Rich Mullins on a Monday Evening

Music for the Ride Home

Nothing takes the burr off the edge of the day like anything by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.

Mission Accomplished

Well, we're back on the road and tooling around the DC beltway and heading back to Suburbia Majora. The computers in Delaware are up and fully operational. I'm tempted to throw out some old Air Force acronyms like "RFO" (reason for outage) at this point, but I'll not do it. The home network was out of service as a result of a misappropriated network cable. Succinctly, if there's no cable between the cable modem and the wireless G router, there'll be no bits a' flowing. Simple fix; drag yerself down to the store, procure a cat-5 cable, then span the chasm between cable modem and wireless router. Mission accomplished.

In all, it was a great day in the "Diamond State"

The Feast of Martin Luther King Jr.

From the Book of Common Prayer:

Almighty God, by the hand of Moses your servant you led your people out of slavery, and made them free at last; Grant that your Church, following the example of your prophet Martin Luther King, may resist oppression in the name of your love, and may secure for all your children the blessed liberty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

I wanted to touch on this yesterday but there was too much stuff and note enough day, so I'll give it a toss.

I was a kindergartener on April 4, 1968 when the shot rang out in the Memphis sky. I remember the unrest that broke out in my hometown of Coatesville, PA, when arsonists struck with fury. Those were nights when not only were homes burning, but the volunteer firemen were sitting ducks for snipers waiting in the overpasses. These were tragic days.

I often wonder, 42 years after the Reverend Doctor's untimely demise, what would be his take on the shape of things today?

Dr. King's message was Biblical and Conservative. It stood in stark contrast to the evils perpetrated by and perpetuated by southern Democratic Governors and legislatures, Bull Connor types and men who went about in white hoods. In the Doctor's ethos, the Black man and the White man shared the same humanity. He inspired those to look for the day when his children would live in unity and harmony with my father's children. In his vision, pigmentation would no longer be a point of division. Rev. King's words seem to echo those of Saint Paul who proclaimed the truth of the "Colorblind" Kingdom of God.

Sometime in the late 1980's, Doctor King's message was hijacked by those advocates of race-based politics. The message of unity was usurped by an angry, divisive, hate-filled message. a contingent of self-loathing white liberals jumped on this message with a vengeance. This new message of victimhood has only served to balkanize the very society that Doctor King sought to unite.

I truly wonder what Doctor King would say to the Jackson's and the Sharpton's of today's world?

Bloggin' in the Backseat

To quote Travis Tritt, "Its a great day to be alive". It's 2010 and even though I've yet to see my flying "Jetson Car" or my personal jet pack, I can now sit in the back seat of a PT cruiser toolin' down US 50 while blogging.

"So what's the auspicious occasion Catbird?" Well, since yer' asking, I'm on the way out to do some computer repair on the nephew and niece's computer. Poor kids, their system has been in a perpetual state of broke, infected and unconnected. This is what happens to computer kids who click on links that point to cute cursors or somebody's boobs. But I digress...

This is all possible, courtesy of my Sprint Broadband card.

Thursday Night with Mike & Maggie

A Wednesday Evening Read

Father Robin Adams, Rector of Church of the Word, Gainsville, VA shared this piece from the Online version of Christianity Today. Our West Coast colleague and escapee from Truro, Father Richard Crocker, is quoted on the second page.

Thursday Nite 80's Relapse

And man oh man, those mullets are the living end...

St. Jude meets Eleanor Rigby

First, there is:

Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. Jude 1:3

And, then there's:

Eleanor Rigby picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been
Lives in a dream. Waits at the window, wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door. Who is it for?

There are but a few things in this world that I'm truly passionate for. Included in this list are the truth of God's Word and His promises pertaining to you & I, the belief that through the atonement that there is radical redemption and profound transformation, and that the Almighty will set foot back in His creation to close the books & establish a kingdom that will be without end and without match. Besides that, my wife, my adult kids, my terriers and the perfect brew; I'm pretty flexible on things. This all said, there was a moment this week that served to remind me of some critical issues.

I recently had the blessing of reconnecting with a woman whom I was friends with through elementary school. Suffice to say, much had occurred in those intervening years since the 70's. This lady is a sweetheart who though seeming to have lived a charmed life, had been served a sterecore sandwich in many aspects. She knew the sorrow of burying a child, and lived under the sadness of believing that the Almighty had forgotten her.

My heart broke for my old friend. Not just for her loss, but for her living under the adversary's propaganda that the Lord of Heaven & Earth had it out for her. I assured Lady that not only did the Father only love her, but He sent His only son that she might be reconciled back to him. I can only pray that her soul was lifted.

Now why am I sharing this? Well its simple campers. Since 2003, many have been engaged in the combat of the orthodox, defending the "faith once delivered". Kegs and kegs of powder has been burned and employed against the "revisionist" and "liberal". Yet, while we've been knee deep in the hoopla, have we lost the trail?

We contend for the truth. But, we have a greater commission. And that is to (the Savior's words, not mine) feed the Lord's sheep. That's what its all about. The wounded and broken lambs could give a rat's backside over our ongoing debates, they just want to find relief and to stop bleeding. It's possible for us to be so busy defending orthodoxy that the wounded continue to die at our feet. Kyrie eleison.