Modern, holy families

This is my homily for today, the feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

War and Peace 2018

The Republicans/Trump Situation in 2018

There is little evidence that Trump and the Republicans are attracting many voters with their efforts on Obamacare and tax reform, and much evidence that Americans are likely not to support Republicans in 2018. There is also little evidence that Republicans are prepared to reject Trump in order to save their own skins.

That all points to one strategy for Trump and Republicans to save themselves before the 2018 election, namely unite a majority of Americans around some new war effort. Trump did gain a lot of support when he bombed Syria; that support came form Democrats as well as Republicans. We also know from history that Americans often unite across party lines to purse a war. And, of course, we have a lot of potential places to engage in war.

World Day of Peace

Eliot, Epiphany and the End of the Year

  T.S. Eliot is a voice in my head at this graced time of the year. That is odd as I am not a fan of Eliot.  I lack the patience to read serious poetry, so I only fall upon it – or it falls on me – by accident.  Today or tomorrow I shall read Murder in the Cathedral again. Over the coming days I will listen – several times – to Eliot himself read  “The Journey of the Magi,” on the  BBC recording on YouTube. That's for the run-up to Epiphany.

 I first met Murder in the Cathedral in a production staged in an Episcopal cathedral (of all places, if you think about it). It covers the assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket at the hands of four barons unleashed by his old friend and benefactor, King Henry II. In some ways, Becket’s death parallels the death of another Thomas, More, at the instigation of another Henry, the VIII. But they were 365 years apart, and in Becket’s time church and state both followed the pope. Henry and Becket were each other’s problem. The assassination shocked everyone in the era. In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer’s pilgrims are heading for Becket’s shrine.

Trump, Israel, and the Evangelicals

I have a longer post at my blog about Israel, Trump, his Evangelical Christian base, and the belief some of those Evangelicals have in dispensationalism. It's the idea that at the end times, after the rapture, the Jews will all be converted to Christianity and Jesus will return to reign from Jerusalem for 1000 years. This will be familiar to those who have read/watched the Left Behind stuff.

As I watch Trump do things like move the US embassy to Jerusalem in order to placate his Evangelical base, I have to wonder how much of the Evangelical fervor for Jerusalem is based in dispensationalism. Religious history scholar Diana Butler Bass has a recent article about this: For many evangelicals, Jerusalem is about prophecy, not politics.

From under the tree to the landfill

In light of Crystal's recent post on the importance of preserving our environment, this headline from one of our local newscasts yesterday caught my attention:

There's a good chance your holiday returns will end up in a landfill

The number that leaps out from this story is 5 billion - the number of pounds of returned items that end up being thrown away by retailers.

Saving the world

Pope Francis warned in his Christmas message against "environmental decline". Francis has always been an advocate for the environment. Some good Christmas news in this area: A Historic Gift of Pristine Land to Inspire Tech's Elite

Given Trump's antipathy to the environment, it's time we, like David and Laura Dangermond, take steps to preserve it.

He holds in his hands the depths of the earth and the highest mountains as well

Every day of the year - without exception! - I begin my day of prayer by praying the Invitatory Prayer.  This is the first prayer of the day for anyone who prays the Liturgy of the Hours.

Sussex carol

On Christmas night all Christians sing, To hear what news those angels bring ...

This is my favorite Christmas carol, the Sussex carol, I guess because it seems so cheerful :) ...

May hope be with you

Stop me if you've heard this one before: a plucky girl is chosen from the backwater of an empire to fulfill a great destiny.

Aaargh! Bad science in science fiction movies.

We've been covering some heavy topics lately and I thought this might be a break.  Having a little knowledge of science doesn't make it easier for me to watch science fiction.  I just saw the trailer for "Downsizing", a satire in which Matt Damon's character and his wife are shrunk down so they can live well for less.  One scene in the trailer has

Diaconal Primacy: Ministry Ad Intra and Ad Extra

Pope Francis Christmas Greeting to Roman Curia Full Text

The annual Christmas "greeting" of Pope Francis has always been one of criticism. The subject is always church reform, specifically the reform of the Roman Curia. While people delight in seeing the Curia being humbled if not humiliated, we should keep in mind that Francis sees the diseases of the Curia and its cures as applying to the whole Church. The Curia are part of a bigger problem of clericalism in the Church..

This years greeting focuses upon "diaconal primacy."  Now anything the Pope says about the deaconate needs to be taken very seriously as applying to the whole Church. 

It has been obvious to me from early on that he intends to restore women deacons to the Church. His emphasis upon giving greater dignity to women, coupled with saying no again to the priesthood, and the absence of anything about women deacons was the first clue. So I was not surprised that he granted the request of women religious superiors to investigate the role of women deacons in the early church. I am sure that he regards that as a request from a synod, since Abbots were part of early church councils in many cases. He is not going to go against the clear request of a synod.

The big problem for Francis is not WOMEN deacons, but DEACONS. He has clearly expressed his concerns about turning lay leaders into deacons, and regarding the deaconate as a merit badge for outstanding lay leaders.  I see him as in the process of rethinking the deaconate. This "greeting" gives us important clues to his initial rethinking.

Key Points about Diaconal Ministry 

About NewGathering

There have been some discussions about NewGathering in other threads, so I thought I would open up a new, specific thread for anyone who wants to have a say.

I think of this blog as belonging collectively to the contributors. If I have done anything at all to shape it, I have done so with the understanding that the contributors wanted it to be a "new gathering" place for former contributors and commenters from dotCommonweal. I have done nothing to recruit new contributors, commenters, or even new readers. While it's a rather small group, the participation rate is high. My attitude toward the blog has largely been (to use the old cliche), "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Anyone, whether an official contributor, a commenter, or someone who has just stumbled upon the blog and finds it of interest, is free to invite others to check it out. Anyone with a Gmail account (or any one of number of other accounts) is free to comment without intervention on my part.

We're Taking Names!!!**##

U.S. ambassador to the UN, Nicki Haley, reacted to the UN General Assembly vote opposing Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel: 128-9 (35 abstentions).

NYTimes (12/21). “The President will be watching this vote carefully and has requested I report back on those countries who voted against us. We will take note of each and every vote on this issue.” It was not the first time Ms. Haley had used this language at the United Nations. Soon after taking her post in January, she said that the United States would back its allies and expected their backing in return. “For those who don’t have our back,” she added, “we’re taking names.”

What an artful diplomat!  What a blessing for the United States.

Also a blessing and blessed be Mike Pence, who lobbied along with Christian evangelicals for the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. As a result, Christian groups in the Middle East refused to meet with him on a planned trip. Curiously, the trip was cancelled.
Pence's Christmas Pilgrimage Is Canceled. His Next Mideas Move is Complicated.  


UPDATE: Instead of the ME, Pence is off to Afghanistan...Too few Christians to snub him?


With leaders like Haley and Pence, who needs friends and allies anyway?

Life expectancy declines in the US for 2nd straight year

Driving one of the children to school this morning, I turned on NPR and heard the headline that is the subject of this post: for the second year in a row, American life expectancy has declined.

I confess that, as  I drove along and digested this headline, my immediate mental reaction was not a worthy one, but I'll share it here: "If people aren't living as long, that means that Obamacare has failed." 

"Insert jump break"

My editor's gene has been roused. Among the gizmos on the "Post" page is one allowing lengthy posts to be broken and continued on the next "page." It is two pieces of paper ripped zig-zag in half right between the moji button and the allignment button.

I can't prove this, but having to scroll down through a lengthy post every time you go back to that post to read the comments discourages readership.

Cardinal Law has died

Bernard Law, Former Archbishop Of Boston, Dies In Rome At 86

Cardinal Bernard Law, the former Archbishop of Boston — once widely seen as America's most influential prelate before resigning in disgrace amid the growing clergy sexual abuse scandal — has died in Rome ...

Law was, for me at least, the lasting example of how the church went terribly wrong. One need only watch Spotlight to get the basic story surrounding his tenure in Boston during the sex abuse scandal there. But it wasn't just about what he did and failed to do, it was how the church responded ... there was no criticism, no punishment, but instead the Vatican welcomed him back to Rome and gave him one of the most prestigious churches to run, the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. When Francis became Pope, he visited that church on his first day in office, some hoped in order to fire Law, but instead he just had a friendly chat with him.

But 58 priests in Boston had the integrity to call Law out when the Vatican wouldn't ... 58 Priests Ask Boston Cardinal to Step Down in Abuse Scandal

Adventures in penance

I'm sort of a surreptitious confession-goer.  I go a few times a year.  I don't feel very comfortable announcing to wife and family, "I'm going to confession!", because (a) announcing it strikes me as the equivalent of lengthening my tassel or widening my phylactery; and (b) it stimulates too much speculation along the lines of, "Gasp -  he needs to go to confession - what did he do?!"  Right now we're six people in a not-very-large house, and privacy already is at a premium.

But because I am a parent and am supposed to be setting an example, even to kids who think they know it all already, I do occasionally say, "I'm going to go to reconciliation today, would you like to join me?"  Almost always, they decline, but at least they don't roll their eyes.  At least not while I'm in the room.

Hozier

Here's some Christmas music from Irish singer/songwriter Hozier ...

I first listened to him when he made the big splash with (and won a Grammy for) his song, Take Me to Church (Protesting Injustice, Accepting Fame). The original music video spoke to the mistreatment of gay people in Russia - it went viral. Here's a version with the lyrics ....

A song by Hozier that I especially like is the one he did for the film The Legend of Tarzan :) ...

Have yourself a merry Xanax Christmas

We get two newspapers delivered to our home.  In case any Millenials are reading, I should explain that a "newspaper" is a non-digital medium for conveying news, human interest stories, obituaries and other items thought to interest the public.  The medium itself is a wood pulp product called "paper".  Newspapers were mainstream media a century or so ago, back in the olden days when people reasonably expected to pay a small amount of money for their newsfeeds, and journalists had both "professional standards" and "editors" to ensure that what was published was verifiably true rather than beholden to some profitability scheme or political stratagem.  A shrinking number of newspapers continue to be delivered to subscribers' homes once per day, kind of like when the UPS truck brings you the stuff you ordered from Amazon.

He came for testimony

The early parts of the four canonical Gospels, each in its own way, sets the reader's expectations that the coming of Jesus is not just the advent of one human among many, but rather an event fraught with historic and cosmic significance.  Last week, we heard Mark get right down to business with the simple and brief but profound declarative title: "The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God".  Matthew and Luke use a variety of literary techniques, including genealogies, prophecies, canticles, appearances of angels and more throughout their infancy and early ministry narratives to help us understand that this event, the coming of Jesus, is the culmination of plans and promises long made over many generations and only now coming to fruition.


John takes a different literary approach to illustrate historic and cosmic importance, preceding the events of Jesus's life with a prologue, a wonderfully poetic theological reflection.

Being angry

I've been so angry lately about so many things, from the mean-spiritedness of my new cat-hating neighbors to the killing of net neutrality. And then there's Trump, his Republican henchmen, and their evil tax bill.

Sometimes I'm so angry I feel almost sick, and there's the guilt ... that little voice in my head saying good people aren't judgemental, aren't unforgiving, aren't angry. Hey, it's even one of the deadly sins. I have to forcibly remind myself that anger can be a positive thing and that even Jesus got angry ...

And here's a bit from a psst article by Philip Endean SJ on wrath ...

[...] At the outset, we need to make a distinction. Christian tradition, perhaps mirroring civilised society as a whole, is ambivalent about anger. Angry people are disruptive; by definition they want things to be different, and are prepared to be anti-social and disagreeable until they succeed. To the extent that Christianity reinforces social norms, it finds various ways of marginalising, even condemning anger. But to the extent that Christianity is an agency of change and conversion, both social and individual, anger is an important source of positive energy. The perception of unmet needs provokes responses that can be termed angry: if the perceptions are correct, then the anger is righteous, a hunger and thirst for justice that is to be sustained, not repressed ...

So it's ok to be angry? Maybe.

UPDATE: Post content stonked

UPDATE 12/14 11:43 PM ET
Hello - I posted something to this blog earlier this evening that, unbeknownst to me, is thought to be an offensive racial stereotype.  I don't suppose that anyone associated with this blog wishes to have any potentially offensive content on the blog.  As I don't immediately see how to delete the entire post, I'm editing it to remove the part that may be offensive.  My apologies to the readers.
_____________

Among the lesser pleasures - but still a pleasure - of reading books is encountering new words and phrases.

More nuances than solutions

 MOS's post about Zephyr Teachout's attempt to set standards and guidelines for handling accusations of sexual misconduct has morphed into the Alabama jubilee, what the Democrats may be capable of and the burdens we lay on students.

 I'd like to see us get back to monkey business because there are a few questions we are far from exhausting. Ms. Teachout has a hold on something that should bother all of us in what is fueling up indignation that supports something that is more like a witch hunt (wizard hunt?) than a sensible approach to a touchy and long-ignored issue. What has now become designated as sexual misconduct covers a range from inappropriate brushing to rape; encompasses victims who were under age, under the abuser's authority or should have been more careful, and abusers who planned their attacks or drank their way into the attack or thought they had a green light or just don't care.

 Additionally it encompasses abusers who run their own business, who work for someone else and who work for the amorphous government. All the variations on those possibilities are pertinent because it is up to someone to police a safe workplace or suffer for neglecting that duty.

 And I think it is safe to say the courts have not caught up with current understanding of the issue.

 And once we have the categories straight, we should be able to mix and match them to get better than one-size-fits-all solutions. I, for instance, worry about a guy who came on too strongly once, has spent years regretting it and has never found a way and the guts to apologize. Instead of appearing in the newspaper going on leave for unspecified but credible accusations, I'd like to see a way for he and his victim to patch it up. The victim might have laughed it off, or she might have been hurt and feeling the pain for years. In the latter case, she needs the healing that might come from encounter way more than she needs revenge.

 I dunno. But I think it is a lot more complicated than Sen. Gillibrand makes it.

Zephyr Teachout speaks

I'm guessing most of you have never heard of Zepher Teachout. She is a local political phenom: ran against Cuomo in the last Democratic Primary (2014) and again in 2016 for the House Seat in the 19th District. Lost both elections but she keeps going. I hope she runs against Cuomo again in 2018.

She teaches at Fordham Law and was recently on a panel there; first time I actually heard her speak. And speak she did (here is a news story: that is John Carr sitting next to her!). She is a born politician...clear, distinct voice with volume, conveys complex ideas clearly, smiles, and is very tall. Her Wiki bio.

But today, I'm posting about her op-ed in the NYTimes, "I'm Not Convinced Franken Should Quit,"

Here are some highlights that take up issues we have discussed below.

"I also believe in zero tolerance. And yet, a lot of women I know — myself included — were left with a sense that something went wrong last week with the effective ouster of Al Franken from the United States Senate. He resigned after a groundswell of his own Democratic colleagues called for him to step down.

"Zero tolerance should go hand in hand with two other things: due process and proportionality. As citizens, we need a way to make sense of accusations that does not depend only on what we read or see in the news or on social media."

I suppose this may pit her against our junior senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, who has been leading the troops on this. But more power to her!

Bonus link: A Gillibrand-Trump face-off.

A couple of thoughts on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

The appearance of our Blessed Mother at Guadalupe really isn't part of the personal spirituality I inherited from my extended family and first parish.  Lourdes and Fatima, yes.  Guadalupe?  Not so much.  I had never even heard of her appearances to St. Juan Diego until I was well into adulthood.

It was St. John Paul II who named her Patroness of the Americas (which, according to my map, includes the English-speaking parts) and promoted her day to a feast day.  In my breviary, whose copyright is from the 1970s, she's still listed as an optional memorial, the lowest rank of saint's days.  By contrast, a feast day is the 2nd-highest.

The story of her miraculous appearances to the humble Aztec Juan Diego is becoming more well-known in US Catholicism.  Part of that is because of "top-down" promotion by the bishops, clergy and other thought leaders in the church, including via Catholic media, Catholic schools and parish religious education programs.  But surely the major reason is because of the large and growing presence of Catholics of Mexican heritage in the US.

The Chicago suburb of Des Plaines, IL, not far from where I live, has a major shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe.  (Please click on the video at the link if you can; I am not adept enough to figure out how to embed it directly into this post.)  Pilgrims, including some who come on horseback and some who walk for hours in the wintry weather, gather by the tens of thousands to commemorate her appearances.

Mexican Americans are on board with St. John Paul II, but what about the rest of us?  All of us are Americans - all of us should consider her our Patroness.  And given the political climate, I believe that the church's invitation and challenge to English speaking Americans to venerate Our Lady of Guadalupe is more important than ever.  Our nation has witnessed a distressing coming to the political fore of a spirit of unwelcome to those who speak Spanish.  The Catholic church offers witness to another way, a better vision: one in which English speaking and Spanish speaking people are fully equal as sisters and brothers.  Of course, that vision hasn't reached full fruition yet in the church in the US, either.  But that shouldn't stop us from striving toward it.  Let us pray to Our Lady of Guadalupe to show us the way to a society marked by acceptance, love and justice, as a church and as citizens of the United States.

Alabama voters: the deplorables

Apparently a number of those Hillary deemed "deplorables" live in Alabama ...

Those people deserve Roy Moore.

A voice cries out

On this 2nd Sunday of Advent, it is difficult to hear Mark's account of the coming of John the Baptist:

People of the whole Judean countryside

and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem

were going out to him

 ... and not be reminded of the political phenomenon of 2016, Donald Trump.

Worse than we imagined.

Use one of your 10 NYTimes freebies to read this account of Trump's daily works and pomps: "Inside Trump's Hour-by-Hour Battle for Self-Preservation." 

It's not just about what the reporters found out. What are all those White House leakers trying to tell the rest of us?

At 1:22 PM, December 10, there are over 3,200 comments from our fellow citizens.

Lead us not into ideology

Hoo, boy, I knew it would be trouble when my favorite anti-Communist arrived at 6 a.m. and reported that the pope said he -- the anti-Communist -- had been praying for the wrong thing for 85 years. He had just seen it on Fox. He does, of course, think of Francis as, at best, what Lenin used to call a "useful idiot," but this was cause for extreme high level dudgeon.

Well, it's true. Francis did say he wants "and lead us not into temptation" to be re-translated as "do not let me fall into temptation," as you can read at Pray Tell. The French are already doing it. And, therefore, we have a German theologian saying that's not a translation, it's a paraphrase.

Andrew Sullivan on the Baker

Andrew Sullivan Let-HimHave His Cake

"I think it was a prudential mistake to sue the baker. Live and let live would have been a far better response. The baker’s religious convictions are not trivial or obviously in bad faith, which means to say he is not just suddenly citing them solely when it comes to catering to gays. His fundamentalism makes him refuse to make even Halloween cakes, for Pete’s sake.

Nonetheless, here we are. And it is a hard case constitutionally. It pits religious and artistic freedom against civil equality and nondiscrimination. Anyone on either side who claims this is an easy call are fanatics of one kind or other. I’m deeply conflicted.

The smartest and most nuanced take I’ve read on the subject is that of philosopher John Corvino. He argues that there is indeed a core right not to be forced to create something against your conscience but that in this particular case, the act of creation is so deeply entwined with hostility to an entire class of people that antidiscrimination laws overrule it. It’s worth reading, but he still doesn’t quite convince me." 

Andrew thinks the case should avoid taking a strong stand in terms of religious freedom. The baker deserves to be able to pick and choose what kind of work he wants to do as an artist.

Andrew is worried that gays are advocating taking freedom away from other people, that Christians are sealing themselves off from those they consider sinners. In other words, this case should never have existed if people were true to their values.

Happy Holy Day

I love this version of the late medieval carol, There Is No Rose of Such Virtue.

There is no rose of such virtue
As is the rose that bare Jesu,
Alleluia. 

 

For in this rose contained was
Heaven and earth in little space,
Res miranda. 

 

By that rose we may well see
That he is God in persons three,
Pari forma. 

 

The angels sungen the shepherds to:
Gloria in excelsis deo:
Gaudeamus. 

 

Leave we all this worldly mirth,
And follow we this joyful birth,
Transeamus. 

 

Alleluia, res miranda,
Pares forma, gaudeamus,
Transeamus.

Franken-sense and Moore

Update: Franken has announced he will leave the Senate at the end of the month

-----------

Al Franken is said to be resigning today (at the time I'm writing this, he hasn't resigned yet, but it is widely expected that he will).  I would be surprised if there is anyone at NewGathering who would insist that he deserves to be in the Senate.

This article by Caitlin Huey-Burns offers some astute analysis:

The Colorado baker is back in the news

It has seemed to me for a long time that trying to predict a Supreme Court decision based on the justices' questions and comportment during oral arguments is a fool's errand.  So let's get right to it. 

This Washington Post article recaps the hearing:   

The Supreme Court seemed closely divided Tuesday over whether the First Amendment protects a Colorado baker from creating a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, with Justice Anthony M. Kennedy likely to cast the deciding vote.

So, my prediction is: the baker loses.  Two reasons: (1) Justice Kennedy, based on past performance, is likely to come down on the side of gay rights.  And (2), a conservative lawyer I know believes that the same-sex couple has the law on its side.  Essentially, he sides with the legal reasoning of the lower courts.  If you offer a good for general sale, you have to offer it to everyone.  As this particular lawyer friend tends to be more libertarian-conservative than Christian right-wing conservative, I think he's okay with that.

Let them eat tacos

I thought the thought expressed Sunday by Senate leader Addison Mitchell McConnell would have roused some level of disgust. But most people I know missed it. So let me pass it along.

He was talking about the so-called Dreamers, people who were brought to this country illegally by their parents, who grew up here and do more for the United States than the "nice people" among the native-born who parade in Nazi regalia. They were immune from deportation to a country they do not know under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals ( DACA). But the peoples' president cancelled DACA Their deportations will start in March unless Congress does something.

But Washington runs at McConnell's pace. Human beings must cool their future plans until Congress getrs around to them -- after it takes care of corporations. And Sunday on ABC This Week McConnell called their plight:

 "a non-emergency that we can address anytime between now and March.”

If I Knew You Were Comin' I Wouldn't Have Baked a Cake

Here is a video from the Federalist Society that briefly, and fairly evenhandedly, sums up the issues in the case of Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, which will be argued before the Supreme Court today.



For those who are interested, here is a link to CNN's Michael Smerconish interviewing philosopher John Corvino, who argues against Masterpiece Cakeshop and in favor of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission (and the gay couple who tried to order a cake and were refused).

As I understand the viewpoint of most conservatives, the case hinges on whether or not the creation of a cake is artistic and personal expression. If it is, then the government has no right to force a baker or a cake decorator to "say" something that violates his or her religious beliefs, even if the act of speech takes the form of making a cake.

I think it is significant for this particular case (as Corvino points out) that the owner of Masterpiece Cake did not discuss any details of what the gay couple wanted. As soon as he discovered the cake would be for a gay wedding, he refused to discuss the matter further.  Had the couple wanted a totally plain white sheet cake with no writing or decorations of any kind, would its preparation been an act of speech merely because it was destined for use in conjunction with a gay wedding? I think, therefore, in this particular case, Masterpiece Cake was clearly in the wrong.

As for how the Supreme Court should decide the case, it seems to me that as a general rule, bakers, florists, and other such commercial operations should not have the option of disobeying civil rights laws on the grounds of "religious freedom" and the right to artistic freedom of expression.

Trump's next mistake--and he made it!

There are so many  

• stupid (Trump's lawyer claiming he wrote Sunday's tweet),
• incredible (Trump denies that's his voice on the "Access Hollywood Tape), and
• gruesome (Yemenis combatants are ferociously shelling Sanah, the capital)

 stories floating in the mediamiasma that you might have missed this:

It has been reported that come Wednesday, on behalf of the United States, that's you and me, Trump will recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. If this were a gesture to advance the peace process between the Palestinians Authority and Israel, maybe (only maybe) there'd be some reason to it. Quite the opposite is likely: Jordan, Egypt, and Turkey have "warned of dire consequences" and the Palestinian FM has called for a meeting of the 22 member Arab League.

Why is Trump doing this? We cannot really know, of course, or even know whether he knows. But Eli Clifton at Loblog has a pretty good idea: "His biggest campaign contributor, billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, is showing growing impatience with Trump’s slowness in moving the [U.S.] embassy" to Jerusalem, one of Trump's big campaign promises. So instead, he is going to recognize Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem wiping out Palestinian hopes for their own capital in Jerusalem.

Net Effect: Trump appeases a major donor. Stirs the Palestinian-Israeli cauldron. And thumbs his nose at the Arab world. America grates again!

P.S. From Politico: "The State Department has warned American embassies worldwide to heighten security ahead of a possible announcement Wednesday by President Donald Trump that the U.S. recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel."  A plot! to get rid of more U.S. diplomats per Tillerson's "reorganization plan"?

MORE: President Emmanuel Macron warns Trump against recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. And Turkey is threatening to break ties with Israel.  This is in the back of the newspaper and hardly on TV news, but it is a big deal!

The text of Trump's speech.

Some Saturday night music :)

Benjamin Orr of The Cars sings Just What I Needed, from 1978 ...

Watch!

The readings for the 1^st Sunday of Advent are here.

We begin a new liturgical year and a new liturgical season this evening.  It may seem a bit counter-intuitive.  During this late autumn season, the leaves shrivel and drop, the hours of sunlight diminish, the thermometer falls.  At best, it feels wistful; often enough, it can be a little depressing.  Also, our panic rises and our tempers get shorter as Christmas hurtles toward us like a freight train.  In the midst of this depression and anxiety the church nudges its way into our consciousness with a murmur of “Happy New Year.”  One might think the church is inviting us to take a different view of our lives.

It has taken me a long time to figure out that Advent is about time: past, present and future.  To be sure, most of the exalted seasons of the church year recall and celebrate things that happened in the past, such as the birth of the Savior, his passion, death and resurrection.  Advent has some of that character, too, as we remember episodes such as the coming of John the Baptist, and the angel appearing to Mary and to Joseph.  

But Advent, like the church year-end that come immediately before, also beckons us to look to the future. 

We humans can be distressingly pessimistic about the future.  It seems that, once one reaches and passes the milestones of early adult life – graduation, marriage, starting a career, getting a home, and so on – we stop relishing the future.  As I continue to age and my physical aptitudes and powers slowly ebb away, I can see ever more clearly why that would be.   The basic sequence of human life is that we age, our health declines, and then we die.  If that is the end, it doesn't seem much to look forward to.  And so we don't look forward to it.  Instead, we deny it, we avoid it, and when it finally confronts us such that we have no other option, we fight it.  That much always has been true of humanity.  If we add on to that the dark signs of our times –  the thin-skinned, capricious and unqualified man in the White House, the bankrupting of our retirement transfer payment programs, North Korea with a nuclear arsenal, climate change threatening our way of life –  it is no wonder people don’t feel hopeful.

It is into this pessimism that Christianity steps with a very different view of the future.   We disciples of Jesus don't believe that our lives meander without meaning toward the bleak endpoint of death.  We believe that every day brings us closer to something very definite: Jesus is coming again. We don’t only believe that Jesus walked this earth sometime in the remote past; we believe he is coming back.  Furthermore, the church advises us that his return is not something to dread, but rather an event to be anticipate with excitement and joy.  It's like the anticipation we feel about a coming wedding.  Or the expected birth of a child.  

And so, during Advent, as we celebrate mighty words and deeds from the past, and are sustained by sacramental grace during the present, we also look to the future.  In all of these segments of our lives, past, present and future, God was with us, is with us, and will continue to be with us.  As Paul says, “If we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord; so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.”  

Even our old nemesis and endpoint, death, can't stop the advent of our future with Jesus.  But our future is not something to take for granted. Nothing is easier than relinquishing our heavenly citizenship and just living an earthly existence, with its pessimistic and meaningless outlook on the future.  In Mark’s Gospel tonight, Jesus admonishes us not to let that happen.  We need to stay watchful.  We can't let the pessimism and nihilism of the kingdom of earth lull us into complacency. We need to stay awake.  Because the future will not be like the present.  He will come again.  And so we need to prepare ourselves.  Because he is coming.  We don’t know when, so the time to prepare is now, and every day.  Stay awake!  Watch!

The podcast I mentioned in answer to the post about the tax bill is Beveridge 2.0 rethinking the welfare state for the 21st century. If you listen to podcasts, this is a great one. It’s British. I think its a lecture series. Experts from different fields discuss issues ex this one had philosophers along with economists etc. By the way, I’ve learned how to delete. Rachel