I'm spending my Christmas Eve listening to the Lessons and Carols from King's College in Cambridge, a precious tradition for my husband and me that dates back to our first Christmas Eve as man and wife. Later tonight, Liturgy at church.
My OCA parish offers the midnight service, but the priest studied in Russia and is very well-versed in those liturgical practices. It essentially takes the vigil that most parishes serve on Christmas Eve evening and the liturgy subsequently offered on Christmas morning and combines them. The whole thing is a tour de force when done without redactions. Last year with his arrival was the first time I’d seen it done in over two decades in the church. They are serving it tonight but I’m sick and won’t be able to attend.
Pray on, Rod. You will be in the Mattingly prayers here in Northeast Tennessee, as we celebrate with people you have known and loved for decades. No need for names, but, yes, the patriarch of that crowd looks like the lead guitarist in (on your theme today) The Grateful Dead.
The Muppet Christmas Carol might be my favorite movie ever. It is so faithful to the original, but it's bright and the humor saves it from being dreary. I kniw they found the missing scene in the Disney archives in 2020 and hope that they finally make a decent DVD or Bluray version now. (Until last year, to get the version most people want, you'd have to get the laserdisc edition. I have this, but have never owned a laserdisc player.)
One of my prized possessions is a Memento Mori rosary. It is black with skulls, and I carry it pretty much everywhere in my backpack. I don’t pray the rosary as much as I should, but there is something very deeply comforting about it to me, that our imperfect forms will not last forever and we will one day be reborn in perfection the same way Christ was when he appeared to the disciples. It is deeply personal for me, as I have struggled with mental illness (bipolar) most of my life and it can be such torture. It is comforting to me to know that while I will die with it (it is currently incurable and probably never will be curable with any humane means), it will not last forever because of the gift that Christ has given to us. Sitting in services tonight, I think it all came together for me after more than forty years and I can only thank God for His gift and pray that all others turn aside from the hardness of their hearts and lures of this world to do so as well.
My love to you, dear brother. I'm a traumatic brain injury survivor. While our ailments are dissimilar, both of us are familiar with an overpowering sense of unchosen exile from "normal" life. I am not sure what to make of this, except to carry with me the assurance that God has purposes in leaving me with an affliction I despise, and that He will work it together with all of the other things in my life, and possibly in everyone else's, for His glory and my good.
Same here, brother Bobby, same here. I used to think suffering was utterly worthless unless it was on account of one’s witness and testimony of Christ. But now I have a more expansive sense of its value as also a kind of refinement process. In the New Testament James says that the trying of our faith works patience, and when we have patiently endured, we will receive the crown of life. And I remind myself often of the Lord’s promise that He will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear. As Paul declared, our present afflictions are not worth comparing to the glory that shall be. I know we already know all this, but it bears repeating and keeping uppermost in mind, serving the same purpose as the Memento Mori. May God grace us all with the strength to endure.
"Who sinned, this man or his parents?" is one of the most impactful questions in Scripture. All for His glory is a complete answer even if we find it unsatisfying.
“It occurred to me that Jesus was bound in swaddling clothes after he came into this world, and he left this world bound in a funeral shroud. I have to think that this was the point the figure made.”
I’ll carry this one with me moving forward.
I had the pleasure of visiting the Sedlec Ossuary in the Czech Republic. I was amazed. If I ever get back to Europe I’ll have to take in the Capuchin crypt. Interesting to think each one of those skulls was a living person. What is amazing is that they will one day live again at the resurrection. Heavy and hopeful all at once .
Love that folk song. Haven't heard it in years, takes me back to my childhood, around this time of year, my parents played on the stereo lots of seasonal music, including a Joan Baez album, which has this version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvADhdoQ8n0 .
This song, among a few others, were a bit like seeds falling on very parched ground. My family were Unitarian/atheist/70s Ms magazine reading feminist/proto-progressives, but still celebrated the cultural/secular aspects of Christmas. The Unitarians even had a Christmas Eve service, with some of the traditional hymns (edited to remove God references).
I can remember as a boy, during this time of year, feeling the mystery along with the childhood expectation of gifts, family visits and no school, wondering, and sometimes wishing I could believe.
A very long time later, a few of those seeds took root, and that wish was granted.
What is particularly amazing is that to you, to me, and to every other Christian, this is as assured as the pattern of the orbiting of the Earth around the sun, while to unbelievers, it is incomprehensible that it could ever be. We carry this hope within us, indeed.
And this is the hope written about in Hebrews 6:18-20, the anchor of the soul, sure and steadfast, which enters into that within the veil, where the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus. Yes, it is amazing to think on, that our hope reaches into heaven to Jesus.
I quite liked the amusing phrase "itenerant preacher" from Norman Davies "Europe: A History." In a manner similar to Tom Holland, he recognized the importance of Christianity to Europe's history (though he seemed confused and annoyed by the various heresies and theological arguments of the early centuries).
Something more spiritually important would be that crypt of the Capuchins; any person could use the sobering reminder of death comes for us all, and it ultimately is better to focus on the that which supercedes both life and death.
Indeed, though I was quoting from Rod, who himself was quoting from Swinburne. Perhaps Swinburne was being tongue-in-cheek, though I think his poem has not aged gracefully.
I think Swinburne was echoing the reported last words of the Emperor Julian the Apostate: "Thou hast conquered, O Galilean. The world has grown grey with thy breath."
That's actually the Swinburne line. Later on he writes of the "lilies of virtue, and the raptures and roses of vice". Not exactly a modern poet, well known to both Ez and the Possum. At Swinburne's death, in 1910, Yeats said to his sisters, "Now I am king of the cats."
My priest likes to remind us that in the icon of the Nativity, the infant Christ is in his burial shroud and in a cave that symbolizes the tomb. I think that’s really awesome in the best sense of the word.
Merry Christmas, everyone. Christ is born! Glorify Him!
First thank you for your prayers! Blessed Christmas Eve here, where we are in AZ and were able to worship at a lovely local Anglican church. The children were so happy having had their pageant and wearing the wonderful garb of kings, shepherds, lambs and angels. Candles lit and "Silent Night". Blissful and tear making.
I have not read Holland so perhaps I am misunderstanding the interview with Bari Weiss. Of course it is true that the Romans saw crucifixion as punishment suited for slaves and the lowest criminals. That said, I don't see Jesus as someone who "became God". He was and is eternally of the godhead. Maybe Holland said that at another point of their conversation.
And, Jesus willingly chose to lay down his life as the perfect payment for our sin--again, His life was not taken from Him, he laid it down.
Sorry if I'm being pedantic, so often we err in trying to make faith palatable instead of just proclaiming the Truth.
Merry Christmas to all on this glorious Christmas Eve. May God guide all of our steps now and through 2025.
Dear Tom Holland is not fully an intellectual believer. Yet he was used and was step one (form step two, Medjugorie step three, Talking to Rod step four) on my journey back to faith despite my intellectual doubts. Tom loves God and Jesus it is so plain. I met him beliefly after he spoke in Cambridge ten days ago. Tom's doubts are the two main ones expressed in the Theodicy article Rod linked last week. . But he has know miracle and presence. One day I think he will conclude full intellectual understanding it not possible, and declare for the faith of his heart and spirit. At least I pray so. By "coincidence" I was listening to Tom Holland in his latest interview with Jason Brierly last night at about 11pm whilt Rod read his Weiss interiew. Someone worth reading/listening to, I would say.
I'm spending my Christmas Eve listening to the Lessons and Carols from King's College in Cambridge, a precious tradition for my husband and me that dates back to our first Christmas Eve as man and wife. Later tonight, Liturgy at church.
Just listened to the same!
My OCA parish offers the midnight service, but the priest studied in Russia and is very well-versed in those liturgical practices. It essentially takes the vigil that most parishes serve on Christmas Eve evening and the liturgy subsequently offered on Christmas morning and combines them. The whole thing is a tour de force when done without redactions. Last year with his arrival was the first time I’d seen it done in over two decades in the church. They are serving it tonight but I’m sick and won’t be able to attend.
Buon Natale!
Thank you for the great post. Merry Christmas!
Pray on, Rod. You will be in the Mattingly prayers here in Northeast Tennessee, as we celebrate with people you have known and loved for decades. No need for names, but, yes, the patriarch of that crowd looks like the lead guitarist in (on your theme today) The Grateful Dead.
Also, I strongly advise everyone to see The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. It is the most Christian movie to come out of Hollywood in a long time.
I recommend it for evangelism committees in particular. File it under, "This is how most newcomers feel when they worship among us."
I also recommend "A Muppet Christmas Carol."
It's an older film.
Watch Kermit, Miss Piggy, and family sing "Bless Us All" and not hear a hymn.
Love that particular version! We watched it last night and sing all the songs together. Dickens surprisingly done right by muppets!
The Muppet Christmas Carol might be my favorite movie ever. It is so faithful to the original, but it's bright and the humor saves it from being dreary. I kniw they found the missing scene in the Disney archives in 2020 and hope that they finally make a decent DVD or Bluray version now. (Until last year, to get the version most people want, you'd have to get the laserdisc edition. I have this, but have never owned a laserdisc player.)
One of my prized possessions is a Memento Mori rosary. It is black with skulls, and I carry it pretty much everywhere in my backpack. I don’t pray the rosary as much as I should, but there is something very deeply comforting about it to me, that our imperfect forms will not last forever and we will one day be reborn in perfection the same way Christ was when he appeared to the disciples. It is deeply personal for me, as I have struggled with mental illness (bipolar) most of my life and it can be such torture. It is comforting to me to know that while I will die with it (it is currently incurable and probably never will be curable with any humane means), it will not last forever because of the gift that Christ has given to us. Sitting in services tonight, I think it all came together for me after more than forty years and I can only thank God for His gift and pray that all others turn aside from the hardness of their hearts and lures of this world to do so as well.
My love to you, dear brother. I'm a traumatic brain injury survivor. While our ailments are dissimilar, both of us are familiar with an overpowering sense of unchosen exile from "normal" life. I am not sure what to make of this, except to carry with me the assurance that God has purposes in leaving me with an affliction I despise, and that He will work it together with all of the other things in my life, and possibly in everyone else's, for His glory and my good.
Same here, brother Bobby, same here. I used to think suffering was utterly worthless unless it was on account of one’s witness and testimony of Christ. But now I have a more expansive sense of its value as also a kind of refinement process. In the New Testament James says that the trying of our faith works patience, and when we have patiently endured, we will receive the crown of life. And I remind myself often of the Lord’s promise that He will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear. As Paul declared, our present afflictions are not worth comparing to the glory that shall be. I know we already know all this, but it bears repeating and keeping uppermost in mind, serving the same purpose as the Memento Mori. May God grace us all with the strength to endure.
"Who sinned, this man or his parents?" is one of the most impactful questions in Scripture. All for His glory is a complete answer even if we find it unsatisfying.
Weakness truly is strength.
This knocked my socks off:
“It occurred to me that Jesus was bound in swaddling clothes after he came into this world, and he left this world bound in a funeral shroud. I have to think that this was the point the figure made.”
I’ll carry this one with me moving forward.
I had the pleasure of visiting the Sedlec Ossuary in the Czech Republic. I was amazed. If I ever get back to Europe I’ll have to take in the Capuchin crypt. Interesting to think each one of those skulls was a living person. What is amazing is that they will one day live again at the resurrection. Heavy and hopeful all at once .
That makes me think of the folk song "I Wonder as I Wander" (actually written by John Jacob Niles) that ends:
"For poor lonely people
Like you and like I,
The Little Lord Jesus,
He came for to die."
Wishing you every blessing of the Holy Season, Rod.
Love that folk song. Haven't heard it in years, takes me back to my childhood, around this time of year, my parents played on the stereo lots of seasonal music, including a Joan Baez album, which has this version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvADhdoQ8n0 .
This song, among a few others, were a bit like seeds falling on very parched ground. My family were Unitarian/atheist/70s Ms magazine reading feminist/proto-progressives, but still celebrated the cultural/secular aspects of Christmas. The Unitarians even had a Christmas Eve service, with some of the traditional hymns (edited to remove God references).
I can remember as a boy, during this time of year, feeling the mystery along with the childhood expectation of gifts, family visits and no school, wondering, and sometimes wishing I could believe.
A very long time later, a few of those seeds took root, and that wish was granted.
Merry Christmas everyone! Christ is Born, Glorify Him! Χριστὸς γεννᾶται, δοξάσατε !
I've always been partial to this version: https://youtu.be/0PCtIfHJCik
What is particularly amazing is that to you, to me, and to every other Christian, this is as assured as the pattern of the orbiting of the Earth around the sun, while to unbelievers, it is incomprehensible that it could ever be. We carry this hope within us, indeed.
And this is the hope written about in Hebrews 6:18-20, the anchor of the soul, sure and steadfast, which enters into that within the veil, where the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus. Yes, it is amazing to think on, that our hope reaches into heaven to Jesus.
There is also the Chapel of the Bones in Evora, Portugal. Well worth the visit if you are ever nearby.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/portugals-chapel-bones
Wishing you a nice night with the elements - fire, water, stone, wood.
"...pale Galilean"
I quite liked the amusing phrase "itenerant preacher" from Norman Davies "Europe: A History." In a manner similar to Tom Holland, he recognized the importance of Christianity to Europe's history (though he seemed confused and annoyed by the various heresies and theological arguments of the early centuries).
Something more spiritually important would be that crypt of the Capuchins; any person could use the sobering reminder of death comes for us all, and it ultimately is better to focus on the that which supercedes both life and death.
Merry Christmas everyone! 🎄🎅
Is the first quote from Swinburne?
Indeed, though I was quoting from Rod, who himself was quoting from Swinburne. Perhaps Swinburne was being tongue-in-cheek, though I think his poem has not aged gracefully.
I think Swinburne was echoing the reported last words of the Emperor Julian the Apostate: "Thou hast conquered, O Galilean. The world has grown grey with thy breath."
That's actually the Swinburne line. Later on he writes of the "lilies of virtue, and the raptures and roses of vice". Not exactly a modern poet, well known to both Ez and the Possum. At Swinburne's death, in 1910, Yeats said to his sisters, "Now I am king of the cats."
And to you, Trevor!
Buon Natale, Rod. Christ is born! Glorify Him!
Buon Natale, Rod. Thank you so much for your prayers.
Buon Natal a tutti qui!
Christ is born - glorify Him!
Dana
My priest likes to remind us that in the icon of the Nativity, the infant Christ is in his burial shroud and in a cave that symbolizes the tomb. I think that’s really awesome in the best sense of the word.
Merry Christmas, everyone. Christ is born! Glorify Him!
First thank you for your prayers! Blessed Christmas Eve here, where we are in AZ and were able to worship at a lovely local Anglican church. The children were so happy having had their pageant and wearing the wonderful garb of kings, shepherds, lambs and angels. Candles lit and "Silent Night". Blissful and tear making.
I have not read Holland so perhaps I am misunderstanding the interview with Bari Weiss. Of course it is true that the Romans saw crucifixion as punishment suited for slaves and the lowest criminals. That said, I don't see Jesus as someone who "became God". He was and is eternally of the godhead. Maybe Holland said that at another point of their conversation.
And, Jesus willingly chose to lay down his life as the perfect payment for our sin--again, His life was not taken from Him, he laid it down.
Sorry if I'm being pedantic, so often we err in trying to make faith palatable instead of just proclaiming the Truth.
Merry Christmas to all on this glorious Christmas Eve. May God guide all of our steps now and through 2025.
Dear Tom Holland is not fully an intellectual believer. Yet he was used and was step one (form step two, Medjugorie step three, Talking to Rod step four) on my journey back to faith despite my intellectual doubts. Tom loves God and Jesus it is so plain. I met him beliefly after he spoke in Cambridge ten days ago. Tom's doubts are the two main ones expressed in the Theodicy article Rod linked last week. . But he has know miracle and presence. One day I think he will conclude full intellectual understanding it not possible, and declare for the faith of his heart and spirit. At least I pray so. By "coincidence" I was listening to Tom Holland in his latest interview with Jason Brierly last night at about 11pm whilt Rod read his Weiss interiew. Someone worth reading/listening to, I would say.
Will be praying for him. Sounds like he needs time with someone like you :)
Merry Christmas!!
Merry Christmas Rod!
How did you convince them to let you take pics? They made it sound to me like if we took a photo the building would collapse.
No clue. A Christmas miracle?
Great pictures, so perhaps!
Merry Christmas, Rod. I prayed for you at Midnight Mass tonight. May you have peace in your life.
Merry Christmas Rod to you and all your loved ones.