as "the world, the flesh, and the devil". I'd pose that "the flesh" (a.k.a "Us") is the single greatest impediment.

The "world" (not to be confused with creation) has stood in opposition to the church since her birth. At its best this world is indifferent to mildly antagonistic towards the church and at its worst, proactively hostile. But the world is a known variable that we've known about since Christ spoke to us on the issue (...If the World hates you...) The very fact that the church exists in places like North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Myanmar stands in testimony to its ability to impede its mission.

What can be said about the adversary that's not already been said? Luther said it well when he penned:

For still our ancient foe
doth seek to work us woe;
his craft and power are great,
and armed with cruel hate,
on earth is not his equal.

This accuser could, left unchecked, smash the the church into dust and scatter it on the four winds. This same accuser is also, under the submission of the Almighty and can only execute what is permitted. The very Lord who promised that the "Gates of Hell" would not prevail against the church, will not permit Hell's dark slumlord to do so either.

This leaves us with the big Mea Culpa; We have met the enemy and he is us, as both Walt Kelly and the Underground Pewster have opined. I'll explain in my next installment.

A-Ha on a Sunday

Two Weighty Questions -- Question #1

I was posed with a two-pronged question earlier this week, one that deserved the most thoughtful answers possible as the question has eternal weight. What is the mission of the Church and what is the greatest hindrance to this mission's completion? Now, onto the more fuller answer to prong one.

The mission of the Church in its most essential form is to reflect the Glory of the Godhead, as well as bring glory to its Head, Christ Jesus. Our mission whether we would be Anglican, Roman, Eastern, Baptistic, (any of us who name Christ as Lord) is to live, move and breathe in such a way the the radiant and invisible Glory shines out to the world around us. Its a mission of lifting the Godhead high daily in a world that can be at its best indifferent to the Divine, and overtly hostile at its worst. Its a mission that is both individual and communal at once.

Our success in carrying out this mission has been extremely variable in the two millennia since receiving our marching orders. At times this radiance was blinding as saints stood in arenas, signing their testimonies in their own blood and torn flesh. Sometimes this radiance was eclipsed by our own folly of walling ourselves off from the greater world or exchanging the gold of Scripture for the pyrite of speculation and fable. Yet when God's people came to Him broken and contrite, He would restore them and His radiance would shine again like the sun.

I see three streams, as presented by Scripture as the primary means of accomplishing this mission objective: proclamation, presentation, and preparation.

The Church has been called to proclaim the Word of God. The church hasn't been called to be the herald of "social justice", preach equality (gender, sexual, or otherwise), political viewpoints (left or right), prosperity, financial freedom or anything of the sort. When this occurs, we reduce ourselves to a reflection of the world around us; one thats neither salty or bright. Rather, we're mandated to proclaim the reality of a eternal and holy Godhead, a fallen and corrupt humanity, the inexorable collision course that each are on, and the reconciliation offered by the satisfactorily atoning death of God the Son (Jesus).

The Church has been called to lift the Sacraments of our Christ, Baptism and the Eucharist. These sacraments are far more critical than we may realize. We were, in the creation, made to be primarily both visual and tactile learners. Though there is a significant degree of learning through hearing (ergo the "proclamation" of the word), the bulk of what we're come to understand came from a hands-on or eyes-on moment (e.g. We may have repeated mom's warning of a hot stove by rote, but didn't actually learn until our fingers were singed). In these Sacraments, we see the mysteries of our faith represented in an outward and visible form. We see the cleansing that is received when a life is yielded and brought under the submission of Christ. We see elements poured out and torn like the Divine body that was bad a propitiation for our sins.

Finally, there is the mandate for the Church to Equip her saints. In this equipping, the saints are given the message and tools to become change agents in their worlds. This equipping occurs through the execution of proclamation and presentation. The equipped saint is a spiritually empowered saint, one who is able to impact their circle of the world with the radically transforming power of the Gospel of our Christ.

A New Look

The Catbird Seat has been kicking around out here on the cybersod since August, 2006, launching into the blogosphere with this post. Its truly amazing what all has transpired since those fist days. One thing that hasn't changed is the site layout & design. I'm considering a "new hairstyle" for the site.

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs left this realm this evening. He will be missed.

Two Weighty Questions

Someone tossed a two part question my way this morning; What is the mission of the Church and what is the greatest hindrance to that mission? My "short answer" part one is to glorify the Almighty through:

• The Proclamation of His word


• The Administration of His Sacraments


• The Equipping of His Saints

My short answer to part two is we (I) are/am the greatest hindrance to this mission.

I'd like to, over the next day or so, provide a "long answer" in support of these propositions.

The Wisdom of Solomon

There are a number of Blogs which your humble Catbird visits regularly. These range from the informative, to the funny, to the outrageous. The Blog, "Standing on my Head", tended by Fr. Dwight Longenecker, is up on the list of the thoughtful ones. Dwight+ apparently was born and American fundamentalist, became and Anglican cleric, and is now an RC Priest in the Carolinas. Our brother had this powerful story posted this past Monday:

"A worried woman went to her gynecologist and said: 'Doctor, I have a serious problem and desperately need your help! My baby is not even 1 year old and I'm pregnant again. I don't want kids so close together. So the doctor said: 'OK and what do you want me to do?' She said: 'I want you to end my pregnancy, and I'm counting on your help with this.' The doctor thought for a little, and after some silence he said to the lady: 'I think I have a better solution for your problem. It's less dangerous for you too.' She smiled, thinking that the doctor was going to accept her request. Then he continued: 'You see, in order for you not to have to take care 2 babies at the same time, let's kill the one in your arms. This way, you could rest some before the other one is born. If we're going to kill one of them, it doesn't matter which one it is. There would be no risk for your body if you chose the one in your arms. The lady was horrified and said: 'No doctor! How terrible! It's a crime to kill a child! 'I agree', the doctor replied. 'But you seemed to be OK with it, so I thought maybe that was the best solution.' The doctor smiled, realizing that he had made his point. He convinced the mom that there is no difference in killing a child who's already been born and one who's still in the womb. The crime is the same!"

The truth will set us free, but sometimes it first has to punch us in the stomach.