worldwide pablo

"He is risen!"

 

Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they said among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away—for it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.” So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.[Mark 16:1-8]

Follow that star

No matter how hopeless. No matter how far.

Longest night

Tradition [and science] holds that December 21, being the winter solstice, is the shortest day of the year. It's not usually the highlight of WWP's year.

Anyone who has put up with today's weather exercise will identify just how barren a day like today seems, weatherwise and otherwise: No church [times 2], no brunch, no afternoon social intercourse, a day trapped inside without friends. A perfect purgatory, WWP sez. But that's how things are when the sun makes its appearance so little known.

But soon, the sun will shine. Count on it.

WWP's lost weekend

 

As tempting as it would have been to put in a filler or spaceholder for this blog on Friday, WWP resisted the urge. You see, it turns out that WWP was spending the entire day, and weekend, with virtue-minded folk, at a regional conference of Methodists convened right here in River City, an occasion where John Wesley's modern-day U.S. followers were doing their quadrennial duty of electing new bishops.

And wouldn't you know it, this time, one of WWP's lifelong friends was among those so elected.

There's a bromide to go with this. It goes something like this:

<oldster>You know you're ancient when your childhood friends start getting real jobs ... </oldster>

Sigh.

Torture is wrong

Torture is Wrong
Originally uploaded by pumasalad

If one were to consider the fact that our nation's top two leaders [and their wives] are United Methodists, one might get the impression that John Wesley's band of Protestants today endorses preemptive war, unilateral militarism and the use of torture. And that would be wrong.

Today WWP was treated to one of the most stinging sermons he's heard in a while against war and torture -- a resounding reminder [and a more conventionally Methodist message] that "we cannot build bridges if we're busy building walls." [Hebrews 11:17-32; John 4:3-15]

Know hope.

Now let us from this table rise

As if to prove WWP's point made here a few days ago, MoDo piles on:

Mr. Bush, who said he’s going to put a “Freedom Institute” in his presidential library, told reporters at a press conference with Mr. Brown that “one of the things that I will leave behind is a multilateralism to deal with tyrants, so problems can be solved diplomatically.” W. confessed only to “hopeless idealism” on Iraq and Afghanistan.

He said “history will judge whether or not, you know, more troops were needed earlier, troops could have been positioned here better or not.” But going in, he said, was right despite the “doubters.” “There is some who say that perhaps freedom is not universal,” he asserted, adding that he rejected as elitist the notion that “maybe it’s only, you know, white-guy Methodists who are capable of self-government.”

If there’s one thing W. and Cheney have proved, beyond a sliver of a shadow of a doubt, it’s that at least two white-guy Methodists are not capable of self-government.

Ouch!

Don't let the door hit you on the way out

In the Methodist circles WWP participates in, there's nothing more awkward than acknowledging that the current occupant of the White House shares the same Protestant brand. To be sure, Methodists are an eclectic lot: liberal to conservative, urban to rural, middle class and not, literal to figurative, and, sad to say, mostly older. One of the interesting factoids about the United Methodist Church is that in the United States there are roughly the same number of local congregations as there are post offices -- a parish in every neighborhood! [John Wesley would have liked that.]

What drives many Methodists nuts, however, is the president's politics, more particularly, his disregard for the denomination's essential, longstanding tradition for social justice. Pick a topic -- any topic -- and you'll find that the Great Uniter has pretty much isolated himself within a weirdly un-Wesleyan bubble. [Say what you will about Hillary Clinton, but at least she lives as though she's actually attended a Methodist church, and paid attention.]

So, imagine WWP's surprise yesterday when blog and lunch amigo Cliffdweller sent this along. Says he: "I say, let him go. We don't want him."

To which the people can only say, "Amen."

[Perhaps he'll take this obscenity with him on the way out.]

"When we could, we couldn't..."

So, gay marriage is finally off and running in California, an historic turn of events that combines unequal parts of extraordinary exhilaration, a small degree of melancholy and a dose of "I told you so" smugness. The occasion has WWP amigo Lin Thompson over at Waldo Lydecker's Journal reminiscing about how gay marriage came to pass, and he muses about how he and WWP completely missed the boat:

[In 2004] Mayor Newsom in San Francisco, and a claque of nitwits in Portland, Oregon who'd never read that state's constitution, started issuing marriage licenses. More of my friends got on the road and got hitched. A friend and I joked about how things had changed -- both of us were then single --- he by death, me by email -- but had been happily settled when marriage didn't exist. "When we could, we couldn't; now we can, we can't," we joked.

Read the whole thing here.

Lead us to thy perfect light

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.”

When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, “In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,

“ ‘And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
art not the least among the princes of Judah:
for out of thee shall come a Governor,
that shall rule my people Israel.’ ”

Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.

When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

Do you hear what I hear?

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace, good will toward men.

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.